Rating: 
Summary: Bill Murray's performance is terrific!
Review: Bill Murray plays self-centered and sarcastic TV weatherman Phil Connors in "Groundhog Day". Giving everyone contemptuous and snide remarks, it's no wonder that both his TV producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot) find him completely dislikable. On an assignment, Phil along with his crew is sent to the small town of Punxsutawney, PA to report on the annual celebration of Groundhog Day. Phil of course can't wait to get out of the town but 'disaster' strikes when a blizzard comes in fast and hard, making it impossible for Phil to leave the town of Punxsutawney. Strangely enough, Phil wakes up the next morning, finding out it 'isn't' the next morning, he has again woken up on February 2nd, 1992! Day after day, he must live through the same Groundhog Day! Will he ever be able to break out of the time loop or is he destined to live the same day over and over? Phil desperately wants to go back to his normal life. And more than anything, he wants to be the kind of man Rita would fall in love with, just as he becomes to fall in love with her....By reading the summary on "Groundhog Day", those who have never watched this movie are probably thinking 'what a strange movie this sounds like.' But I assure you, I myself was very surprised how good the plot was and how every actor and actress was perfect in their parts. The most notable acting done in the movie was by Bill Murray. I have always liked Bill Murray, he has a sense of timing, giving off jokes at the perfect moment. He is just sooo funny! And he is not only a great comedian, he also gets to show off some of his serious and romantic side in "Groundhog Day". As he continued to live the same day again and again, you can't help but get attached to his character and even begin to like him, especially as he begins to change. The supporting actors Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot do a good job in their roles, too, but Bill Murray certainly steals the whole movie. I must also acknowledge the superb screenwriting job done by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis (Ramis is also the Director and Producer of "Groundhog Day"). The plot is actually very 'smart', creating a very interesting perspective. The movie is a bit repetitive at times (of course it is, that's the whole point!) and feels a bit bogged down, but the story always picks up. The ending was so nice I couldn't help but want to jump up and down and shout hurray! A truly triumphant ending! I highly recommend this movie for those who like incredible acting with plenty of drama, humor, and romance in the plot. The movie is rated PG because of some innuendo, crude humor, and adult themes. Not for younger kids to watch since they might find the story a bit hard to follow and a bit dull. Great for teens and adults. Another movie I highly recommend is "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey. An incredible movie, the PG-rated film is similar to "Groundhog Day" in that the movie centers on the life of Carrey's character whose life is stuck an interesting perspective. Some bits of interesting trivia on "Groundhog Day":
*Murray was bitten by the groundhog twice during the filming of this movie.*
*Murray and Ramis have both been Honorary Grand Marshals for the Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsatawney, PA.*
*The movie was not filmed in Punxsutawney, but actually in Woodstock, Illinois. There is a small plaque that reads "Bill Murray stepped here" on the curb where Murray continually steps into a puddle.*
*In one of the early scenes of Phil at the piano teacher's house, when he is fumblingly playing Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini", is actually Bill Murray playing. He does not read music, but he learned that much of the song by ear.*
Rating: 
Summary: A profound film
Review: This film is great. To me, it shows the learning curve of the soul. Every lifetime that we have on earth can be analogised in one of Phil's `groundhog days'.
At first, when Phil learns about his immortality, he chooses to satisfy his ego - pulling women, eating unlimited cream cakes etc. However, a few `days' later, he learns that this kind of lifestyle can give him no satisfaction. Eventually, after experiencing many groundhog days, Phil realises that principles such as compassion, integrity and goodwill provide the deeper kind of contentment and satisfaction which he seeks. Once he grows to this stage of maturity, his groundhog-day-cycles come to an end, and he lives happily ever after. Sounds like Heaven? Too right.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Romantic Comedy
Review: For some reason I can never get tired of this film. I finally bought the DVD because I got tired of waiting for every February to see it again. It is a unique and clever film about a cynical, heartless and arrogant man who is stuck living the same day over and over again. When he becomes certain of his immortality he then realizes that when you stop to reflect and to "smell the roses" the results can be most rewarding. It is the love he begins to feel for a woman and other people that finally gets him to want to become a better man. When the woman accepts him, life returns to normal and is more beautiful than it was before. Sounds like the time-warp we've all been stuck in for the past thousands of years to me. An excellent film that is a lot of fun to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A TRUE CLASSIC!
Review: This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen!
Bill Murray is sensational, as the man who relives
groundhog day over and over! Deffinetly in my top
5 funniest movies. Who ever wrote this movie is
a genius! A MUST SEE!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Yuck, Yuck, Yuck, Yuck.
Review: Groundhog Day......comedy or philosophy flick? I guess its subjective to the audience. People will enjoy it for different reasons. It is nonetheless a classic.
Brief overview: Bill Murray plays a weather man who for unknown reasons lives the same day over and over again in Punxutawney Pennsylvania. The day is February 2nd, groundhog's day. Each night he lays down to sleep, or dies, and is reborn anew, again on February 2nd.
