Boiled down to its basic parts, Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs is a retelling of the 1993 existential classic Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. I would not go so far as to call it a remake, but I doubt the latter would exist without the former, and Barbakow knows it – even relishes in it, perhaps. While the two films certainly share similarities in premise and overall tone, they differ in style and execution. To this end, and regardless of the borrowed format, Palm Springs separates itself from its predecessor while managing to remain a funny, thoughtful, yet unspoken ode to a beloved film.
Up until now, I have not liked anything Andy Samberg has touched. A few of his SNL digital shorts got a small chuckle out of me from time to time, but by and large, I’ve found his work sophomoric and pretentious. Palm Springs has changed that perception. Samberg’s juvenile tendencies lend themselves well to the offbeat premise, but what really carries his performance is the presence of an equal, or perhaps even a better. Put simply, Palm Springs is not Samberg’s movie, it’s co-star Cristin Milioti’s. Without her, Samberg is just another privileged man-baby going through an annoying, self-obsessed crisis.
I’m a sucker for a good existential story, and, when done well, the darker the better. As with Groundhog Day, the time loop set-up of Palm Springs, while played comedically, hides some seriously devastating gloom – if you allow your mind to wander into such territory. Suicide, hopelessness, depression, and loneliness are all a way of life for Nyles (Samberg), who does his best to mask his pain with self-indulgent debauchery. The veneer, however, is thin. It isn’t until he’s accidentally joined in this never-ending hell by Sarah (Milioti) that he realizes, even though life may be pointless, it’s better to have company than suffer alone.
Sarah, though, is no “manic pixie dream girl.” She does not exist solely to “complete” the male lead or “show him what life is all about.” In fact, I would argue that Sarah is the main character of the film, not Nyles. She’s more complex and well-rounded, not to mention determined and level-headed. Nyles may teach her the rules of the time loop, but the nightmare of shame and regret Sarah wakes up to every morning is much deeper and more profound than the boredom and repetition felt by Nyles. Their relationship, for a time, is nearly parasitic, but in the end, Sarah takes the lead, and does so with complete independence.
Palm Springs is clever and funny, but it’s also largely predictable. The presence of J.K. Simmons as the murderous Roy throws things for an interesting loop but isn’t enough to stop the tried and true rom-com story beats from dropping exactly where they are supposed to. This isn’t exactly a complaint, as the uniquely philosophical elements and well-written dialogue do a better-than-usual job of distracting from predictability, but genre convention cannot help but punch through. All that aside, Palm Springs is a warm and entertaining way to intelligently build on a concept.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.