Groundhog Day

Rating:
Summary: Murray at his best
Review: I will always have a special place in my heart for "Groundhog Day". it's not only one of my favorite movies of all time, but it was what started my true appreciation for the talent of Bill Murray. It's hard to imagine anyone else being able to pull off a movie like this, where he has to continuely relive the same day and situations again and again. His character of Phil the weatherman, in town to cover the annual Groundhog Day festival in Pa., goes from being an egomaniacal jerk, to a kind, sweet man...no longer doing good deeds just to impress his producer, Rita (McDowell), but because he wants to. The scene where Phil confesses his true feelings to a sleeping Rita, will always remain one of the sweetest, most touching romantic moments in film.

The film works on every level, and was the first (but not last) great film of Bill Murray's career.

Rating:
Summary: I don't know if it's a Great Film, but it's a great movie!
Review: I'm very critical of most movies today. I'm pretty much of a film snob. I haven't made my mind up if it's a great Film...probably not. BUT, it IS a great great movie. Murray is superb and I fall in love with Andy MacDowell everytime I watch it. So for me, it's about love.

I feel about this movie the way I feel about Bogdonovich's "Heartbreak Kid"
..a very different movie but I'm obsessed with both.

Rating:
Summary: A tale of love, hope, and redemption
Review: This is a terrific movie - hilarious, uplifting, and deeply romantic and heartwarming.

Bill Murray and Andie McDowell are perfect in this film, Murray as the cynical, infinitely self-centered TV weather newscaster, and Andie McDowell as his radiant and relentlessly uplifting TV producer and love interest. The plot has been rehashed many times by others, so I won't repeat it again.

The thing that makes this movie so memorable, and makes it stand out from all others is not the comedy, which is enjoyable, but the deeper themes behind it.

What are these themes? In reading the other 226 reviews, people have mentioned everything from Buddhist karma and reincarnation, Nietzsche and existentialism, Kubler Ross, the Seven Sins, and Gurdjieff -Ouspensky and the Fourth Way. Comparisons have been made to themes from the Twilight Zone, and Frank Capra movies like "It's a Wonderful Life".

Yes, I suppose all of these themes are present, and people will interpret this movie in the religious or philosophical context with which they are most familiar. Which is why it's a bit surprising that so far nobody has mentioned the main theme that stood out immediately for me in this movie.

Above all the existentialism and New Age themes that might be found in this movie is a very old fashioned one - at its core, this movie is a moral tale of love, hope, and redemption.

Bill Murray's character is stuck in time, stuck in purgatory, stuck in a perpetual rut of endless reincarnation and immortality, whatever you want to call it. His character, Phil Connors asks, "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?"

Connors first uses his recursive immortality to dive even deeper into the Seven Sins, and then sinks into despair, hopelessness, and attempted suicide. But gradually, he awakens to the possibility that his choices of action do matter, and discovers that through caring for the other people in this town, he is able to regain hope in his own life again. It is this genuine turn in becoming a better person that wins the heart of Andie McDowell's character and earns him redemption from this purgatory.

Another reviewer had mentioned a link to the theme of making hard choices in the "Lord of the Rings". Thanks to "Groundhog Day", I came to understand one question from LOTR that had always bothered me - why would any immortal being (i.e., elves like Arwen and Haldir in LOTR) ever give up their immortality? The answer: maybe immortality becomes tiresome and meaningless if one cannot make a difference in this world, maybe leaving immortality to gain the love of another is truly more worthwhile.

There was just one other aspect of this idea that came to mind - what if whoever or whatever had kept Phil Connors stuck in time had continued to keep him there even after his transformation? We like to think that love and hope always leads to redemption. What if it doesn't? That's one real-life possibility which is not explored in this movie, but nevertheless, it is still a terrific movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great...Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over
Review: This movie was hillariously funny. It was about a TV reporter(Bill Murray) who relives ground hog day for six months. His mission is to make his producer fall in love with him. This is acomedy for the whole family to enjoy. Comedy at its best.

Rating:
Summary: From Humble Origins to MAGIC
Review: If you were to analyze this on paper you would not be able to visualize and appreciate the way this movie all comes together. Here you have a wacky comedy actor Bill Murray of Caddy Shack fame and similar "non - Oscar?" parts set with Andie Mac Dowell in a small town in the deep of winter.

The plot revolves what happens in the course of a day (groundhog day) after Phil wakes to Sonny & Cher on the morning clock radio. Phil (Murray) a TV reporter and the others are stranded there due to a snow torm on groundhog day.

The story involves some sort of time warp spell where the day plays over and over again, each day starting with the same Sonny & Cher song on the clock radio, until Rita (the Mac Dowell character) accepts Phil as a romantic partner and this acceptance somehow this breaks the spell.

