In Palm Springs, two strangers hit it off at a wedding and get stuck in a time loop. This is not the first love story to employ a healthy dose of fantasy to explore the mysteries of the heart. But this brain-tickling comedy, which premieres July 10 on Hulu, is not a rehash of "Groundhog Day." Instead, everyone involved with the film seems to be thinking long and hard about what audiences really want from a romantic comedy in 2020. The first shot, an earthquake splitting the California desert, proves from the outset that Palm Springs is trying to shake up the tired clichés of the romantic comedy genre.

Niles (Andy Samberg) is a blinkered cynic, guzzling beer alone at the resort's pool. Still, he charms Sarah (Christine Milioti), the bride's uptight sister and bridesmaid. Like his role in Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day," Nyles is uptight and self-deprecating. Sarah appreciates his lack of sentimentality: she clearly did not enjoy the wedding and is insecure about the groom.

The glowing portal near Niles and Sarah's first lovemaking session serves as an uncomplicated plot mechanism that drives this pair of pessimists to endless repetition of the wedding day. Samberg and Milioti are not an obvious match for these two at first, but like ice sculptures at a wedding in the hot sun, the characters' hard exterior gradually melts away in a sneaky performance. The film's best moments come from watching the resourceful couple rack their wits to find outrageous ways to resolve their metaphysical predicament or simply to entertain themselves.

The emphasis on rapid-fire (and sometimes childish) humor is characteristic of the goofy trio known as Lonely Island (purveyors of viral joke songs like "I Just Had Sex"), the film's producers. Max Barbakoff's deft direction anchors the film, while Andy Ciara's ambitious screenplay ventures into darker territory as Nyles and Sara struggle to cope with life's repeated meaninglessness.

Time loops have become a subgenre of their own in recent years, with standouts like Netflix's "Russian Doll" and clichés like "Love Wedding Repeat. Palm Springs keeps the concept fresh by allowing Sarah and Niles to enjoy some freedom from the consequences. Take, for example, the prank in which Sarah and Niles plant a bomb in the cake to stave off boredom at the wedding reception. Palm Springs itself acts as a bomb planted in the wedding cake. A wise move, considering that today's audiences, who choose cohabitation over marriage, do not dream of fairy-tale weddings as a stepping stone to romantic fulfillment. Instead, millennials are essentially giving themselves the same escape route that Sarah and Niles were deprived of.

So what does a rom-com for a generation skeptical of romance look like? Palm Springs attempts to answer this with self-conscious dialogue, as when Sarah declares to Niles, "I can live well enough without you." There are also poignant scenes, like the one in which Sarah offers Niles a dangerous plan that might free her from the time loop. When he insists that she should be happy with the status quo, her face breaks. This moment strikes at the heart of what makes commitment such a dangerous proposition. Sarah's frustration in that moment will resonate with anyone who has ever worried that sticking with the wrong person will ultimately prevent them from reaching their full potential.

The flip side of the romantic tangle is that too many movies tiptoe around trying to tug at our heartstrings with bold love confessions. This film has those elements, but the Palm Springs setting, as the name implies, offers a refreshing oasis in a desert of dried-out romantic fantasies.

View "Palm Springs" on HULU (opens in new tab)

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