With all the big summer movies being delayed, Palm Springs was a warm welcome when it was released on VOD this week. The excellent high-concept comedy stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two people attending a wedding who find themselves stuck in a time loop together.
The time loop concept has been done many times over a variety of genres, but Palm Springs manages to find a new and clever approach to the familiar idea. Even more impressively, the film also manages to be a hilarious and charming romantic comedy.
Time Loop: Source Code (2011)
Part of the fun of time loop movies is seeing the people stuck inside them learn more and more each time. Palm Springs has a lot of fun with this and Source Code cleverly takes that idea to build a mystery story around it.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a soldier transported into the body of a man who was killed alongside other passengers when a train exploded. The soldier is sent back in time, again and again, to discover who was responsible for the bombing.
Rom-Com: Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
The wedding setting for Palm Springs seems to be ideal for romantic-comedies as it provides a chaotic atmosphere with romance in the air. One of the most charming rom-coms to also use this setting is Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Huge Grant had his breakout role in the film in which he plays a bachelor who finds himself falling in love with a woman he keeps seeing at various social events. Though not stuck in a loop, the recurring wedding events does give the story a similar vibe.
Time Loop: Triangle (2009)
Given its light approach, Palm Springs does a great job of keeping its high-concept rather simple for audiences to follow along with. Some time loop movies like to go for a more mind-bending story like the thriller Triangle.
The movie follows a group of friends who go sailing one day when their boat capsizes. They take refuge in a seemingly abandoned cruise ship but discover that they, or versions of them, have been there before. The movie can be a lot to wrap one's head around but it makes for a fun and wild ride.
Rom-Com: Trainwreck (2015)
Part of what makes Palm Springs a unique rom-com is with its honest main characters. Samberg and Milioti are both excellent in the film as characters who make some pretty big mistakes but are more interesting because of their flaws and growth.
Trainwreck is another hilarious movie that is also about a person's growth from Judd Apatow. Amy Schumer stars as a young woman who refuses to commit to a relationship but finds herself falling for a steady boyfriend. She is forced to come to terms with her own anxieties and avoid sabotaging her relationship
Time Loop: Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Taking the time loop idea and applying it to a big-scale action movie is a brilliant idea and Edge of Tomorrow doesn't waste that good idea. Tom Cruise stars as a soldier who dies during a battle against alien invaders only to be brought back to life and forced to fight in the battle over and over.
The concept makes for some great action sequences as Cruise learns how to survive longer each time and uses his knowledge to fight back against the more powerful enemy. It is a thrilling and clever bit of blockbuster entertainment.
Rom-Com: Yesterday (2019)
Another romantic-comedy that gets a lot of mileage out of its clever premise is Danny Boyle's Yesterday. The movie follows a struggling musician who wakes up after an accident and discovers that he is the only person in the world who remembers the music of The Beatles.
Admittedly, the concept is far more interesting than what this movie does with it. However, it is another fun movie that fits a romantic story in the middle of a fantastical concept which makes for some truly clever moments.
Time Loop: Happy Death Day (2017)
It was only a matter of time before the slasher genre got a time loop movie of its own and Happy Death Day delivers a solid one. The film follows a young woman who wakes up on her birthday and ends up being killed by a masked person only to wake up and start the day over again.
The movie wisely has a lot of fun with the premise and adds in a lot of comedy. There is also a satisfying arc as the main character also attempts to become a better person while trying to learn the identity of her killer.
Rom-Com: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Like Palm Springs, Crazy Rich Asians has a lot of fun with its wedding setting while telling an engrossing and entertaining romance story. Constance Wu stars as an Asian-American woman who accompanies her boyfriend to a family wedding only to discover he is part of one of China's richest families.
The movie is such an energetic and fun ride with a fantastic cast who bring so much to the story. Once again, the wild wedding setting adds a lot to the story as does the look at Chinese culture in a Hollywood film.
Time Loop: Groundhog Day (1993)
The whole time loop genre started with one brilliant comedy from Harold Ramis. Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray as a cynical weatherman covering a Groundhog Day festival in a small town who finds himself reliving the day over and over again.
The movie established many of the tropes of the genre, such as the character using the loop to their advantage and them eventually learning to be a better person. It is such a wonderfully clever movie executed so perfectly and featuring a great performance from Bill Murray.
Rom-Com: Bridesmaids (2011)
Yet another hilarious comedy set in the mad world of weddings is Bridesmaids. Kristen Wiig wrote and stars in the film about a woman who is asked to be the Maid of Honor at her best friend's wedding while her own life is falling apart.
Wiig is hilarious and she is surrounded by some equally hilarious women like Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne who make up the other colorful bridesmaids. It's a great look at how hilariously destructive weddings can be.