![]() ![]() He laments that she followed him, having once encouraged another person to join him in the world of no tomorrows (a rueful Roy, played by J.K. She wakes up in her bed and relives the wedding day again, learning she too is now trapped in that 24-hour loop with Nyles. Sarah becomes smitten with him, against her better judgment, follows him into a mysterious glowing cave. Nyles (Andy Samberg) seems prescient on the dance floor, has a prepared speech that earns tears, and strolls through the reception like he owns it. There's one wedding guest that seems to stand out. It's the day of the wedding for Sarah's (Cristin Milioti) sister. Palm Springs deserves to be added to that list of hallowed time loop movies. It requires a creative storyteller with a big imagination for details, but when done correctly, the time loop movie can be a wealth of satisfying payoffs and intriguing detours. It builds out its world and makes it feel richer and more intricate, all the little stories and characters that might have been missed had there only been a single avenue. It's a creative conceit that rests on building patterns and subverting expectations, allowing a writer an unparalleled opportunity to retell a story, pulling at the edges and getting to answer an assembly of "But what if?" questions. By this rate, most audiences should be familiar with the time loop formula, from comedy classic Groundhog Day to Source Code to Edge of Tomorrow to Netflix's audacious series, Russian Doll. It has serious moments of lethargy but worth watching for it's metaphoric approach to life and to see Ferrell command the screen with depth, in a rare dramatic role.I am a sucker for a clever time travel tale, or parallel universes, a sci-fi story where the creative ingenuity is front and center, and Palm Springs is a delightful new rom-com bursting with imagination. More of a tragi-comedy with the emphasis on the former. However, the theme of a downward spiralling individual forced to confront his past - and his addictive problems - is reflected well, in the coveting of material objects and their relevance to a person as a whole. Unfortunately, for him though, the whole film rests on his shoulders most of the other characters are secondary with Laura Dern, particularly wasted, in a thankless bit-part. I'm not normally a fan of his brand of comedy but as a dramatic actor he's actually quite good. That being said, there is still plenty to admire here and that mainly comes in the form of Ferrell, who flexes his acting chops in a more serious role than audiences will be used to. As a result the dramatic weight is lessened and your concentration begins to waver. Despite a series of very good moments and the struggle and believable, emotional downfall of the protagonist, it has a series of lulls which just felt like padding. This had been a short story for a reason there just isn't enough material to cover the ground of a 90 minute feature - and it's shows. Where Altman got it right though, was in keeping all the segments little tales of their own and never fleshed them out too far. It's based on the short story "Why Don't You Dance?" by Raymond Carver who was responsible for the serious of vignettes that made up Robert Altman's magnificent film "Short Cuts". The problem with this film is that the material doesn't stretch far enough. The problem with this film isn't Ferrell as I'd expected it to be. Not before long, Nick starts to makes friends with the neighbours who help him sell his stuff. As this is not legal, his cop friend and AA sponsor (Michael Peña) suggests that he pretends to be having a yard sale to buy him some time. He refuses to accept this though and decides to camp out in his chair and drink beer for days on end. When he returns home, he finds that his wife has left him, locked him out of the house and left all his belongings on the front lawn. Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) is fired from his sales job for his reliance on alcohol. Thankfully, this is Ferrell minus his funny bone and as he plays it straight, he delivers some impressive work. Don't get wrong, I've enjoyed some films of his: "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Elf" are a couple but for the most part his humour just doesn't work for me. ![]() Anyone that's been reading my reviews for any length of time will be aware of my dislike for the humour of Will Ferrell. ![]()
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