Film No. 75 (2020) July 21st. 6:45 PM. STAN Living Room Mt. Hawthorn. W.A.
"One time I smoked a bunch of crystal and made it all the way to Equatorial Guinea, it was a huge waste of time". (Nyles recounts one of his days as he tried to escape the unending loop he and Sarah are caught in).
Groundhog Day has plenty to answer for since bursting on screen to create its own genre in 1985; the looped in time, prison narrative. Source Code, Looper, Happy Death Day are all worthy films from this stable. Palm Springs, the most recent addition may well be the brightest inductee of all.
These GD genre films always create a puzzle for the viewer, the puzzle leaves one thinking about a scene where we have to think back to previous days and the effects of the present which is about to become insignificant once the next loop begins. People who know the genre know what I mean. Palm Springs, is all about Groundhog Day but with a more intriguing and polished love story. GD still out ranks it however. It's hard to beat a concept breaker!!
The cleverness of Palm Springs is etched in the first 15 minutes. The film begins with all the hallmarks of a seen it all before social comedy. Bored male, Nyles (Andy Samberg), in a boring relationship, serenades the brides sister, Sarah (Cristin Milioti). He does it during speech time where he hijacks the microphone. Will he make a fool of himself? After all he's dressed as if to spend a morning at the beach. Very soon the heart of this clever film is revealed.
Samberg and Milioti, but particularly Milioti, are the perfect duo here. Their reliance on one another as each plot darkens then thickens works, and the simmering romance does just that, it simmers. J.K. Simmons as Roy is perfectly placed to give Springs that third element. He enters with a bang and make sure you stay for the titles. His final grab is like placing that last small piece in the 1000 bit jigsaw puzzle! 11GUMS.
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