Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Palm Springs 

This is one of the most wholesome films I’ve seen all year. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti deliver outstanding lead performances that’s both hilarious but also emotionally sincere. The film uses the style that Groundhog Day originated so many years ago of time repeating itself. Now theirs been plenty of films that try to be smart like Groundhog Day and just do a carbon copy but the best ones are the ones that try to use the same style but bring it into a new direction by trying something fresh and different. That’s exactly what Happy Death Day did it brought it into new territory while using the same genre and style but making it new and different which is what made that film so memorable. 

Firstly, Now this film does the same thing it takes the nuts and bolts of the same style but veers the story in a direction I have not seen before which had me so engaged into the story. As the film is able to use the time loop genre while also having great elements of humour, romance and great heart that worked so well as it never felt forced or cheesy but came across so natural. The film delves into the deep emotional layers of what the state your mind would be in if you were in an infinite time loop and it asks the question should you give up trying and just accept it or should you try to see if you can break the time loop. Theirs great deep rooted thought provoking questions about the genre that’s never been touched upon before that really hit me hard and had quite a impact. It shows the great wit and humour of the situations at times but isn’t afraid to delve into the more serious aspects of the story and really hit you with deep emotionally raw and honest moments that brought tears to my eyes. The story is layered in amazing character and narrative depth that didn’t rely on the genre to carry the story through but it actually attempted and did a fantastic job at showing a new side to this genre that had not been explored in this Kind of way. While showcasing these fantastic well written characters full of so much heart that you can’t help but fall in love with. 

Secondly, This films two lead performances are amazing. Andy Sandberg delivers an incredible performance of great depth he’s never shown onscreen before. Andy gives us the charming wit we all love to see but this time around he sheds his layers back and shows a great new side to him we’ve never seen a more dramatic Element of him. What’s great about what he brings to the film is he’s able to be this overly confident character but the character even though he’s overly confident has this tenderness and vulnerability we learn about as the film progresses and Sandberg brings this very raw emotional honesty to the screen that will hit you very deeply. Then you have Cristin Milioti who delivers a high caliber performance you can’t look away from. She definitely is the more dramatic and serious character out of the two actors but what I love about her approach to the character is she never played it one hundred percent serious she explores other depths of the character as well. She’s able to bring a fiery passion to her delivery of her dialogue with great vulnerability but also have fantastic moments of pure humour that is brilliantly brought to the screen. She’s able to show at times a very emotionally raw side to her while also showing her more fun and humorous side she has an even balance of both and delivers a strong performance that is so entertaining to watch. The rest of the cast is great everyone gives  terrific performances but it’s the two leads that steal the show. 

Lastly, Palm Springs is a breath of fresh air that shows a different take on the time loop genre. It strips away the over the top style of it all and really focuses on these two characters and seeing how they both cope with being in this endless loop. It asks some very hard hitting questions which I’ve never seen done in this kind of film since Groundhog Day. It’s brilliantly written and directed the performances are amazing by Sandberg and Milioti. It’s emotional and funny wrapped into one with a touch of romance Palm Springs is a great film I can’t wait to watch again and again. I highly recommend people go check this film out. 

Rated R : sexual content, language 

This film revolves around two people after a fun night notice they are living in the same day over and over and what starts as fun becomes stressful real quick as they try to find their way out of the never ending loop

