Palm Springs, premiering on Hulu this week, explores the potential romance of two strangers who find themselves stuck in a time loop. After being sold at Sundance for the highest bid ever, and receiving widespread critical acclaim, word of mouth is strong for this out-of-the-box romantic comedy.
The cast is led by Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, who play the time-crossed lovers in question. The stars chatted with Screen Rant about what the film says to them and why their characters are so unique.
Andy, first question's for you. Nyles lives up to his name, and he definitely takes a nihilistic outlook on life. Can you explain your character and his perspective early in the film?
Andy Samberg: Yeah, for sure. When you first meet him, it feels to the viewer probably like he is the coolest guy ever. I don't know. Those are not my words, but he's in complete control. He somehow knows everything that's happening and is the master of of this world. And then the longer it goes on, the more you realize he's maybe so broken and so resigned to his situation that he's actually just given up. And there's something about that [which] I found really funny, but also very compelling in a dramatic way.
Cristin, Sarah is described as the black sheep of the family. What sets her apart from her sister and maybe some of the other people that are at the wedding?
Cristin Milioti: I think that she's in an immense amount of pain when we meet her, and sort of drowning in her own shame. And I think that she's refusing to look at her own shit, for lack of a better term. Do you know what I mean? She's just continuing to try and escape herself, even before she gets stuck in a time loop. You get the sense that this has been a lifelong thing with her.
I think, maybe, how she presents herself is very confident and like, "I've got everything under control," whatever. But, similarly, you get to find out that she's very, very broken.
Overall, I think this film has a great message. But what do you think this film has to say about romance and finding the one for you?
Andy Samberg: Well, with giving too much away... When I first read it and I talked to the writer, Andy Siara, we both talked a lot about how it's working in the space of the moment where you decided to take the leap. That can be a really terrifying thing to do for a lot of people, and we both felt like we were people that had done that and been rewarded for it and felt happy about it. And even in instances like Sarah and Nyles, where they're both kind of really fucked up people that have a lot of things to work out, it doesn't mean they don't deserve an opportunity to do that.
I feel like a lot of people in this world feel like they don't deserve love or deserve the chance to be in a relationship or to share that experience with people because they don't love themselves yet. The message, hopefully, from the movie is that is not the case.
This movie was sold at Sundance for the highest total ever. Is that a badge of honor for you guys? Or does that come with added pressure?
Cristin Milioti: I'm honored. I also think it's so funny that it's by 69 cents. That is so funny.
Andy Samberg: I keep saying Hulu insisted on the 69 cents.
Being stuck in in lockdown in the same place, sometimes doing the same thing, do you feel like this movie can speak a little bit more to people being confined to a place that they're very familiar with?
Andy Samberg: Certainly, yeah. I think Cristin has talked about this a lot, and I agree: it's this theme of being trapped with yourself. I think quarantine is certainly giving that experience to all of. People are trapped in the relationship they're in, and having to examine that and decide if they're happy or unhappy. And if they're alone, they're having to face that, and deal with what that feels like and what it means. And it can be terrifying, certainly.
Cristin Milioti: It's magnified it, for sure. But I think that was one of my favorite aspects of it when I even first read it, which was obviously a long time ago. I was like, "Oh, yeah." I feel like that's part of growing up; you try and escape yourself, and you don't want to deal with certain things. Even us as just [people]; there's so many distractions you can have. You can drink, you can watch crap, you can eat a bunch of candy - and then at the end of the day, you have to deal with yourself.
