PALM SPRINGS [Hulu]

Palm Springs is being marketed as a romantic comedy. If your idea of a romantic comedy is serial suicides, then Palm Springs might appeal to you. Andy Sandberg plays Nyles, a lackadaisical member of a crowd at a wedding. Cristin Milioti plays Sarah, Maid of Honor, whose life involves drinking and sleeping around. Through a series of odd events (including dinosaurs!) Nyles and Sarah end up in a time-loop where they have to experience the wedding day over and over again, potentially to Infinity (think Groundhog Day). Nyles and Sarah attempt several strategies to escape from the time-loop.

I didn’t find Palm Springs funny or romantic. J. K. Simmons is wasted in a lame role. Director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara spin their cinema wheels for about 90 minutes before they come up with an unlikely con conclusion. GRADE: C

21 thoughts on “PALM SPRINGS [Hulu]

    1. george Post author

      Dan, the things we do for Love. Diane, Queen of the Romantic Comedies, wanted to see PALM SPRINGS so I watched it with her. But, the movie disappointed her, too.

      Reply
  1. Michael Padgett

    This actually DID get pretty good reviews, and the reviews were probably what convinced me to watch this mess 2-3 weeks ago. Your grade of C is more like it, maybe even C-. I’ve cut down on tv watching lately because my library has finally reopened and I’m being bombarded with books that have been on hold for four months. The best thing I’ve seen recently is the BBC miniseries “Dracula” on Netflix. The team of Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, who were responsible for the BBC “Sherlock” are the creators/writers, and it’s really quite entertaining.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Yikes! First, we don’t have Hulu, so no worries there. Then, not a fan of Andy Samberg, so there’s that. I hate when I waste 90 minutes on junk. My guess is, we would have turned it off long before the end.

    Reply
  3. Patti Abbott

    I really liked it. For me it was a clever takeoff on Groundhog Day with both of them working to solve the problem. Of course, I love GROUNDHOG DAY and she is a better actress than Andi McDowell and he is not as depressive as Bill Murray. So it was a B for me. Maybe B+. I did find the setting in the original more charming however. This was a dull locale.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Patti, I’ve been to Palm Springs and what they show you in the movie is pretty much the way it is. When I was there, the temperatures were close to 100 degrees.

      Reply
  4. Steve Oerkfitz

    I don’t get Hulu. Just not enough on it to make it worth my while. Plus I don’t much care for Adam Sandberg. I find him a less obnoxious version of Adam Sandler.

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  5. Jeff Smith

    Ann and I both enjoyed it. Andy Sandberg was tolerable in this one, and there were some clever bits. Nowhere near as good as RUSSIAN DOLL, the best of the recent time loop stories, but we had a good time with it.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, if you want to see a real Time-Loop story, I highly recommend “As I Have Always Been,” a recent episode of AGENTS OF SHIELD. It should be available ON DEMAND.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Patti, Season Two of Russian doll was supposed to arrive in late 2020 but the Coronavirus Pandemic ruined that schedule. Hopefully, it will show up in 2021. I agree with you on Adam Sandler’s performance in UNCUT GEMS. Brilliant!

      Reply
  6. Jerry House

    George, my hero! You watch so we don’t have to.

    (BTW, I liked GROUNDHOG DAY despite feeling that it ripped off Dick Lupoff’s short story 12:01.)

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jerry, I liked GROUNDHOG DAY, too. Diane and Katie saw the play version of GROUNDHOG DAY on Broadway a couple years ago. They liked the play as much as the movie!

      Reply

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