Review of Palm Springs
midlandsmovies • April 10, 2021
Palm Springs (2021) Dir. Max Barbakow
Let’s get this off the bat, I’m no fan of Andy Samberg. As subjective as comedy is, I find him pretty annoying in the brief viewings of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the few low-brow comedies he’s starred in to date. However, let me also add that despite that personal preference, Mr. Samberg knocks it out the park in new comedy Palm Springs.
In short and to the point, Palm Springs is a riff on the Groundhog Day formula – a central character repeating the same day again and again. In this instance it is a wedding day that leads to a whole host of sequences involving the planning, the drunkenness and relationships forged on the special day.
As an aside, I remember reading that the original script to Groundhog Day began the story in the middle where the audience finds Phil Connors (Bill Murray) already experiencing many years in the time loop. That was ultimately discarded by director Harold Ramis but that idea is exactly where Palm Springs begins.
Samberg plays Nyles who awakes each day next to his girlfriend (who is cheating on him) at the wedding of friends Tala and Abe. He meets guest Sarah (Cristin Milioti) at a wedding he’s experienced possibly hundreds of times. And when she is dragged into a mysteriously-lit cave, she too awakes to find, like Nyles, is now unfortunately caught in the same time-loop.
Attempting to escape her predicament she eventually comes to accept her circumstances and a relationship starts to develop between her and Nyles. Samberg and Milioti’s chemistry is fantastic, with the immature yet open Nyles complimenting and conflicting with Sarah’s wonderment and a few past secrets.
Also, in the loop is Roy (J K Simmons) who frustrated at being caught in the circle and missing his children grow up, regularly hunts and kills Nyles in revenge. The love-hate narrative between the leads is a little clichéd but ultimately endearing and the verbal and physical jokes related to their situation are familiar but not just riffs on Groundhog Day. This results in the repeated wedding day flying-by in a very entertaining 90 minutes.
For someone like me who carries doubts over Samberg’s likeability, I have to eat my words here as he’s the perfect star to play the juvenile central character and Milioti matches him as the likeable companion with her own narrative beyond the “love-interest”.
With high energy and a fast-pace, lots of laughs and two well-cast leads playing to their strengths, Palm Springs cycles through its time-based plot without repetition and is more than satisfying given its spin on a well-trodden formula.
★★★★ ½
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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