PALM SPRINGS
Cert 15 ★★★★ On Amazon Prime Video now
It’s Groundhog Day all over again as Andy Samberg’s wedding guest gets caught in a time loop.
After Edge Of Tomorrow, the Happy Death Day films and the similarly themed The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things, these films are beginning to feel a little, well, repetitive. But a very funny script, an excellent cast and fortuitous timing make Palm Springs an unexpected delight.
Like millions of us during lockdown, Nyles (Samberg) has begun to appreciate the vital role chance encounters play in the human experience. But, for him, every day is painfully predictable.
Each morning he wakes in the same Palm Springs resort with the same cheating girlfriend (Meredith Hagner), knowing he is going to sit through the same awkward speeches, drink the same free booze and witness the same terrible dance moves.
Then something genuinely new happens. He falls in love.
Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is the jaded, half-cut sister of the bride.
When she gets stuck in the same time loop, Nyles has a partner in crime. Their twisted attempts to rinse new experiences out of the same day are told in hilarious Jackass-style montages.
There’s a sweetness to them, too. Despite the sci-fi trappings, Palm Springs is powered by old-fashioned rom-com chemistry.