Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Palm Springs (2020)



Streaming Services: Hulu
Movie Name/Year: Palm Springs (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Length: 90 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Limelight, Sun Entertainment Culture, The Lonely Island, Neon, Hulu
Director: Max Barbakow
Writer: Andy Siara
Actors: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Peter Gallagher, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Chris Pang, Jacqueline Obradors, June Squibb, Tongayi Chirisa, Dale Dickey, Conner O’Malley, Jena Friedman, Brian Duffy, Martin Kildare, Lilli Birdsell

Blurb from IMDb: When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated as they are unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.


Selina’s Point of View:
Palm Springs has a familiar plot. A lot of movies utilize a time loop in their stories, and it’s pretty difficult to get something new out of it. Happy Death Day (2017) was decent, but there was a definite recipe quality to it. It’s normal with this kind of film, and stories rarely – if ever – deviate.

This one was something special, though.

You don’t enter the story in the beginning here. I don’t mean you come in at the end and then see the beginning later, either. I mean that you never see the beginning. When you first get into it, it’s clear that Andy Samberg’s (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Brigsby Bear, Take the 10) character has been stuck in this loop for a while. He’s reached that acceptance phase already. He’s lived through his Groundhog Day (1993), only it never ended for him.


Right off the bat, that changes things. We don’t have the go through the whole part of the story where he tries to figure out what’s going on, he already knows. That leaves time for so much more.

There is a depth to Palm Springs that I did not predict. On top that, it was funny. I spent almost the entire time laughing my ass off. Still, when it wanted to get emotional, it excelled at that too. I teared up a few times.

I expected Palm Springs to be a decent film. It absolutely exploded through my expectation, though. It was impressive, to say the least. I would recommend this one to just about anyone. Without a doubt.


Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 92%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 90%
Metascore – 84/100
Metacritic User Score – 8.2/10
IMDB Score – 7.6/10
CinemaScore – None

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating4.5/5

P.S.: There’s a short extra scene at the beginning of the credits.

Movie Trailer:

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