2020 In Review: Palm Springs
Groundhog’s Day but with a less goofy Andy Samberg, and a more deep message about relationships and the existence of time, or something like that
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“What if we get sick of each other?”
“We’re already sick of each other. It’s the best.”
Don’t be fooled by the ‘Lonely Island Classics’ blue and white logo appearing on screen, paying homage to ‘Sony Pictures Classics,’ in terms of Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs resembling anything of personality to a standard Lonely Island project, save for leading man Andy Samberg, of course. In fact, it’s best to remove any comedic expectations attached to most of Samberg’s resume, and treat Palm Springs as a quirky, indie take on Groundhog’s Day.
But why participate in yet another time-loop movie that’s already been taken to great genre extremes, be it horror in Happy Death Day, or sci-fi in Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat/Untitled Tom Cruise Groundhog Day Movie Is Actually Pretty Good? Well, because Palm Springs brings an edgy new flavor to its endless beer cans drunk daily by the sluggish Nyles (Samberg). That flavor is nihilism.
It’s no surprise that Nyles represents the meaningless state of literal nihilism, and does so by catching up both the audience and our leading lady Sarah (Cristin Milioti) on the sad existence of repeating the same day for all of eternity, but unlike former Groundhog Day films, Palm Springs’ destination isn’t buried in the plot of getting out of the depressing time-loop, rather in accepting the defeated state of the characters’ inevitable existence. It’s actually a morbidly suitable take on struggling to even exist, which in itself is a dark but also highly relatable subject matter for this generation.
While of course Nyles and Sarah do eventually dialogue about trying to escape their beautiful paradise of an endless hell, be it by suicide attempts or quantum inventions, Springs is far too focused on the different points of view from its two leads, revealing just how low the bottom feeders of the other characters in the story dwell. One by one, the true intentions of the wedding guests of the film’s plot are exposed, be them sexual or drug related, most of them shrouded in some despicable secrecy. It’s fun to watch, and much of Palm Springs’ running time explores the comedic effect of watching two self aware characters unveil the terrible and wonderful truths of their surroundings in a world completely without consequence.
Yet as time marches on, the laughter eventually wears off, and the existential dread sets in of sharing this seemingly joyous reality as a false one in realizing only you and the one person you are with are intertwined in this deeply personal and literally endless experience. That’s the moment when Andy Siara’s clever screenplay stops being a sci-fi comedy, and begins to sprout as a dark commentary on relationships and the meaning of embracing the time spent within them, or something like that.
In the third act of the film, the bearded and lovely as always J.K. Simmons (playing partial antagonist Roy to Samberg’s Nyles) shares a lick of dialogue that wraps up any nonsensical plot points into a poignant moment of genuine significance. “Priorities change,” Roy says. He explores his point of view adjacent to both Nyles and Sarah, and suddenly the film has depth to its wacky plot.
Don’t be misled (again, not Lonely Island friendly in the goofy or irreverent fashion), Palm Springs is a comedy first and foremost, but it’s also here to question our state of our existence, rather than simply provide a comical take on the bumbling protagonist stuck in a time-loop that’s been done countless times before.
* 2 points to Simmons’ beard
* 5 points to Simmons
* 10 points to Andy and Cristin
* 20 points to Max Barbakow
Grade: B+
