Originally slated for a fall box office release until You Know What went down earlier this year, Palm Springs is a hugely entertaining time-loop comedy starring Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother). It premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is now available for VoD streaming at home. So let that Harry Potter box-set gather a bit more dust in the garage - follow our guide and find out how to watch Palm Springs online and stream the new Hulu exclusive today.
Released: 2020
Director: Max Barbakow
Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Peter Gallagher, and J. K. Simmons
Run time: 87 minutes
Rating: R (sex, drugs, language)
Stream now: Try Hulu for FREE
Palm Springs smashed the record for a Sundance pick-up when Hulu and Neon splashed over $17.5m for the rights to the movie, surpassing 2016's The Birth of a Nation by the surely straight-faced sum of 69 cents.
It's being hailed as the spiritual successor to 1993 masterpiece Groundhog Day, following proud slacker Nyles (Samberg) and cynical bridesmaid Sarah (Milioti) as they get stuck in a vortex and are forced to relive the horror of a Palm Springs wedding over and over again. The idea of being stuck in an endless cycle where the same things happen every day and nothing ever seems to changes? It's something most of us will resonate with this year, as the world slowly starts to move on from 2020's unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.
The movie also features Academy Awards-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Peter Gallagher - probably best known as the Dad in The O.C - so there's plenty of additional acting chops, if for some reason we didn't already have you at 'Groundhog Day'. Let's cut to chase then - here's how to watch Palm Springs online and stream the new Andy Samberg movie on Hulu right now.
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How to watch Palm Springs for FREE with Hulu in the US
Why should I watch Palm Springs?
For quite a few reasons, as it happens.
Sundance records don't get smashed for any ol' film school project - even if, rather impressively, that's exactly what Palm Springs is.
The movie is a labor of love for screenwriter Andy Siara, who drafted the first Palm Springs script when he was still a film student at AFI. It started to take shape between 2015 and 2017, when Siara joined up with fellow AFI attendee Max Barbakow - the movie's director. A year later in 2018, a finished version landed in Andy Samberg's inbox, the SNL veteran threw the weight of his Lonely Island production company behind it, and the rest is 69 cents worth of history.
In particular, Palm Springs has been widely praised for its reworking of the time-loop formula immortalized by Bill Murray, Punxsutawney and Groundhog Day. At the time of writing, it boasted a 97% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the movie review aggregator site saying: "Strong performances, assured direction, and a refreshingly original concept make Palm Springs a romcom that's easy to fall in love with."
Clocking it at just under 1 hour and 30 minutes, it's the kind of concise watch that's perfect to pop on when you've got some spare time on your hands. Because honestly, open or otherwise...heading back to that Bikram yoga class right now? Probably better to be trapped in a vortex with the person you vaguely crushed on the last time you were stuck at an unfortunate wedding.
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