Happy Saint Valentine Day, Palm Springs

Palm Springs (2020) #15 of the Best Romantic Comedies by Rotten Tomatoes. There have been so many riffs on the “Groundhog Day” formula that it can sometimes feel like the movies themselves are stuck in an endless time loop, but each subsequent iteration has tweaked the original in some way. “50 First Dates” stripped away the unexplainable metaphysics of it all for a romantic comedy mixed with Oliver Sacks's theories. “Edge of Tomorrow” added aliens and “Gears of War” cosplay to the mix. “Before I Fall” applied Harold Ramis’ concept to teen anxieties, “Happy Death Day” added a horror twist. And yet, despite “Groundhog Day” becoming a genre unto itself, Max Barbakow’s witty and wise “Palm Springs” is the first movie that doesn’t just apply that old formula to a new problem, but also fundamentally alters the basics of the equation. It’s a simple adjustment, and yet the difference feels as radical and transformative as pouring milk into a bowl of cereal. What if, instead of relegating one person to a cyclical purgatory they’re forced to repeat over and over until they learn the error of their ways, you relegated two people to the same pocket of the Twilight Zone? Imagine spending the rest of your meaningless existence with the same person. Imagine being stuck in a perpetually static purgatory where meaningful change can only be seen through the eyes of the other person suffering alongside you. 

But Nyles (Andy Samberg in one of his most realist performances) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti, a delightful force of comic impetus) aren’t married — they don’t even know each other — and the bleak desert wedding aisle is where they first meet. Nyles is there with his Instagram model girlfriend Misty (Meredith Hagner), who refuses him sex and cheats on him. But Misty isn’t the only reason why Nyles is depressed (“we’re all just lost” he mopes to anyone within earshot), or why Samberg exudes a disaffected Bill Murray vibe even before the premise reveals itself. That might have more to do with the fact that he’s woken up at this wedding a million times before, and he’s running out of ways to pass the time. The first masterstroke of Andy Siara’s relentlessly clever script is that it starts with its lead character already stranded in a limbo. Not that Sarah is up to speed. The older sister of the bride (Camila Mendes) and the black sheep of her family, Sarah is sick of herself even before she gets stuck. She doesn’t seem to be all that charmed by the super disaffected guy who wore a Hawaiian shirt to a fancy wedding, but the fact that Nyles doesn’t know her is a good enough reason to make out with him under the stars. 

The overarching plot of “Palm Springs” isn’t especially novel, but each scene is just sweet, funny, and demented enough to feel like a little surprise. Andy Siara’s script is delightful for how it beats you to the punch, running through all of the hilarious things Nyles might do to amuse himself in a deathless world (the brutally sarcastic way he says “I’ve never considered the multiverse”). But if Nyles has been stuck there long enough to have mastered every possible move, Sarah changes everything by introducing a code-breaking new variable. Something interesting I observed about the movie... do you even notice how an average romcom has little backstory about the female lead? And practically her whole point of existence in the movie is for the male lead to have a turning point? I felt a gender-reversal for that concept with this movie. We got to know so much about Sarah’s life and why she is the way she is. But we know little to nothing about Nyles life. The film cleverly makes that point right at the end when they are floating in the pool and he says “oh I have a dog, Fred, a Shaggy dog type.” The chemistry between Samberg and Milioti is off the charts and there is a sweetness in their relationship that is severely lacking these days. “Palm Springs” isn’t as magical whenever Nyles and Sarah aren’t together onscreen. If anything, “Palm Springs” has a smart pro-marriage message at a time when so many of today’s kids seem ready to relegate the very concept of marriage to “ok, boomer” status. 

On the other hand, the movie is so touching and sharp about the ideas it chooses to spotlight that — like a loving marriage — the joy it provides is more than enough to make up for the paths it doesn’t travel. Less weighty and immense than “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” but similarly concerned with the value of romantic partnership, “Palm Springs” offers a novel way to explore why the decision to share your life with someone can be more than just a band-aid placed atop a gaping wound of loneliness. Sure, “Groundhog Day” arrives at essentially the same place, but this winsome bauble of a movie is uniquely eager to embrace the idea that life isn’t quite as limitless as it seems. There are only so many things you can do in this world. As Nyles whines after we first meet him: “It’s always today.” And he’s right. But seeing your life reflected back at you through someone else’s eyes can make it that much easier to appreciate what happened yesterday, and look forward to tomorrow. In the original script, Siara clearly hints that Nyles's experimental tryst with his black friend Jeff is a prank.

EXT. DESERT TACO STAND - DAY

NYLES: (he laughs) It turns out I’m not really into dudes.

Nyles gathers their burrito wrappers and tosses each of them over his shoulder across the patio, directly into the trash. Source: www.indiewire.com