In 2020, Hulu released the movie Palm Springs onto their streaming service. They acquired the movie alongside Neon in a co-distribution deal for the hit Sundance film starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Miloti. The movie follows two strangers who meet at a wedding and find themselves stuck in a time loop. Time loop movies often bring the hit 1993 film Groundhog Day to mind. While time loop storylines had existed before, Groundhog Day struck such a specific chord with the audience that the title of the movie became shorthand for describing a time loop movie. There have been plenty in the years since Groundhog Day, with notable recent additions like 2014's Edge of Tomorrow and 2017's Happy Death Day.

Yet Palm Springs, a $5 million budget comedy from the creative minds of the comedy band Lonely Island, might be the best version of this story since Groundhog Day. It accomplishes this with a combination of great central characters that can represent two different viewpoints, examining the tragic nature of being stuck in one moment in time, revitalizing a classic genre and the circumstance behind the film's release which makes it feel all the more relevant.

Palm Springs' Two Characters Represent Opposing Mindsets in Time Loop Fiction

Andy Samberg and Cristin Millioti in Palm Springs
Neon / Hulu

Unlike that philosophical masterpiece Groundhog Day, which sees one character stuck in a time loop, Palm Springs features two main characters going through it. Sarah (Miloti) is the audience POV who has the rules of the film explained to her by Niles (Samberg), who has been stuck in the loop for quite some time that he has even forgotten exactly how long he has been stuck there. Like all versions of the time loop story, Sarah originally is resistant to the idea but soon begins to embrace her life in the time loop with no consequences. However, Sarah eventually begins to want a break from the routine, and vows to discover a way out of the loop..

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Niles on the other hand has not only become accustomed to his life in the time loop, but he has become so comfortable in the world that he has created the idea of a tomorrow that is terrifying. Moving forward with life is a scary concept because that means uncertainty. Sarah represents the need to break away from the past, while Niles is the embodiment of the nostalgic past being more appealing than an uncertain future. In the end, though, Niles takes the leap of faith with Sarah to break the loop and move forward with his life.

Emotional Cost of Living in the Past

Palm Springs Breaks Hulu Streaming Record for Biggest Debut Weekend
Neon / Hulu

One of Palm Springs' most ingenious decisions is to introduce a third character stuck in the time loop, Roy (J.K. Simmons). Roy is stuck in the loop because of Niles and now has found himself occasionally killing Niles every now and then as a form of revenge for getting him stuck in the time loop. When Niles talks to Roy, he realizes what he took from him. Roy will never live to see his children grow up. Roy will have to wake up every day knowing he is stuck in this cycle, and one imagines how psychologically damaging that is on a person. Roy's story is the real tragedy of Palm Springs (a tragedy which can only really occur to someone invested in the lives of others), yet the mid-credit scene gives the audience hope he will escape this prison.

Palm Springs is a Rom-Com Reimagined

Hulu's Palm Springs Trailer Catches Andy Samberg in a Twisted Time Loop
Neon / Hulu

The major studio romantic comedy (or rom-com) used to be a constantly reliable box office draw for decades. Yet starting around the late 2000s and beginning of the 2010s, the romantic comedy started to lose some viability at the box office. Palm Springs, like many other notable romantic comedies in the past few years like Set It Up and To All The Boys I Loved Before, is a streaming film (though Palm Springs did have a limited theatrical release), freeing it from the demands of the box office.

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Nonetheless, the time-loop premise is a great twist on the genre that offers something new for audiences. Romantic comedies, like many genres, tend to follow a pretty strict formula that most audiences know well. Mixing that with the conventions of a time-loop movie allows for some fresh reinterpretation of tropes in both genres, but also allows it to put a spotlight on unexplored territory that either a traditional romantic comedy or a straightforward time-loop movie could not. There isn't another romantic comedy quite like Palm Springs because of its unique premise and mixing of two genres, which helps it stand out from the pack.

The COVID-19 Release Date Made it More Relevant

Palm Springs film
Neon / Hulu

Palm Springs' greatness is also partially due to unforeseen circumstances around its release. While it was filmed in 2019 and screened at Sundance in January 2020, by the time it hit Hulu on July 10, 2020, it was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. By July most major US cities had been under some form of lockdown or minimal contact for over four months, meaning many viewers who watched Palm Springs likely were in the same mindset as the characters. Stuck waking up repeating the same routine over and over again day after day, wondering when their exile would end.

Palm Springs became a reflection of the world the audience was living in. Life stopped for many people, with an uncertain future of when everything would resume. A vaccine was still months away and people were stuck at home, finding ways to entertain themselves. Much like being stuck in a time loop, the days started to blur together for many, as the major events that would help one define time were stripped away. Palm Springs became the unintended timely movie of 2020 by tapping into the anxiety of being stuck in place, and might be the best movie about the COVID-19 pandemic not actually about the pandemic itself.