Palm Springs

It’s taken a long time getting here from across the Pond, but some things are worth waiting for. A wonderful, witty and weird spin on an old favourite, which seems destined to become a classic itself.

A sharp, laugh out loud crowd-pleaser, Palm Springs could end up being the funniest film of 2020. But it’s not a mindless comedy. It tackles some profound topics amid the laughs, interrogating the sustainability of long-term relationships and exploring how a seemingly awful situation might be aided by a change in perspective.

Perhaps the sharpest casting is J.K. Simmons as a gruff wedding guest named Roy, who got trapped in the time-loop earlier after a misguided cocaine binge with Nyles. He pops up occasionally to hunt Nyles with a bow and arrow or a shotgun to seek revenge. You will cherish the 65-year-old Oscar winner’s interpretation of being high on coke.

Using Barbakow’s direction and Andy Siara’s script as filters, Palm Springs presents viewers with a blend of soft science fiction, raucous punchlines, and human drama, the last of these encompassing self-loathing, grief, love and high anxiety.

What does make this movie stand out is the presence of Cristin Milioti, a paragon of goofiness and grace.

While Barbakow and writer Andy Siara don’t exactly reinvent the ever-spinning wheel here, they do add enough of a winsome, layered charm that Palm Springs feels like a vacation you actually might want to extend forevermore.

It’s a goofy, drunken scrap of escapism and while the romantic comedy is not fully back, despite think pieces assuring us that it is, Palm Springs energetically reminds us, yet again, that it’s never really going away.

Great performances from Sandberg and Milioti. Hope to see more of these two in future.

Fun, but ultimately nothing we haven't seen before. Enjoyable and a fun date night film, but not much special beyond that. I will say that I liked the way they told the story (timeline-wise).

The idea / plot is obviously adapted/"stolen" from Groundhog Day. There are some funny scenes but not much more. Good to watch at a summer day, but not worth for a cinema trip.

(Mauro Lanari) The time loop itself has become a thematic loop ("is it better to risk with the prospect of failure or settle forever in a comfort zone with no prospects?"), and this variation on the subject is not particularly significant.

Fine enough as these things go, but a complete rip off of Groundhog Day. Where Groundhog Day was purposeful - the Bill Murray character couldn't escape his endless cycle until he learned to stop being selfish and think of others, what exactly is the point of this story? If the girl you love wants to blow herself up in a science experiment you should join her? Sure it's fun to watch the characters drink, do drugs and find creative ways to kill themselves, but by the time you've seen it for the 60th time it stops being entertaining.