Turns out Samberg did get a sitcom, the very funny and very sharp Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He’s also part of the comedy troupe The Lonely Island, and he starred in the criminally unappreciated Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. He’s appeared on YouTube, television, film, and he’s made music. You don’t branch out and achieve that level of success by being non-threatening, and for the most part, Samberg has delivered strong work.
Is it possible that all comedians yearn to be taken seriously? Someday, will Samberg star in a drama playing a meth-addict marketing executive who dreams of free-diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench? I hope not, because despite what the Academy Awards might have us believe, comedy is harder to pull off than drama. Even harder than that is pulling off a comedy with a brain, a soul, and something to say. Andy Samberg’s newest film is Palm Springs, and it checks all of those boxes masterfully.
His preoccupation extends to the wedding itself. So much so that he arrives in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and clutching a beer. He becomes interested in Sarah (Cristin Milioti). She’s the maid of honor. She’s drunk, unprepared, and is in the beginning stages of botching her wedding speech. Her family views her as a liability, and she likely shares that view to a degree. Can you blame her, considering that her younger sister is so saintly she donated bone marrow to save a life?
Before Sarah can crash and burn, Nyles delivers a seemingly impromptu speech. It’s a hit. She’s interested in him. He’s interested in her, so much so that when he discovers that Misty is enthusiastically cheating on him, he doesn’t seem too bothered by it. The two of them head for the desert for an improvised hookup and a respite from their unsatisfying lives. And then?
It bears mentioning that this is the debut feature of director Max Barbakow. He’s cut his teeth on a number of shorts, and right out of the gate, he’s made a great-looking feature with more humor and complexity than many made by industry veterans. It speaks to his talent that, in a 90-minute film, he simultaneously never wastes any of the run time while also knowing when to slow down for character moments and when to hit the gas.
Barbakow, along with screenwriter Andy Siara, knows that if you’re going to make a time-loop film that will inevitably be compared to Groundhog Day, you need to stake out your own space. While the former film is ultimately about a guy reaching self-actualization, the script for Palm Springs has a greater focus on how a couple deals with recurring sadness and anxiety. If you’re concerned that you’re in for an existential bummer-fest, don’t be. The time-loop stuff is endlessly fresh and creative, and there are a lot of laughs to be found here. The emotional beats never feel contrived, and I liked how Sarah’s and Nyles’ feelings never get put on hold at the expense of a gag.
Andy Samberg? I owe you an apology, dog. Funny, sad, and achingly romantic, Palm Springs is perhaps the perfect film to watch in a time where time has no meaning and when one day blurs into the next. I know it’s a little weird to say this, considering movie theaters shut down in March, but I’m thinking Palm Springs might be the best film of the year. If it isn’t, and there are better films on the back end of 2020, then I’ll feel weirdly blessed.
*Though the captain of the Titanic also thought he had reasonably good judgment.