Believe the hype! Let’s take a look at Andy Samberg’s buzzy new indie – and two companion films.
PALM SPRINGS
(Dir: Max Barbakow | Time: 1h30mins | On Hulu)
Groundhog Day meets Dick In A Box with a dash of sci-fi in this memorable (and Sundance record-breaking) first film from writer-director duo Andy Siara and Max Barbakow. They manage to turn two familiar devices – the timeloop concept and the awkward wedding setting – into a fresh, twisty and consistently laugh-out-loud ride.
Andy Samberg is comedic gold as an alternatingly bored, anarchic and resigned ‘looper’ who has long been trapped in the same day when we meet him. We learn the rules quickly as he briefs his unwilling new partner-in-time, Cristin Milioti’s badass black sheep maid of honour.
It’s a clever approach that allows the film to avoid time-consuming cliches and instead expand into a fun world of nutty supporting characters, both within and around the desert-set destination wedding.
Along the way there are hilarious sketches, surprising diversions and meaning-of-life conversations which, alongside the loop concept, are remarkably appropriate for the trying and repetitive times we are living in.
It all feeds into a subversive but expertly-assembled romcom that puts laughs – and existentialism – ahead of sappy notes.
Verdict: 9/10
***
If you enjoy Palm Springs, make it 3xFILMS with these great indies that share its character-driven sci-fi sensibility:
SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED (2012) / Based on a joke newspaper classified ad seeking a time-travelling companion, this creative and charming indie romcom is less raucous and ambitious than Palm Springs but hits a whole bunch of right buttons.
Rotten Tomatoes 91%
THE ENDLESS (2017) / Takes on the indie desert-set metaphysical themes to a more gritty and esoteric level as we join a cult that believes there is an entity ‘out there’. It doesn’t quite pull it off, but it’s impressively committed and occasionally quite gripping for an ultra low-budget sci-fi pic.
Rotten Tomatoes 92%
MS