Palm Springs

It's somewhat of a normal-ish weekend for movies with lots of new releases across various platforms. 

Out of those options, I chose Andy Samberg and Lonely Island's Palm Springs and Charlize Theron's The Old Guard (review coming soon). 

I'm a big Andy Samberg fan and I identify with his brand of silly, well-intentioned humor. He's got classics like Hot Rod and various SNL skits on his resume, but many of his film attempts have also been downright hilarious - the completely underseen Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping being a great example. And then of course there's the funniest show on TV right now (dont @ me), Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 

I was eager to watch Palm Springs because of him, but as much as I enjoyed the film, I was left slightly disappointed. Disappointment always stems from what your expectations are and, given that I've heard almost nothing about this film until just recently, mine were based on Samberg himself. 

The Palm Springs we get definitely has some of that classic Andy Samberg silliness, but it's also a more mature side of him, despite the wacky premise. For all that it does well, part of me wishes it was a little more classic Samberg throughout but then again, perhaps his dialed down antics are why it's doing so well with other critics right now. 

Palm Springs is a unique "Groundhog's Day" type of film. It drops you right in the middle of Andy Samberg's Nyles' experience of reliving the same day over and over. You get the sense that he's been here a really long time. Potentially a really long time. Through a series of accidents, Cristin Milioti's Sarah gets involved in the time loop and they find themselves trapped together. And hence a budding romance ensues in a time loop. Classic! I do sometimes struggle with time-loop films for the same reason that I struggle with single location films: they can often get repetitive. Palm Springs suffers from that mildly, but does a good job to keep most everything fresh and expand on the "lore" of what's going on. It has a lot of fun, unique rules that add to the humor - and also the risk at stake - and I felt like the film took good advantage of its setup by the end. It's not any sort of Nolan-esque time travel that's going to blow your mind, and the final solution feels like a Wikipedia answer, but it's still fun nonetheless.

Trippin out in the desert!

Just floatin the day away. Again. And again...

Samberg and Milioti are the biggest players here and they have good chemistry. J.K. Simmons is in the movie for a small amount of time, but gets some laughs while there, but really it's Nyles and Sarah that we care about. Their relationship eventually evolves and it's a cute romance that's bred out of circumstance but also begins to feel natural. Both do a good job of making the romance feel real, but also having fun in the situation. Samberg that was always a given, so kudos to Milioti for equaling his energy throughout and being willing to "play". 

Unfortunately I just didn't find Palm Springs as funny as I was hoping. More often than not I was amused, and enjoying myself, but it was rare that I laughed out loud. The times I did? When the film was silliest. A particular portion in the middle of the film when Sarah and Nyles do tons of wacky stuff by reliving the day over and over again was my favorite part of the whole thing - and was unfortunately too short lived. The rest of the film doesn't suck by any means, but it feels decidedly lower energy than its silliest moments and I find that's when Samberg does his best. 

Perhaps my preference of the type of Andy Samberg I like got in my way of loving Palm Springs, but that shouldn't hold others back from enjoying it. In fact, if you're someone who tires of his energy, perhaps this will be the film that turns you on to how funny he can be? Either way, I think Palm Springs is getting slightly overpraised right now, not because it's a bad, or even average film, but because it's only mildly funny and the romance is "nice" (but won't set your loins on fire)...all bundled in a unique premise. It stands out, sure, but I can't say it's largely memorable. 

CONS

• Less than other similar movies, but gets repetitive with the time loop
• Toned-down Andy Samberg is still funny, but not "classic"
• Not consistently funny
• Ending is just...there...

PROS

• Samberg and Milioti have good enough chemistry to make it work and they both have comedic chops. Supporting cast does what they need
• Has moments when it's really funny
• Unique premise and approach that feels like it was taken full advantage of
• It's a film that likes to have fun
• Short and sweet

Rath's Review Score | 7/10