For my first ever classic movie review I wanted to touch on a personal favorite of mine that means a lot to me. "Groundhog Day" focuses on themes such as morality, redemption, time, love and spirituality. Along with featuring one of my favorite actors of all time (Bill Murray) as the main character, "Groundhog Day" manages to pose unique existential questions to each viewer watching it and have you consider what you could accomplish with endless time at your disposal. Would you wreck havoc, have fun and take advantage of the world around you (since everything restarts back to normal the next day), or would you take a look inside yourself and make personal changes? Phil does all this and more, waking up every morning hearing the same morning announcement from the local radio DJs: “Rise and shine, campers, it’s coooold out there today. The question on everybody’s lips: Do ya think Phil is gonna see his shadow? That’s right, woodchuck-chuckers it’s "Groundhog Day"!”
In Harold Ramis’ "Groundhog Day" we follow Bill Murray as heartless, cruel and disgruntled weatherman Phil Connors, who is forced every February to travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual "Groundhog Day" celebration and he doesn’t bite his tongue when it comes to voicing his distaste of the holiday. Phil can be seen as “The Grinch” of "Groundhog Day," at every turn of his journey to Pennsylvania he argues nonstop about how useless and ridiculous the whole "groundhog predicting the weather" belief is. He’s rude to employees at the hotel he stays at, he’s cynical towards the locals, he’s flippant to his producers. The only person Phil doesn’t seem to hate is himself and his ego. After quickly getting through the celebration and rushing to bed to sleep before driving home the next morning, Phil finds himself in a time-loop where he’s forced to relive the same day, "Groundhog Day," over and over and over again...and what’s worse is that he’s the only person who realizes the day is repeating itself! Stuck in the worst day of his life, Phil struggles with how to handle himself and along the way begins to warm his heart to the small town of Punxsutawney
The initial premise of this movie gripped me immediately. Who wouldn’t want endless chances to do whatever they want with no consequences? Punch that person you hate in the face and have them forget once the day repeats? Tell your boss how you really feel about him/her? The possibilities are endless! Phil gorges on food at the local diner with no concern for his health since none of the carbs or calories will stay with him once the day is up.
Isn't that just the dream?
As the days, weeks, months, years, decades go by (it’s up for debate just how long Phil stays in this time loop, which I’ll get into later in the review) Phil starts to get frustrated and lose it, causing him to take many more risks in an attempt to break the time loop. He visits a therapist, he visits a psychic but obviously, nobody would believe Phil's story. There's a point in the film where Phil becomes so frustrated he starts to not even care if tomorrow doesn't arrive anymore, he gets to the point where he'd rather there not be anymore days at all than repeat "Groundhog Day" again. Some of his risks near the middle of the movie even border on daredevil, hazardous acts.
Spoiler Alert: He can't die. No matter how hard he tries, and he tries a lot.
The acting by the background characters is so phenomenal since they’re challenged with delivering the same dialogue in the exact same way for multiple takes, massive credits go to Stephen Tobolowsky’s Ned Ryerson who consistently bugs Phil in the mornings.
"Don't tell me you don't remember me because I sure as heckfire remember you! It's me! Ned!!! Ryerson!!"
While each conversation with Ned is essentially the same, Tobolowsky brings such a nuance to this overly-desperate, attention-seeking resident of Punxsutawney that each time he pops up on screen you can’t help but roll your eyes and laugh.
Punxsutawney's locations and environment seem so welcoming right off the bat, even when viewed through Phil's pessimistic eyes. To me, it's such a peaceful, friendly and perfect place to live. Everyone stops and says hi to you on the streets, the mayor has an extremely hilarious voice, and the houses look beautiful. Each time I watch this movie I just want to pack up my bags and move to Pennsylvania. The town has a charming quality that perfectly contrasts with Phil's cynical attitude, which makes his transformation throughout the movie all the more satisfying. The Groundhog Celebration at Gobblers Knob seems like it'd be a great delight to attend, I dare you to watch this movie and NOT get "The Pennsylvania Polka" song stuck in your head by the time they sing it a 5th time.
The emotional aspect of this film really drives the message home. What’s perfect is that there really are no parts in this movie that feel dragged on or unnecessary. Every single character Phil interacts with serves a purpose to the overall story. This movie is typically classified as a straight up comedy but at the heart of it, it's truly a love story. The relationship that blossoms between Phil and his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) is so unique and gives humorous insight as what not do in a relationship and how to handle one. Due to the premise of this movie, the relationship aspect is handled better than most romantic comedies would dream of pulling off. I wish I could just restart the day to make sure I didn't say that accidentally dumb comment to a girl I was interested in.
Another one of my favorite aspects about the movie is the probing question of just how long Phil was stuck repeating this day. There are hints throughout the movie that really cause you to stop and think. At one point in the movie Phil is shown ice sculpting in an attempt to impress the townsfolk, I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure learning how to professionally sculpt ice takes at least a few years of practice.
In another scene Phil is masterfully playing piano for the entire town, another skill that would take years of practice and dedication. There’s a big chance that Phil was stuck in this time loop for decades and learned various skills to show off whenever he wanted. Gaining a perspective on how long Phil is stuck really lets you understand Phil’s frustration as the movie goes on. His vast knowledge of the townsfolk around him and their daily lives also cements the idea that he's essentially a god in this world.
I’m not sure how I’d be able to handle a world where nothing I did carried on to the next day and everybody I interacted with completely forgot everything I did or said to them. I’d go crazy in about a week, it really says a lot about Phil that he managed to try new techniques and learn some wisdom and knowledge despite being trapped in, what some might call a prison, for so long.
Overall, I highly recommend watching "Groundhog Day" if you haven’t done so already, and if you have seen it, it definitely deserves a re-watch. Watch TV on February 2nd and you can usually find it playing on repeat (get it?) on various channels. If you like a movie that makes you think about your role in the world, how your actions impact others and a movie that makes you feel good inside by the end..."Groundhog Day" is most certainly a movie that you can watch over and over and over and over again.
