Palm Springs: Not the Déjà Vu You Were Expecting
If you’re like me, you’d expect a movie called Palm Springs to be about a typical, relaxed Californian vacation. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Hulu-original debuted on July 10th, starring Andy Samberg alongside Cristin Milioti. The two have been known for their respective comedies: Samberg is a Saturday Night Live alum, and Milioti is a former How I Met Your Mother star, as a frequent rom-com actor.
So, knowing the cast, when my family turned on Palm Springs last Friday night, I was expecting another run-of-the-mill rom-com; my expectations set from the haunting memories of my family’s bland Friday nights past. The same formula that has become a painstakingly predictable form of déjà vu: the movie opens with a wedding, guy meets girl, guy dates girl, guy screws up with girl, guy wins girl back. But Palm Springs took my meaning of déjà vu to an entirely new level.
As the opening scene filled the screen, I rolled my eyes. Unsurprisingly, Palm Springs in fact opens with a typical wedding scene. Sarah, portrayed by Milioti, is drunk at her sister’s wedding. When it comes time for her to give her speech as maid of honor, she struggles to get even a sentence out. But luckily, Samberg’s character, Nyles, swoops in with a save. “What I think Sarah is trying to say…” He goes on and delivers the perfect speech, mentioning all of the cliches: happiness, soulmates, and of course, love. Afterwards, at the wedding party, Sarah privately thanks Nyles for covering for her. The two begin to flirt, and just as they’re about to head back to Nyles’ place, things start to get… weird.
Out of nowhere, a man draped in dark clothing, equipped with guns and a bow and arrow, emerges out of the bushes. Nyles screams and runs off the wedding site. Sarah, obviously confused and terrified, runs after him to see what’s going on. The two seek refuge in an empty patch of Californian desert surrounded by enormous caves. Uncontrolable screams of “What the fuck!” escape Sarah’s mouth as she tries to comprehend what in the world is going on. And just like that, the mysterious man is back, and he shoots Nyles in the leg with a bow and arrow.
At this point, I was sharing the same mentality as Sarah. What on earth was happening in this movie? This was not at all what I expected when I suggested that my family watch the new Andy Samberg movie. What happened to that lighthearted, screwball comedian? As I was trying to process, the movie raged on.
The dark-clothed man escapes into the night as an injured Nyles tries to drag himself to a nearby cave. Sarah, traumatized and still wanting answers, runs after Nyles into the cave despite his repeated warnings to stay back.
The next shot you see is a close up of Sarah’s eyes. She sits up in her hotel bed, starting to notice that everything around her is just like it was yesterday morning. Her family is still prepping for the wedding that, by her account, has already happened. She rushes to Nyles’ room, and he sits her down to explain.
“Well, this is… sort of an infinite time-loop situation.” Sarah is, understandably, absolutely stunned by this. Nyles explains that he’s been in this day, the day of the wedding, for as long as he can remember, and Sarah was sucked into this timeline by entering the cave. And the man who shot Nyles did so because he was furious that Nyles sucked him into the time-loop as well. Imagine Groundhog Day with added elements of arrow-shooting villains and magical caves, and Andie MacDowell trapped in the same timeline as Bill Murray.
The remainder of the movie is mostly Sarah and Nyles learning to accept that they’re stuck in this day forever. Since every day resets, nothing has consequences. The plot follows them through their new, care-free life.
If that explanation was confusing to you, don’t worry, having actually seen the movie, I can confirm that it makes no more sense when you see it.
When the credits rolled onto the screen, I sat, my mouth slightly ajar, not knowing exactly how to process. My dad looked over at me, the final song softly playing as the actors' names continued across the TV. Tentatively, he asked me if I had enjoyed the movie, to which my reply was simply that I didn’t know. I was so taken aback by the plot that I was not in any way expecting, that I couldn’t get past it. I leaned back onto the cushions of the couch, trying to come up with an adequate answer to my dad’s loaded question. Imagine turning on the newest Will Ferrell movie, then instead of the lighthearted, generic comedy you were expecting, the movie left you questioning your life, mortality, and the history of the universe. It would be a little surprising, don’t you think?
Especially since my expectations for the film were that of a basic rom-com, this movie absolutely blew me away. If you would’ve asked me a week ago, I wouldn't have recommended it to someone else, but I think that the initial shock of the nature of the movie took over my judgement. Now, having had a week to digest, my advice to you is this: watch it at your own risk.
If you’re in the mood for a simple, feel-good movie, then Palm Springs probably isn’t for you. But if you’re up for something heavier that’ll make you start questioning the ways that the universe works, this is a must watch. It was a very well made movie; though the plot was so bizarre, they still were able to incorporate laugh-out-loud comedy throughout. They managed to find a way to make such a strange and far-fetched concept flow like a regular Hollywood film. Though the movie definitely had that Samberg je-ne-sais-pas-- his far-out and goofball touch-- there’s no way you could’ve seen this coming.
Additionally, the timing of this release was seemingly perfect. Palm Springs is just a click away. All you have to do is open Hulu, and you’re free to start streaming. It was a perfect quarantine watch; I probably wouldn’t have been up for watching such a strange movie in the theater. But since all I had to do was click my remote, it’s easy to proceed with a “Why not?” mentality. This was a convenient binge for a lazy, tired, sick-of-quarantine victim like me.
Palm Springs, to say the least, is one of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen. It was the weirdest, most mesmerizing hour and a half of my life. If you have time this weekend, I encourage you to watch it. The unique plot was a welcomed surprise; it certainly strayed from the norm. Instead of the bland wedding rom-com déjà vu you I was dreading being bored by last Friday night, this movie brings a new, infinite meaning to the phrase. The producers did their job: I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I can’t say that I don’t have a little bit of fear as I fall asleep each night that I’ll wake up and relive the same day over and over again. So if you’re looking for a quarantine shake-up, if you’re tired of that same-old same-old, Palm Springs will not disappoint.