DIRECTED BY-:
Max Barbakow
STARRING-:
Andy Samberg
Cristin Milioti
J.K.Simmons
YEAR OF RELEASE-:
2020
PREMISE-:
Stuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS.
THE NEGATIVES-: - Roy COINCIDENTALLY arrives in Palm Springs the very next day after Nyles and Sarah have sex.
- Near the end, the film unfortunately incorporates one of the age-old cliches of romantic comedies, i.e, “The guy conveniently gets a burst of motivation to go after the love of his life after an older & “wiser” person accidentally and unintentionally says something deep and personally affecting”.
- Even though the film (thankfully) never indulges much in exploring the life of the people OUTSIDE the time loop, it would’ve still been better if at least SOME of the following questions weren’t left unanswered-:
- What happens to the lives of the people who aren’t in the time loop? Does the day reset for each one of them too, but they don’t retain their memories in the same way Nyles, Sarah, Roy (and possibly Nana) do? Or does life outside the time loop carry on WITHOUT the people stuck in the loop? In which case, when the people who were stuck inside the loop come “outside” the loop, what do they come back to?
THE POSITIVES-: - Although Cristin Milioti does an excellent job at portraying her character, it is undoubtedly Andy Samberg who steals the show and gives one of his career-best performances. He has always been a fantastic comedic actor; but here, he once again proves that he’s a master at blending heavy drama with his fun, goofy and love-able persona. The chemistry between him and Cristin also felt very authentic and believable. And of course, J.K. Simmons, as always, was a delight to watch.
- The music and cinematography of the film don’t particularly stand out, but, in my opinion, the cinematography (and the film’s visual style) was better executed and much more memorable than the music of the film.
- The writers fully utilized the “time-loop” concept to tell hilarious jokes, which, for me, worked 99% of the time.
- The motivations, conflicts, and the shifting dynamics between the main characters (Nyles, Sarah, and Roy) were written very well. The “journey” of the characters followed a sense of logical progression while simultaneously being engaging and interesting.
- The film skillfully excelled at exploring several philosophical themes (the value of life, our efforts to find and define morality, meaning, and love when nothing in life matters, how memories play a key role in forming our perception of time, how we often crave normalcy even when normalcy seems like purgatory, and most importantly, how said “purgatory” can be extremely pleasant & comforting with the right person) without becoming overbearing, self-indulgent and pretentious. Thankfully, the film’s main focus was always on building up its characters and relationships, while telling humorous jokes spliced in between refreshing heartfelt moments. As a result, in the end, the film’s philosophical subtext worked beautifully as the metaphorical icing on a delicious and masterfully baked cake.
RATING -: 7/10
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