A pair of wedding guests (SNL’s Andy Samberg and the gracefully goofy Cristin Milioti in a long-overdue leading role) developing a budding romance have a memorable day – over and over and over again – when they find themselves stuck in a mystical time loop. (A hilarious J.K. Simmons plays a man also trapped in the loop and murderously unhappy about it.)

Given the pastel posters and slightly shopworn premise (of course Groundhog Day and more recently Russian Doll), you could be forgiven for expecting a fun and frothy rom-com. Oh, you’ll get that, but there’s a lot more going on under the surface of this Golden Globe nominee.

As you’re laughing at the antics, you’ll be blindsided by the hidden metaphysics and find yourself waxing introspective about your own life – pondering things like the elusiveness of happiness, or the effervescence as well as the resilience of love, or the viability of long-term relationships. 

The momentum never sags in this remarkably unpredictable and assured debut feature from Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara. Not to be missed. (90 min)

Palm Springs Japan release date April 9, 2021