Four stars. Rated R, for sexual content, brief violence, drug use and relentless profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 7.31.20
Some films shouldn’t be discussed ahead of time, because so much of the joy comes from being caught off-guard by the unexpected twists, turns and sidebar surprises orchestrated by an audaciously clever writer and director.
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| With nothing to do until the wedding ceremony begins in a few hours, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) and Nyles (Andy Samberg) enjoy some quality time ... in a pool belonging to folks who are out of town. |
That’s definitely the case with this snarky rom-com, available via Hulu. Director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara play us like a fiddle. Considering this is the feature debut for both, that result is even more impressive.
So I’m inclined to simply say, Check it out; you’ll have a lot of fun — allowing for a tad too many F-bombs — and leave it at that. Because I can’t really say anything else, without giving too much away.
Still with me?
Okay then: On your head be it.
Barbakow and Siara open on a goat. Somewhere in the desert.
It’ll be an important goat.
Elsewhere, Nyles (Andy Samberg) wakens to the petulant whine of Misty (Meredith Hagner), his self-centered Girlfriend From Hell. They’re in Palm Springs for the destination wedding of friends Tala and Abe (Camila Mendes and Tyler Hoechlin), taking place later this day at a fancy desert resort.
Nyles seems to subsist on beer and burritos; he has the scruffy, apathetic attitude of a failure-to-launch. Even so, his casual indifference — as the day proceeds — seems unnecessarily boorish. Couple this behavior with considerable vulgarity and profanity, and it feels like we’ve wandered into an aggressively crude Seth Rogen comedy.
Not so; just be patient.
Evening falls; the ceremony concludes; the microphone is passed around. Misty’s toast is absolutely ghastly and tone-deaf. The bride’s parents — Howard and Pia (Peter Gallagher and Jacquiline Obradors) — pass the baton to Tala’s older sister Sarah (Cristin Milioti), maid of honor and, one would expect, next to speak. But Sarah, tongue-tied and terrified — having consumed perhaps a few too many glasses of wine — stands silently, like a deer in headlights.
Enter Nyles, who snatches the microphone and saves the moment with a truly terrific speech. (Who’d have thought?)
Despite being an aloof tough cookie, Sarah appreciates the rescue. Cue some flirty banter — Samberg’s goofy grin matched by Milioti’s mischievous sparkle — and a walk, under the stars, in the nearby desert.
At which point, this romantic tableau is interrupted by an enraged, camo-garbed lunatic named Roy (the always reliable J.K. Simmons), who makes a rather unconventional entrance. Chaos ensues; Nyles eventually trails Roy into a mountain cave suffused with an odd red glow. “Don’t follow me,” he warns Sarah.
But of course she does. Who wouldn’t?
Fade to black.
Nyles wakens to the petulant whine of Misty, his self-centered Girlfriend From Hell. They’re in Palm Springs for the destination wedding of friends Tala and Abe, taking place later this day at a fancy desert resort.
But Sarah also wakens precisely as she did the day before … much to her mounting horror, as realization sets in.
So okay; you’re thinking 1993’s Groundhog Day, which must’ve inspired Siara at least a little. But he takes us in an entirely different direction; the parameters — and approach — are unique. The re-boot actually occurs upon falling asleep (shades of Invasion of the Body Snatchers), or any other loss of consciousness. Nor are Nyles and Sarah confined to this location; they can go anywhere imagination and plenty of caffeine will take them … but they’ll still waken back at the Palm Springs resort.
And, of course, the kicker: They’re fully aware this is happening. Memory isn’t wiped.
Nyles has been stuck in this loop for a long time … and thus his earlier lethargy makes complete sense. He’s resigned and weary, having crammed several lifetimes’ worth of escape attempts into the same 24 hours; he has lost the ability to care about anything. Samberg and Milioti have a lot of fun with the sequence where Nyles tries to explain all this to Sarah, who is (by turns) terrified, enraged and unwilling to accept her fate.
And that really is all I intend to reveal.
Siara constantly challenges our assumptions and expectations; the narrative repeatedly expands to reveal details that weren’t initially obvious. Various people come in and out of focus; seemingly inconsequential characters become more important. Dale Dickey is a hoot as an aging biker babe, and June Squibb briefly pops up as Abe’s grandmother. Pay very close attention to her few lines of dialogue.
We learn a lot more about Roy, and Simmons has fun with his character’s wild mood swings. Ultimately, he adds a welcome note of emotional sincerity to this otherwise chaotic situation.
Nyles isn’t much of a stretch for Samberg, who relies on many of the mannerisms we’ve seen for years in TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Even so, Nyles veers wildly from hapless and resigned, to insightful and thoughtful: all with Samberg’s smirky grin.
Milioti is a revelation. Her extensive television credits are jaw-dropping, and she makes a solid leap here to feature stardom. Watching Sarah navigate the seven stages of grief is a delightful exercise in nuance, and she comes close to stealing the film.
When so many actors deliver such engaging performances, they’ve clearly been well guided by an attentive director. Granted, the cast is laden with strong professionals, but Barbakow still deserves a well-earned bow.
On the other hand, he relies too much on the more than two dozen pop songs thrown into the soundtrack, often seemingly at random; only rarely do the tunes complement what’s taking place in the moment. They become seriously distracting, and they definitely interfere with composer Matthew Compton’s efforts at an underscore.
Barbakow and Siara bring their fantasy to a potentially ambiguous “conclusion” that’ll spark passionate debate for years to come … which, obviously, is part of the game. Quite fun.
And don’t switch the TV off too quickly, or you’ll miss a crucial short scene inserted midway through the end credits crawl.
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