First off I'd like to point out that this film sits on a foundation of lies and has affected many people's lives in a terrible way: It wasn't filmed in Punxutawney at all. The director and producers felt that Woodstock Illinois was more "idealic" and choose to do principal photography there.....this eventually led to envy and resentment on the part of the real life citizens of Punxutawney. Over half the population of Punxutawney actually invaded the town and homes of Woodstock to enjoy what, after viewing the film, clearly was a more idealic town. As murderous doppelgangers, they adopted the lives of the Woodstock folk and still live there today. It was a sad turn of events unpredicted by the film's creators. If only they had thought of the consequences hundreds of lives would have been saved.
With that out of the way.....I think the natural course of the film's premise is going to take you through a very pure human emtional progression. The original screenplay was lightly based on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' Five Stages of Grief which are: 1-shock/denial; 2-anger, rage, resentment; 3-bargaining; 4-depression; leading to 5-ultimate acceptance. I find it most interesting to see that this progression leads Murray's character to the realization of the benefits of acting with morals. This provides a great example that people do not need external threats of eternal damnation or rewards of heaven to act with good natured morals and to treat others with altruistic compassion. At stage 4, Phil (Bill Murray) acts violently out of his depression of being trapped. He kills himself in many ways. He robs banks. He goes joy-riding on railroad tracks. Then when he finally accepts his fate, he knows when and where to be to help everybody in town that has a mishapt. He catches a boy who falls from a tree, replaces a flat tire for some old ladies....and so on.
Perhaps it is to be seen as a kind of divine working of the universe that it is only after this stage of acceptance when the repeating day ends and Phil finally gets to see February 3rd. Also it is never revealed why Phil went through the whole thing or why it suddenly ends.
Whatelse?
- Um, Murray's humor is borderline assinine, which I think is gggggreat!
- Director Harold Ramis actually admits on his commentary that he helped write the theme song "Weatherman". Once you hear this song you will wonder why anybody would ever admit to writing that horrid tune.
- I'd like to know why there is no hot water in Phil's hotel. That is never explained, not even on the director's commentary. Its kinda like they just decided to do something odd without purpose.
- Every religious fanatic thinks this movie is based on their particular faith. Go figure! Turns out the movie IS secular, even though writer Danny Rubin is referred to (never confirmed) as Zen Buddhist.
In summary, it does snow in space.
Rating:
Summary: a lighthearted look at spiritual transformation
Review: This film succeeds on several levels, the most obvious of which is comedic, which it does handily and indisputably.
However, it also raises an interesting philosophical question: Can someone really change, deep down inside? Can a glass-is-half-empty (as Phil's down-to-earth flapjack buddies posit) person become a glass-is-half-full person?
On the one hand, Phil's (a TV weather announcer played by Bill Murray) transformation from cynical, selfish and arrogant twit into his persona at the end of the film could be ascribed merely to having enough trial-and-error practice until he found the "formula" to finally, cynically, get what he wanted. Ergo, he did not change deep down inside: he just recited and fine-tuned the lines he had learned through his uncountable days of practice - just as he learned to be a piano virtuoso through the course of the film. Phil merely honed his acting skills - not his personality - while serving his sentence.
It could be argued that Phil, being locked in prison as it were, had no choice but to change for the better: the consequences for him were far more pleasant if he simply went along with the change. The same theory used for reforming criminals. And that thought, unfortunately, takes away a bit of the sheen of his redemption.
On the other hand, and it's impossible to be certain without being inside the head of the screenwriter, but perhaps the intention was that the flaws in Phil's personality were genuinely healed by his experience. By being locked (via whatever unnamed higher forces) in Punxatawney, Pennsylvania until he finally got it right - deep down inside. A true transformation. One can argue, in support of this viewpoint, that his motivation for taking music lessons grew from a sincere desire for self-improvement, rather than trying to trick others.
This film is a metaphor for the reform and improvement of the soul. And it used the thematic device of a time loop, probably to condense the idea into the time allotted for a feature film. A real life transformation is no less plausible (but most wouldn't be interesting enough to develop into a screenplay).
If you agree with that premise, then you must also agree that it is possible to reform the (not too incorrigible, anyway) criminal. That the horrible venom spouted by racist Americans at the turn of the 20th century, surrounding, and subsequent decades isn't representative of today's population. That the jerk you knew 20 years ago in college, or even 2 years ago, could have become a worthwhile member of the human race. That it is possible to genuinely change inside, for the better (and, unfortunately, accepting that, on the flip side: for the worse, given the necessary stimuli). And that this scenario can be true of an individual - or a nation.
The next time viewing the film, try and keep this idea in mind, and decide: from the standpoint of the lead character, contrived or genuine transformation? I vote that the glass is half-full.
Rating:
Summary: Wow - what a great film !!!
Review: I can't believe this movie. I saw it years ago and did not get it. It's probably the most spiritual movie ever made. Incredible! See it! Think about it!
