If you've heard about "Palm Springs" since its debut at this year's Sundance Film Festival, you may have heard that it presents a twist in the typical rom-com framework. The movie undoubtedly needs publicize its central hook to draw viewers in, but you should try to go in knowing as little as possible. Director Max Barbakow wants to surprise you and take you on the journey at hand in his feature narrative debut.
Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) brings his typical energy to the role of Nyles, who is attending a wedding at a Palm Springs hotel. Nyles seems to be wandering through life without much direction or ambition, which partly explains why his relationship with his girlfriend is on the rocks. At the wedding, he meets Sarah (Cristin Milioti), who is the maid of honor at her sister's wedding. Sarah is also in a state of limbo regarding her direction, but is a little more worried about the way her life is going. When the two cross paths at the reception, things start to get weird.
That's it. That's all you need to know. Don't read anything else.
It's easy to appreciate it when a film presents familiar genre tropes and trajectories and tries to put a different spin on them. What "Palm Springs" presents, via a screenplay by Andy Siara, isn't entirely new; but how the approach is used to deepen the narrative is what's most interesting. The story becomes an existential reckoning for Nyles and Sarah, who might have more in common than they believe.
Samberg brings his sitcom-style goofiness to the role but infuses it with a bit more nuance than we have come to expect from the actor. Milioti - who may be best known as the mother from TV's How I Met Your Mother - is given a true breakout moment as Sarah. She has popped up here-and-there in movies ("The Wolf of Wall Street," "Breakable You"), but "Palm Springs" gives her a chance to be a co-lead and exhibit her deadpan comedic style. Watching Samberg and Milioti play off each other, as they try to find some sort of common ground, is what makes "Palm Springs" enjoyable. And, it never hurts to have J.K. Simmons complicating things in a supporting role.
"Palm Springs" became the talk of Sundance when it was sold for a reported $17,500,000.69, which, in Lonely Island fashion, put it 69-cents above the previous record held by "Birth of a Nation." Distributor Neon and Hulu paired up to make the movie available through drive-ins and on Hulu, hoping to give people at home a sunny escape. The movie achieves just that.
"Palm Springs" debuts on Hulu July 10.
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