We’re actually quite happy to be stuck in this time-loop (again)

Palm Springs 90mins, Cert 15

IT’S HARD not to groan at the thought of another riff on Groundhog Day. Surely the time loops and ennui barrel has been scraped until it can be scraped no more?

Wrong! Andy Samberg, pictured, (aka Jake Peralta, hero of Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is Nyles, a genial child-man, forced to relive someone else’s ghastly wedding day, ad infinitum. His life improves when he accidentally drags the bride’s sister Sarah (Cristin Milioti) into the loop.

Sarah is promiscuous, boozy, witty and resourceful. Over time, she realises that Nyles is less innocent than he seems and that goats have many uses.

Milioti has the kind of zany face you don’t always associate with romantic heroines (imagine comedian Sarah Silverman, with Annabelle-doll eyes). But Hulu and Neon paid $22 million for this, so clearly they think audiences will root for her. Andy Siara’s script subverts the creepy high jinks of

movies like About Time (gaslighting is not OK in this multiverse), and at times, the feminist-slanted fun gets properly dark.

Suffice to say that here, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt. This is a smart treatise on what it means to get stuck in a rut and Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans will love it. Play it again, Samberg.

⬤ Prime Video