Rating:
Summary: Groundhog Is Jesus
Review: Groundhog Day was a Harold Ramis-Danny Green script that Ramis ingeniously shot in a freezing Woodstock, IL for a 1993 release. All the film critics at the time noted it as a cute romantic comedy with no particular accomplishment. Everyone I know who has seen it, myself included, liked it and smiled on their way out of the theatre. Groundhog Day is on the American calendar, and the film is often played on that day in mid-winter where those of us in colder climates are dreaming of Spring. Today Groundhog Day is considered one of the great American Films of the late 20th Century. Danny Rubin created the concept while Harold Ramis, director of Animal House and Caddyshack broke away from his previous gross-comedy productions to direct his Opus Maximus. That's how Jonah Goldberg of the National Review described it in the February 2005 issue of the Conservative magazine.
I read the 2003 New Yorker piece about Ramis. Ramis is a Chicago born Jew with no religious training. He is a Hollywood director, actor, and comedy scriptwriter. He is presently studying Buddhism with his second wife. I don't know anything about Danny Rubin other than his version of the script had Andi MacDowell also reliving Groundhog Day along with Murray's Phil, the slimy weatherman for a Pittsburgh TV station. Ramis made the necessary changes and the rest is possibly the greatest non-secular religious experience in American Cinema. The fact that Rabbi's, Ministers, and Priests are showing this film to their parishioners all over the world is a testament to the film's masterful Aristotelian philosophy of redemption and rebirth.
There are so many classic comedy bits, lines to remember, and moments of hilarity for a short review but often overlooked is the theme of rescue through learning. Adults are cursed to make the same mistakes over and over again. Every Freudian shrink has heard his patient's repetition of behavior. Every man is trapped by his wiring. Then, sometimes, maybe because of a catastrophic event, a religious insight, or an intelligent evaluation, there is an epiphany. We can't be sure how the application of intelligence, talent, or luck can establish great work, but we must appreciate it when we see it and be the Groundhog.
Rating:
Summary: Original -funny - great!!!
Review: No way you still haven't seen this movie. A great concept and really funny. The first time I saw this movie I woke up my parents a couple of times from my laughter (the tv was showing it at 1 am!!) Great great movie and you cannot but really love Bill Marey, the guy is funny...
Rating:
Summary: Punxsutawney Phil!
Review: Haven't I seen this film before?
Phil (Bill Murray) is a cynical weather presenter with an enormous ego. Every year on February 2nd (Groundhog Day) his network sends him out Punxsutawney, Pensylvania to do a story on the groundhog (which is also called Phil) that says whether winter will continue or not. Snow, polka music, very friendly people, a quaint bed and breakfast, weatherman Phil can't stand the place! To make things worse, he has his cheery producer (Andie MacDowell) and his indifferent cameraman (Chris Elliot) in tow. Phil says he'll leave Punxsutawney by the end of the day, but just like his weather predictions, it fails to happen. Instead he wakes up in his bed and breakfast at 6:00 AM, the same song playing in the morning, the same chatty radio announcers. February 2nd. Groundhog Day! Phil is forced to live the same day, a day he hates, over and over again. He gets worried, he gets silly, he gets depressed, he gets thinking, and eventually he gets it right.
One thing I like about this film is the way it makes the most of every set, every character, every situation, every line. They could have just used the same sets and faces over and over, but they don't, they alternate, they change according to Phil's behavior. Phil goes all over, he tries everything Punxsutawney has to offer. It makes the town seem more real, fills it out, gives it three dimensions. By the end of this film, I had a real feel for the town by the end, just like Bill Murray's character. The concept gets used well too.
There's a message or two in Groundhog Day as well, which I quite like. One day can go so many different ways, depending on how you treat people, how you look at things, on what you're headed for. A person who might think is a jerk could be your friend if you give them a chance, someone you mightn't like at first just might turn out to be the girl/guy for you. Make the most of your day. It's a very Forrest Gump kind of message, actually.
Former Ghostbuster (Egon) Harold Ramis directed Groundhog Day, and co-wrote the script. Since he's worked with Murray a couple of times, Ramis knows him pretty well. It shows in the script, I thought. Mr Ramis even makes a cameo as the doctor who examines Bill Murray's brain. Keep an eye out.
I've tried counting how many times Groundhog Day repeats, but I can never figure out how many times exactly. There's a lot of days that are implied. (Like the days in which Phil memorizes the street for his bank heist, the piano lessons, the suicide attempts he mentions but we don't see, etc). If anyone knows the number of days (or weeks or years) he's supposed to be there, let me know.
The DVD comes with a documentary and a commentary from Harold Ramis. Ramis is chatty and interesting, as always, but I do wish Bill Murray was there. He didn't do Ghostbusters, he didn't do this! A bit disappointing they couldn't get him to do it. His wit would be appreciated.
Recommended to fans of Bill Murray and of feelgood film.
|
