Palm Springs was released July 10th of this year and is currently available for streaming on Hulu. This R-rated comedy is set in the magical desert of Southern California where a man and a woman meet at a Palm Springs wedding and become eternally linked to each other...and to the same repeating day. The leading stars Andy Samberg (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, 2016) and Cristin Milioti (Breakable You, 2017) give likable performances with a few moments of funny dialogue.
At the start, I thought this film was going to be a boring romantic comedy, but it has some refreshing curveballs that make it more unique and different than it appears to be. A picturesque paradise turns into a desolate fantasy with the director (Max Barbakow, Cuddle Buddy, 2017) and screenwriter (Andy Siara, Lodge 49 TV series, 2018-2019) using the time-loop premise from Groundhog Day (1993) to play around with a flirtatious lighthearted relationship developing between a man and a woman. Palm Springs is a unique romance story that is peppered with only a few clichés from the tired romantic comedy genre.
Thank goodness for something new, abrupt, and unexpected that people can watch at home right now. It's not amazingly hilarious, but it has heart and a mellow cheerfulness that is unpredictable and ultimately enjoyable. A fun new release for the summer (and especially relatable for people who are feeling the monotony of the COVID quarantine).