Andy Sandberg : Sandberg shows a whole new side to him and delivers one of his finest performances yet!  Andy Sandberg is known for his comedic performances from his work on SNL and the hit comedy series Brooklyn nine nine. He’s very much a comedic actor and we’ve never seen him do anything outside of comedy so when I saw this I thought he was just going to stick to the funny persona we know him for. That being said he did surprise me as he doesn’t play this performance one sided it’s very much a three dimensional performance that yes has a lot of comedy and fun wit but also shows a different side to him we have not seen before. Sandberg plays this overly confident guy who at first glance seems very sure of himself and he’s instantly likeable but what I loved about his approach to the character was that sure he may come across as cocky and overly confident but theirs a tenderness and vulnerability to him that is so well exploded throughout the film. Andy is able to bring this charming persona to the surface that is so comedically hilarious that you can’t look away. At the same time while the film progresses we learn about these two characters and their flaws and good sides and bad sides. Without spoiling anything he is very emotionally detached in the way that he doesn’t let himself get attached to people easily as he doesn’t like being hurt. We see the emotional pain later on and the way that Samberg brings that raw emotional vulnerability through his performance really moved me to tears as you can see the sheer pain in his eyes and the way he delivers his lines he is committed one hundred and ten percent to every scene. As he has this shield up around him and when he lets the person in he feels this sense of emotional security that comforts him but once it’s gone he is a emotional mess and dose not know what to do to pick himself back up and his ability to switch from cocky humour to heart shattering emotion really amazed me. As this is a side to him we’ve never seen and I want to see Andy tackle more characters like this as he plays the perfect mix of comedy and emotional drama that worked greatly as we got to see more then just one side to him. The scenes where he’s being dramatic and emotional I actually enjoyed more then the comedic parts of his performance as he really shined amazingly well in those moments going to some very dark places emotionally and it’s incredible. Andy Sandberg wraps himself up in such a fun performance that gets him the ability to show off his more dramatic strengths which we’ve never seen before in such a real and raw way while also showing great times humour that will have you laughing as well. Sandberg delivers the perfect mix of humour and emotion that blew me away his performance in this film is truly outstanding. 

Cristin Milioti : Milioti delivers an emotionally charged performance sprinkled with fun humour!  Cristin Milioti delivers a terrific performance that in many ways for me stole the show. She definitely has the more serious character compared to Samberg as she is very much emotionally reserved and doesn’t talk about herself as much in the beginning but it’s Andy character that gets her to open up. She has this constant panic and determination constantly inside her and we see how she wants to get out of the time loop and it comes across as comedy but I took it as drama. As she’s funny she definitely doesn’t try to flex her comedic chops like Andy does not saying she’s not good at being comedic but she definitely went the more serious route for the character and for the character it definitely worked to her benefit. As not for one moment do you feel she’s overdoing it she always felt real and very authentic as you can see from the pain in her eyes and the look of terror that she wants to get out and it’s both heartbreaking and inspiring as she dose not give up. The way she brings her dialogue to life was so well done as she could bring this wit to it that feels like dry sarcasm and the next she can be in a fit of emotional rage and just pour her heart out and just hold back tears from breaking apart. And then she can be very vulnerable and very gentle and open herself up and not be so guarded her performance is very much like Andy in the way their very complex characters and they both give multi dimensional performances you can’t look away from. She’s very much the heartbeat of the film as she is what keeps Andy from feeling lost and also she herself has to keep herself motivated constantly from giving up and the way he expresses that emotion onscreen was so well executed as she brought me to tears with her strong performance in this film Milioti is truly outstanding in this film giving a terrific performance. 

Max Barbakow : Max brings this genre into new territory that was so refreshing! What I like about his approach to this genre that to some can be seen as overdone. He doesn’t retread waters that have been done before he instead finds a way to explore the themes of the time loop in a very emotionally authentic and refreshing way. The film never really feels one sided as he’s constantly throwing new things at the audience on minute it’s funny and comedic the next it’s hard hitting emotion and then theirs romance. It never came across as sloppy but he veered the film in all these different tonal directions that worked. How it worked was due to the brilliant writing and directing at hand as it never seemed forced or over the top but very natural and the tones eased into the scenes and would shift in and out which was perfect. The film has this great balance of tones as I mentioned but at the same time the film also tackles hard hitting questions about life and I haven’t seen a film ask these kind of questions since Groundhog Day. He never let the style override the heart of the story he made sure the story was strong enough to be able to tell then he looked at the style which he did in a great way that never seemed over the top. As well as getting great performances from his two lead actors and the rest of the cast. He crafted a film with this new take on the style of the time loop genre that has been done before but makes it fun and thought provoking in a way that hasn’t been handled like this in a very long time. Overall Max brings strong direction to this film with the perfect blend of comedy emotional depth and romance that made for a entertaining film overall strong direction by Max Barbakow