With the help of Chris Elliot (the TV camera man) and directed by Harold Ramis, and with a wonderful and broad cast of supporting actors as the towns people, this is simply a marvelous and entertaining movie. Like the movie itself, that repeats groundhog day, day after day, you can watch the movie multiple times and never become bored.

Its hard to pinpoint why it works, but it does, and possibly one can say that it is Murray's best career performance. Also Andie Mac Dowell just seems perfect for the part.

Jack in Toronto

Rating:
Summary: I Don't Want To Know the People Who Don't LOVE this Movie!
Review: I was never a major Bill Murray fan -- I associated him with that awful "Saturday Night Live." I somehow always thought "Groundhog Day" was a dopey sort of movie -- maybe because of its title.

One day back in September, it was playing in the video store while I was browsing for something worthy to take home. I didn't even look at the screen -- just after hearing two or so minutes of the dialogue, I snatched it off the shelf and marched to the counter.

I am not ashamed to admit I saw this wonderful, charming, delightful, charming, endearing, CHARMING (yes, I wrote "charming" three times, because that is the overriding adjective that describes it) movie about 50 times that September, and I would say it ranks as perhaps one of my 20 favorite films of all time. (And I'm not young, and I've seen a fair amount of movies.)

If CHARMING appeals to you, and you haven't seen this movie, well, what the heck are you waiting for, GO GET IT!

Rating:
Summary: LIVE FOR TODAY...AND TODAY...AND TODAY...
Review: GROUNDHOG DAY is one of the most innovative movies to come along in some time.

What would you do if you found that you were trapped in today, no tomorrow ever coming, only the very same events happening over and over again? Maybe you would panic at first and then begin to consider the possibilities. You would see that, having no tomorrow, being able to remember each previous repeated day and beginning the same day anew, you could do anything you wanted to. Prank after prank might ensue. This would be followed by total boredom and maybe feelings so low that you might just try to end it all only to find that bright and early the "next" day things just started all over again.

But then you discover that with your newfound "immortality" you might just be able to do something good for yourself and for everyone you encounter.

In GROUNDHOG DAY the great Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a primaddonic, self-absorbed weatherman who finds himself in just such a scenario. He goes through every possible phase of trying to figure things out, at last accepting his fate and determining to work as hard as he can, every repeated day, to do the right thing for himself and everyone he encounters in Punxsutawney, PA. Andie MacDowell plays Rita, Phil's producer, whom Phil is finally able to win over as a result of becoming over time the very best and accomplished man he can be.

The script is wonderfully written and the movie is masterfully edited as scene after scene repeats itself to show the subtle changes that take place in Phil's view of things.

Over ten years old, GROUNDHOG DAY is just as charming as it ever was and packs just as important a message today as it did at its debut: time is precious and with a little effort, a change here and an improvement there, any of us can create a life that is truly remarkable.

Douglas McAllister

Rating:
Summary: ON CREATING THE PERFECT LIFE
Review: What would you do if you found that you were trapped in today, no tomorrow ever coming, only the very same events happening over and over again? Maybe you would panic at first and then begin to consider the possibilities. You would see that, having no tomorrow, being able to remember each previous repeated day and beginning the same day anew, you could do anything you wanted to. Prank after prank might ensue. This would be followed by total boredom and maybe feelings so low that you might just try to end it all only to find that bright and early the "next" day things just started all over again.

But then you discover that with your newfound "immortality" you might just be able to do something good for yourself and for everyone you encounter.

In GROUNDHOG DAY the great Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a primaddonic, self-absorbed weatherman who finds himself in just such a scenario. He goes through every possible phase of trying to figure things out, at last accepting his fate and determining to work as hard as he can, every repeated day, to do the right thing for himself and everyone he encounters in Punxsutawney, PA. Andie MacDowell plays Rita, Phil's producer, whom Phil is finally able to win over as a result of becoming over time the very best and accomplished man he can be.

The script is wonderfully written and the movie is masterfully edited as scene after scene repeats itself to show the subtle changes that take place in Phil's view of things.

Over ten years old, GROUNDHOG DAY is just as charming as it ever was and packs just as important a message today as it did at its debut: time is precious and with a little effort, a change here and an improvement there, any of us can create a life that is truly remarkable.

Douglas McAllister

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: I watched this movie last night (on Groundhog Day, of course!) because it's one of my all-time faves, and always a treat. I loved it when I first saw it in the theater, and I've watched it three or four times now. Each time, I notice more tidbits that just add to the wonderfulness.

