Palm Springs: 5 Of The Funniest Scenes (& 5 Of The Most Heartbreaking)
Palm Springs, the rom-com released on Hulu, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received critical acclaim. In the tradition of Groundhog Day and other movies revolving around a time loop, Palm Springs shines because of the wonderful performances of Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti who play complicated yet funny characters.
The cast also includes J.K Simmons and Camila Mendes. With the premise and scope being quite small, the movie allows viewers to immerse themselves fully into the characters and their worldviews. Andy plays Nyles and Cristin plays Sarah and it is their comical adventures and heartbreaking moments in the time loop that keeps the audiences engaged.
10 Funniest: Nyles Getting Shot By An Arrow
While Nyles and Sarah start to get busy, they are disturbed by a random arrow that is shot at Nyles. Their reactions to this, and the chase by Roy that follows, are hilarious. Sarah is shocked and cannot comprehend why there are arrows being shot at Nyles. Nyles is aware of who is doing it and why and is just trying to escape.
Roy runs in completely covered in black and chases Nyles away. The sequence of events and the absurdity of it all makes it one of the funniest scenes.
9 Heartbreaking: Sarah Waking Up After Driving Home To Texas
When she is initially pulled into the time loop, Sarah struggles to come to terms with it. She drives back home and tries very hard to keep herself awake so as to not wake up again in Palm Springs. But she doesn't accomplish this and her eyes inadvertently do close and she is once again back in bed in the resort.
It is heartbreaking to watch Sarah's initial struggles when viewers see the lengths she goes to, to avoid waking up back there.
8 Funniest: Misty Cheating On Nyles In Every Iteration
At every opportunity, Nyles and the viewers get a glimpse of Misty cheating on him. This becomes a running joke through the movie, with Sarah even going on to prank her and the scene in the bathroom with Misty getting disturbed by the man in a blindfold is hilarious.
When Nyles says, "You're cheating on me, you goof," in reply to Misty's questioning about Sarah's presence, viewers cannot help but laugh.
7 Heartbreaking: Sarah Talking About Her First Marriage
When Sarah delves into details about the situations surrounding her first marriage, her monologue is quite heartbreaking. She talks in a very matter-of-fact manner, but her short-lived marriage was something that deeply affected her and made her as cynical about love and marriage as she is now.
She shares these details with Nyles when he goes on a tirade about how it's not important to know anything more about a person than who they presently are, to try to make him understand how history is important in order to not make the same mistakes again.
6 Funniest: Roy & Nyles On Drugs
Andy Samberg and J.K Simmons give viewers one of the funniest scenes in the movies in the aftermath of their drug-fuelled adventure, as they are comically paranoid in a tub and then dance together.
Nyles is already stuck in the time loop, so he doesn't really care about being perceived in any particular way and so readily goes to the officiant in the middle of his speech and takes the "sweets" off of him. Roy and Nyles then proceed to consume these drugs and the antics that proceed are hilarious on many levels.
5 Heartbreaking: Nyles Being Afraid To Leave
When Sarah discovers a way out and plans for them to leave the time loop that very night, Nyles is incredibly hesitant. Sarah rightly calls him out for being afraid to leave. Viewers get to see how entrenched Nyles feels and how difficult he finds the prospect of leaving the life he had been living for such a long time.
While one would assume that anyone would want to immediately escape from such a situation, it is quite sad to see how difficult Nyles finds the prospect of doing so.
4 Funniest: Roy's Different Versions Of Taking Revenge
Fire burns in his eyes when Roy flicks his cigar to light Nyles and the entire swimming pool on fire and the grotesqueness of the scene doesn't reduce its comic value.
Roy takes revenge on Nyles for bringing him into the time loop and he uses the well-established fact that people stuck in the time loop can feel pain, to his advantage. The different ways in which he tries to hurt Nyles is painful yet hilarious at the same time.
3 Heartbreaking: Sarah Waking Up Everyday In Abe's Bed
It is only a little into the movie that viewers see how Sarah has been waking up in Abe's bed every day and when the realization hits her, it is incredibly painful to watch. Sarah realizes how badly she has messed up by sleeping with her sister's fiance the day before the wedding and having to repeatedly wake up every day to her biggest regret is heartbreaking, to say the least.
While she is growing to become a better person, the very fact that every day starts in this manner makes it impossible for her to rest until she gets out of the time loop.
2 Funniest: Nyles & Sarah's Dance
In short clips, viewers get to see Nyles and Sarah choreographing a dance, and eventually, there is a full-blown dance sequence in the movie. It is one of the cutest and funniest scenes in Palm Springs. There is a certain innocence and earnestness in their relationship that this comical dance sequence only accentuates.
For a while, they decide to fully lean into the transcendental nature of their experience and just have fun. This includes their dance and these moments are really joyful to watch.
1 Heartbreaking: Nyles Going Mad When Sarah Disappears
When Sarah is hit with the full intensity of her actions, she decides that she needs to get out of the time loop. She disappears for days at end, preparing and studying to do so. Meanwhile, Nyles is left alone with no knowledge of Sarah's plans and he is heartbroken.
He acknowledges his feelings for Sarah and is severely hurt by her sudden leaving. He had, by this point, become so used to her company that he is positively miserable without her around.