【Overview】
Although the concept of "time loop" has long been visualized examples (eg, "Twelve One Minute"), "Groundhog Day" has become an instant classic with extremely high artistic and commercial achievements. ; Harold Remis, Danny Rubin successfully integrated philosophical thinking into the comedy shell, and Bill Morena’s lonely cynical cynicism also allowed him to gain mainstream attention outside of comedians.
Although there are many interpretation directions (Sisyphus, humanity and divinity), the relaxed and commercial "Groundhog Day" can actually be regarded as Charles Dickens's "Christmas Carol" style and religious. Moral preaching; the background of the time cycle is a metaphor for personal life and interpersonal relationships. The only way to get out of trouble and realize self-salvation is to be honest and altruistic.
Only by realizing self-reconciliation and sublimation can we reach the true meaning of tomorrow; this element is retained in various interpretations after "The Day of the Groundhog", and various crosses can often bring freshness to the traditional theme: "First Love" "50 Times" to romantic comedies, "Edge of Tomorrow" to action blockbusters, "Happy Death Day" to horror comedies, "Sudden Seven Days" to youth anxiety, and "Samsara Party" to quasi-middle-aged crises. foot.
However, even though "Time Cycle" has become a genre, the basic formula perfected by "Groundhog Day" has rarely changed. For example, the dark trend of spiritual collapse caused by the cycle of time is closer to Danny Rubin's earliest idea (the spiritual growth of an immortal vampire), but due to the length and themes, it is often only possible to taste it ("Edge of Tomorrow", "The Gate of Destiny" ").
Really feasible and interesting variants appeared in "Reincarnation Party" and "Palm Springs": changing a single variable to a multivariable, inspiring more possibilities and chemical reactions-this is also Danny Rubin A more artistic finale for the first edition of "Groundhog Day"; the latter solves the problem of "destiny" and brings a subjective and active answer to Why&How.
【Production】
As one of the movies with the highest transaction volume at the Sundance Film Festival, "Palm Springs" is obviously more wise to choose the form of streaming online distribution (even without the influence of the new crown)-not heavy (or even unnecessary) The R-rated label does not mean that it can bring more box office to a rom com and chick movie with a sci-fi skin, and the movie market dominated by action blockbusters has a strong impact on Andy Sumberg and Christine M. Riotti is still quite unfamiliar;
The user portraits of streaming media also determine that the movie can get more attention: Millennials who grew up in sitcom may not necessarily support Tom Hanks ("Greyhound") and Charlize Theron. ("Eternal Guard"), but often know who Jake Peralta and Tracy Mcconnell are.
This is a great thing for "Palm Springs"-because screenwriter Andy Serra and director Max Barbakov basically remade a version of "Groundhog Day" for Millennial, only However, all the footnotes in the early 90s were replaced by the 10s: the SNL cast in the 80s became the SNL cast in 2000, the Dead End Job became Jobless, and the indulgent alcohol became the Recreational Drug. Even if it is the same mourning, it has changed from a cynical mourning to a nihilistic mourning.
Andy Serra's script is not just about these "superficial skills." It takes away the rigid moral preaching of "The Day of the Groundhog" and transforms the divine guidance into a more practical understanding and inheritance of life wisdom; the protagonists also have self-loathing, desire to be loved and Highly anxious, but it is no longer a lack of enthusiasm for life and being saved by love, but an escape from a broken life and being saved by courage.
The key to this process lies in the transition from single to multiple. On the one hand, this forces the protagonist to abandon his identity as the "chosen son" and turn his personal life crisis into a more representative abstract concept-this is mainly reflected in the role of J·K·Simmons; on the other hand, more Interaction between people is of great help to the narrative, and it also makes the characters grow more reasonable, not just because of some kind of Epiphany falling from the sky.
When creating "Groundhog Day", there was a "creative disagreement" between Bill Murray and Harold Remis-the former wanted to focus on comedy elements and people's repetitive monotony out of fear In life, the latter wanted to emphasize the redemptive power of love-this old partner also fell apart. In a way, these two directions actually met in Palm Springs.
Although this does not mean that "Palm Springs" will receive treatment or performance that surpasses "Groundhog Day", the uniqueness of the former cannot be ignored.
【Performance】
The two-person cycle not only provides a better gender balance for Palm Springs, but also provides new possibilities for narrative. An object that can be compared intuitively is 2016's "Space Traveler"; Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are not only immobile by moral dilemmas, but the latter has become useless and luxurious vases.
In contrast, "Palm Springs" not only gave Christine Miliotti's heroine initiative, but also improved the narrative efficiency: Andy Sumberg's hero had already lived at the beginning of the film It has been in the time loop for a long time, so when the heroine enters the stage, she can greatly reduce the exploration time and directly enter the fun part and larger themes (Never Stop Partying?), and also save the philosophical/theological thinking that is no longer needed. ——After all, what is needed to break the predicament of life is the strength of the protagonist, not some kind of unknowable mercy and charity.
And this also leaves more room for the discussion of the relationship between the sexes: from hurting a pair of friends, to the existentialistic fear and anxiety about intimacy. The deeper emotional awakenings of the characters are slow and tactile. One tries to accept the "reality" of infidelity and betrayal, and the other covers the fragility of the heart by studying alone; the various evolutions are shown in an organic form, not just It is simply "You Complete Me".
With the help of "Detective God", after turning down the chattering and exaggerated performance, Andy Sumberg seems to have finally found his own comedy style-"Palm Springs" is not his first movie ( "Dad’s Good Son" and "Pop Superstar"), but it is likely to be a new opportunity to move into the mainstream market, rather than always switching between spoof movies and pseudo-documentaries. And Christine Miliotti (again) snatched the spotlight, and her interpretation of Sarah was precise and approachable. She dominates the interaction between the two protagonists, making the chemical reaction between the two more believable. J.K. Simmons's comedy performance is quite satisfactory. If Bill Murray came to play, there might be more surprises.
【Summarize】
As director Max Barbakov’s first feature film, "Palm Springs" although some shots are stretched in special effects and editing, the film is very satisfactory in terms of completion and narrative techniques.
Unlike similar movies that like to play with high concepts, it has found a realistic outlet for the time cycle-this is similar to the approach of "Warm and warm with light": the novel high concepts are only a channel to explore the relationship between the sexes, and Not a tool to show off to the audience.
【related suggestion】
"Reincarnation Party"
"Groundhog Day"
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