By no means a perfect plot, but an interesting one for sure. The main struggles of the plot are in the middle of the movie with a somewhat long compilation of senseless fun between the two main characters, Nyles and Sarah. I don’t feel this detracts too much from the plot, however, as it is playing into the realism of the situation and giving you insight into the characters’ personalities.

Since the release of Groundhog Day with Bill Murray in 1993, we have seen various adaptations of stories revolving around the premise of a repeating day endlessly until you finally do everything exactly right. While this premise is used in this movie, it still provides a unique take on the idea. The idea is even mocked in good taste throughout the movie. For example, Nyles mentions that they are “stuck in an infinite time loop that you may have heard about” and Sarah, at one point, even tries to get out by trying to do everything right, being honest, helpful, etc. which of course does not work.

About par for most good movies. You know all the important details, you’re left to make some of your own conclusions, but the overall story is laid out well enough for you. Not overly unique but not lacking any necessities. Character Development: While they do a great job and make you love the characters, admittedly by the end of the movie you still don’t know much about either of them. Nyles is a fun-loving guy stuck in an unfortunate situation and Sarah is someone stuck in a rut, has a somewhat immoral past, yet we don’t see much how that ties into her character. The third main character who is also stuck in the time loop with them (Roy) is only sprinkled throughout the story and we only get a glimpse into his character towards the end of the movie. In summary, we know just enough to relate to the characters on a surface level, but nothing more.

At no point in this movie was I bored; however, there were points in the middle, as mentioned previously, that didn’t contribute much to the overall plot that I would describe as slowing the pace a bit. The climax of the movie was about 2 minutes before the credit roll which in many movies would probably seem too late, but for the ending of this movie it worked out perfectly to fit the style and humor of the film overall.

Par for most good movies. Nothing overly unique but helped in telling the overall story.

Having the film take place in a remote town in a desert felt very appropriate given Andy Samburg’s dry sense of humor. The small town setting contributes to the story and premise of being stuck in an infinite time loop because they are so limited in things they can do to occupy their time so they are required to get creative.

The premise of an infinite time loop overall isn’t very believable but the way in which the characters react to the situation does feel genuine. In order to be original, their solution to their situation somewhat detracts from the believability; the premise is fantastical yet their solution is science fictional, and even that solution didn’t seem to make much sense.

Nothing special. The location worked perfectly but since it was in a desert, it’s hard to win bonus points when it comes to artistry (though not impossible of course). The story was by no means focused on creating visually appealing scenes and would probably have detracted from the flow of the story had they tried.

Visual effects were pretty minimal in this movie but there were some sprinkled throughout that were good enough but were clearly computer generated. This didn’t detract from the movie at all though. Music & Sound Effects: The music was very tasteful and met the mood and style of the movie. It was fun when it needed to be and somber when it needed to be. Overall, it helped contribute to the style and genre of the movie.

Despite the premise and the solution to their situation not being very believable, the emotions the characters iterated throughout the film felt genuine. Each character went through the five stages of grief, yet each in their own unique way. I think this helped show the emotion of the situation they were in and how they approached some of life’s problems differently.

In continuation with the previous paragraph, this helps you relate to each character as well. I think anyone put in a similar situation would have acted in at least 2 or 3 similar ways to what was shown on screen. This helps the viewer feel immersed and involved in the plot.

I think the moral of the story was pretty subtle throughout the movie but made clear in the final monologue. Throughout the movie, Nyles (and eventually Sarah) continually make remarks about how meaningless life is when you live the same day over and over again, and how everything seems inconsequential. However, when they finally have someone to live through the monotony with, days start to gain meaning again. I think it would score higher if the message weren’t done in an overly goofy or sarcastic way; but with the movie being a comedy, I think it did well to stay a comedy and not be preachy or detract from the humor by forcing a message down your throat.

I think the overall message does help give one a bit of motivation to enjoy the little things in life despite the motony. I think in many parts of the movie, it helps you see how you can find or make good of bad situations. It also teaches you to laugh at hard situations and to not take life too seriously.

This whole category is by far it’s strongest. You can’t go wrong in casting Andy Samburg in a comedy. While many of his initial comedies were a lot of “dumb fun”, his humor has matured over the years and his comedic timing is perfect. Cristin Milioti and J.K. Simmons are both perfect supporting cast members who play well off of Andy’s comedy and each has great comedic timing and delivery as well. Each actor takes their role just seriously enough to give the perfect comedic performance the movie needed.

I rated this highly as well, not because anyone gave an Oscar-worthy performance, but because it is a comedy and they delivered the laughs. There was, at no point, a time in which the acting detracted from the story or the character’s personality.

Felt as natural as a comedy script can get. Rarely a dull moment in the dialgue, really well written humor, not overly excessive cussing, didn’t rely heavily on sex jokes or potty jokes. Well-rounded script.

The appeal of this movie is of course very high since it involves Andy Samburg and has a premise that has consistently drawn high ratings in similar style movies. This was a no brainer.

Very low, the allure isn’t superficial here. There aren’t any advertised sex scenes, big fight scenes, explosions, etc.

No choreography really in this movie aside from one silly dance scene. No action sequences involving fighting.