This year’s record Sundance sale belonged not to a serious Oscar contender but a Groundhog Day-riff starring ex-SNL golden boy Andy Sandberg. Palm Springs, by writer Andy Siara and director Max Barbakow, delivers exactly what you would hope for on that front. And with this summer’s lack of movie theaters and relevant themes, we’ve got a bonafide hit on our hands.
The movie doesn’t hold its cards back for long. After an opening sequence primarily from Sarah’s POV, they reveal the premise. Nyles, and now Sarah, are trapped in a loop at a wedding from hell. But once that has been established, the movie wastes no time moving past its premise and digging into the implications. What would it really mean to live the same day for millions of times?
And it’s able to get there because it knows that we’ve seen time loop movies before.
Trust Your Audience
The people who will be watching your movie or tv show have most likely seen other things before. Including other things like your thing. But instead of this being an obstacle think of it like an opportunity. You can work with your audience to leap your story forward and skip the boring parts.
We open with Nyles already heaving learned the day’s sequence, skipping right to the traditional fun & games. We’ve seen Groundhog Day and know the story ends when the characters have learned a lesson, so Sarah quickly suggests this as a way out. We expect the story to revolve around patterns, so it introduces Roy and his revenge pursuit of Nyles as an added threat and element of uncertainty.
With each of these moves, Siara and Barbakow trusts us to keep up. They know we’ll understand the beats being skipped so they can get to the fresh ideas for this iteration of a time loop movie.
Incorporating Into Your Own Writing
When working on your script, place yourself in your audience’s shoes. Not just how they would experience your narrative but also what they will likely bring with them to the story. How can you use this to you advantage? What are the story beats that you don’t need, or can put a spin on, because the audience already knows them?
By looking for these beats you have the chance to make your audience feel smart for keeping up with you and your story feel fresh. Trust the intelligence of your audience and let that open new areas for your story.