I won't go into details about the storyline, as others have already done so. However, I will note that not only is the script clever and Bill Murray's performance terrific, but the structure and pacing of the movie are almost perfect. Each time you go "around the loop" you get just enough new information to follow the story as new elements are introduced. There's not a wasted moment in the whole movie.

I know it's a cliche.... but I'd have to say that if you could only buy 10 movies to watch over and over again, this should be one of them. It's that good, and it holds up that well. Think of it as a modern-day "It's A Wonderful Life."

Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest--and most thoughtful--films of all time!
Review: Everybody would probably like to re-live one day of his or her life. Everyone makes a mistake or two that they'd like to fix. But what if you had to live the same day over again, and again, and again, and again...?

Phil Connors goes through this strange cycle of life in "Groundhog Day," an undeniably strong comedy that features a great script and cast. It's like a Frank Capra story with sarcasm. And it works perfectly.

Bill Murray plays Connors with all the air of a frustrated cynical everyman who is fed up with his job and life. Phil is a weatherman for a local news station, and every year he goes to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for the Punxsutawney Phil event: commonly recognized as Groundhog Day. You know how it goes. The groundhog comes out on February 2nd. If it sees its shadow, it's six more weeks of winter. If it doesn't, it's spring.

Well, the only problem about going to this event every year for Phil is that he hates it. He hates the cheery people. The little town. The weather. The event. The story. Everything. He hates it. He is a lonely, desolate, forsaken soul. With a great cynical side.

Andie McDowell plays a new manager--err, womanager--who goes with Phil to the event, along with Chris Elliot, the cameraman. Phil reports, they tape it, it's a done deal. The end. Phil goes back home. It happens every year, and this year should be no exception.

Keyword: Should.

Because this year isn't like most years. Due to severe weather, the roads have all been closed, leaving only one option: Stay in Punxsutawney until the storm blows over. So, Phil heads back to his cheery hotel, and tucks in for a dreaded nap. But when he wakes the next morning, something odd happens. The day is the exact same day as before. It is Groundhog Day.

Again.

Waking up to the same Sonny and Cher song as the morning before, Phil panics as he finds everything exactly the same, just as it was the day before. He knows everything that is going to happen. He shrugs it off as a weird case of deja vu and heads back to sleep. But when he wakes up, alas! The day is...yesterday--again. Well, technically.

So Phil comes to terms with the fact that there is now way out of this small little town. He tries everything. He steps in front of a moving car. He electrocutes himself. He jumps off a building. All to no avail. Oh, he dies, all right. But the next day he's back and it's Groundhog Day again.

Part of what makes "Groundhog Day" so excellent is the story. The characters and actors alone are great enough to recommend this movie, but the truth is, I cannot think of a better story to throw someone like Bill Murray into. He uses his smart-alecky ways to a new extreme. His character is a bit like Scrooge from the tale "A Christmas Story," which is ironic, because Murray was in a parody on Scrooge's tale called "Scrooged."

But regardless, Bill Murray is perfect as the irreverent and cynical Phil. Everything he does he carries out with a dumb, "I'm-smarter-than-you" face. He considers himself better than everyone else. He thinks he is smart by skipping the big Holiday ordeal. It is all so stupid to him. But, as this story teaches us, having an attitude like that can get you in big trouble.

Another thing that is great about "Groundhog Day" is that Phil Connors does what we would do. For example: When he finds out he has this ability to repeat the same day over and over, he does things the average person would do. The human weakness. Too many comedies with the same formula don't try to exploit this human weakness, but "Groundhog Day" does. We see Phil memorize the steps to successfully robbing an armored truck filled with cash. But the reason he can go to bed with a clear conscience is because he knows the next day that everything will be back to normal again. He will never have robbed the truck; never have bought a Ferrari, etc. Phil does what WE would do, and that is one importance aspect of "Groundhog Day." I would never rob an armored truck, but if I was stuck living the same day over and over, it would do no harm to take the cash--it would be back in the truck in the morning! So, I might do that. (Although my conscience would still get in the way.)

There was a little comedy a few years ago that starred John Candy. The movie was named, "Delirious," and it was about a soap opera writer who bumped his head and woke up trapped inside his own written world. And everything he would write on his typewriter came true.

I was reminded of that film while watching "Groundhog Day," which is undeniably a stronger comedy. While the movie "Delirous" was good, and pretty interesting, there were so many things Candy could have done with the ability to create and control everything, and he didn't do them. I think that's where "Groundhog Day" steps in, filling in the blanks. There's nothing I love more than watching a comedy where the main character divulges into the human nature.

In other words, I love watching characters on-screen giving in to the same human weaknesses that we all exhibit.

And that's exactly what Phil does in "Groundhog Day." And that is why, among other reasons, it is one of my favorite films.