Groundhog Day Reviews

''Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I'm happy now... because I love you.''

An obnoxious weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Bill Murray: Phil Connors

Andie MacDowell: Rita

This along with Lost in Translation is the ultimate Bill Murray film. It has everything needed to make it a cult film with it's charm and moral lessons. It has a highly innovative story, excellent acting and something else which cannot be described but you feel it.
Directed by Harold Ramis, Danny Rubin and again Harold Ramis concoct a gorgeously sumptuous screenplay from a story written by Danny Rubin.



Bill Murray becomes a household name with Groundhog Day, the film and story is about a man who relives the same day over and over and over.
The storyline is perfect for character development and great sketches involving what to do with unlimited time. Without saying too much I can say that the main character, who is the only one who can actually remember the day before, and utilizes his special gift or if you will, this curse.
The writers originally wanted the audience to join the main character as he had already been trapped in this time loop for many years (he doesn't age, how can he when the day before never happened?) and he knows everything about everyone. This approach was thankfully abandoned because watching Bill Murray react to his predicament is nothing short of being priceless. He is initially intrigued by the concept and abuses his situation but eventually there is a change in the character for the best. What changes I will leave to future viewers to find out for themselves. The film graces a few philosophical questions but nothing more than that because the objective of the film is entertainment and it succeeds brilliantly in its goals.

The cast is wonderfully assembled. Bill Murray, one of our time's greatest actors both comedy wise and dramatically, does an excellent job. His comic timing is flawless and his underplayed and sometimes quite dark humour works brilliantly on screen. Also he portrays the changes in his character with great skill. Pure movie magic. Andie MacDowell, whom in my opinion is a very underrated actress, does a fine performance as well. She is instantly likeable and the audience relates to her character immediately because of this. Her reactions are highly believable and this of course adds to the overall credibility of the film. Chris Elliot gracefully under-acts his part which is a good thing because the emphasis is on Murray's character but he serves his purpose to great effect. Stephen Tobolowsky steals every scene he is in and contrary to Chris Elliot he overacts every scene he is in but he stays within the confines of believable so his character too works magnificently and creates a lot of laughs. Other than the actors mentioned the supporting cast is excellent. What few scenes Brian Doyle-Murray, Bill Murray's brother, is in he makes his own.

Overall the film's cinematography and sets work pretty well but as the emphasis is on the characters its not really worth mentioning. The music is another thing which is very good. The score by George Fenton is excellent and fresh. It doesn't sound like something we've heard before and therefore adds to the originality of the film which is already substantial.
The whole concept of the film might sound a bit pretentious but it doesn't feel that way. In fact it feels very down to earth because of the characters' believable reactions and seemingly genuine emotions.
Though this film has a serious message, it is still quintessentially a comedy. But it's a comedy that uses psychological exploration regarding a fascinating character to make its point. After the laughter has worn down, Groundhog Day turns out to be one of the richest and deepest films I've ever seen.

Even the funniest movies eventually stop being funny after its watched enough times, the humor no longer surprises. A joke never has the same effect when you know the punch line in advance. But every once in a blue moon, a comedy comes along that is so thoughtful and meaningful in addition to being funny that after seeing it a dozen times and laughing less often, It's noticeable its depth and insight. No movie has such a perfectly united funny aspects with profundity as in Groundhog Day, which happens to be one of my personal favorite comedies.

Superficially, this film belongs roughly in the same genre as comedies in which a character becomes the victim of some weird supernatural fate and must adapt to the insane logic of the situation. And Bill Murray's sarcastic, bored approach is exactly the genious touch this film needed. I can't imagine any other way for this film to work as well as it did, where the world is going crazy around Phil the weatherman, Murray's hard-edged character who keeps his emotions bottled up. What makes the initial scenes in which he first discovers his fate so hilarious is the mounting panic in his demeanor even as he tries to act like everything's normal. All he can think of to say is, "I may be having a problem.", throughout the rest of the film, he'll deliver similarly muted lines to describe his situation. It's striking that a man who has all the time in the world would choose his words so carefully, but it reflects a very well-conceived screenplay.

In this comedy, the laughs are reinforced by repetition. The absurdity of Phil discovering that he's repeating the same day over and over again is funny enough, every time that the alarm clock goes off and the radio starts playing, "I Got You Babe" and Phil goes through the same motions and meets the same people and then goes out into the street to be accosted by the same annoying high school buddy "Phiiiil?", the spectator laughs again because he's reminded how funny it was the first time around. People who may not like this film (there MAY have one or two) emphasize how annoying it is that everything gets repeated. It's understandable such complaint, since jokes repeated over and over usually fail miserably. In Groundhog Day however, works uniquely well because the situation gets increasingly absurd and Phil gets equally desperate with each day that fails to pass by.

The film would have vanished quickly iof it had spent the entire time showing Phil meeting the same people and doing the same things time and again. The fact that Groundhog Day avoids this fate is one of its more striking qualities, since most high-concept comedies of this sort fall apart in the third act. Here is a rare example of one that completely follows through with its premise, leading from the initial situation logically to the ending. Only the Jeopardy scene feels like a skit that could have appeared anywhere. But this scene actually is placed wisely: it occurs when Phil is becoming increasingly bored and lethargic, and it is used to separate two hilarious scenes where he gives nutty television reports.

It is in the middle, centering on Phil's attempts to seduce Rita, when the film reveals itself to be more than just a comedy. The underlying implication of these scenes is that Phil's powers are less important than he thinks they are. He probably could have done the same things (such as his exploits with Nancy) under ordinary circumstances, without the "magic". Ultimately he realizes that his powers doesn't matter, because Rita is too smart and sees right through him. She may not understand the full "supernatural" implications of what he's doing, but she senses that he's somehow manipulating all through the situations. Phil may think he's a god, but he isn't all-powerful.

It's difficult to think of any other actor having pulled this off. Bill Murray is not the only comic actor to have proved himself capable of dramatic depth, but he's one of the few who can mix his humorous and serious side into the same character.

Though this film has a serious message, it is still essentially a comedy. But it's a comedy that uses psychological exploration of a fascinating character to make its point. Once you see through the jokes, Groundhog Day turns out to be also a very rich and deep film.

Groundhog Day still stands up well after all these years. And is very re-watchable. The set-up to the premise (i.e. the very first time he lives the day) goes by in good pace. And the repeats of the days can be as short as 30 seconds, or much longer depending on the main character's changing objectives. It's cute, and funny and thought provoking. How often do you get a romantic comedy that does all that?

A lighter movie with Bill Murray which has him stuck in the same day, over and over again. I'm sure you've all seen it.

Cool concept which makes you wonder how much one person can change through the course of one day, especially when you learn all the variables.

No joke, when this was first out, I watched in twice in the same day. Hm, that's like, irony, or something.

"On the DVD, Harold Ramis states that the original idea was for him to live February 2nd for about 10,000 years. Later he says that Phil probably lived the same day for about 10 years."

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