Saturday Night Cinema: Groundhog Day

Tonight's Saturday Night Cinema is one of my top ten. Groundhog Day is brilliant on so many levels. Funny on its face, it digs deep, posing existential questions. It is refreshingly profound. Comic genius Bill Murray is brilliant and clever as the cynical, jaded Phil Connors. "Half Capra and half Kafka"

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Groundhog Day (1993) Review/Film;
Bill Murray Battles Pittsburgh Time Warp

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By JANET MASLIN

Published: February 12, 1993

In "Groundhog Day," playing a formerly smug weatherman who finds himself
condemned to relive one Feb. 2 over and over again in Punxsutawney,
Pa., Bill Murray explains his feelings to two bleary-eyed, beer-drinking
locals. "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and
everything was exactly the same and nothing that you did mattered?" he
asks despairingly. The two strangers listen very sympathetically. They
didn't have to be trapped by a magic spell to know what he means.

That glimmer of recognition is what makes "Groundhog Day" a particularly
witty and resonant comedy, even when its jokes are more apt to prompt
gentle giggles than rolling in the aisles. The story's premise,
conceived as a sitcom-style visit to the Twilight Zone, starts out
lightweight but becomes strangely affecting. Phil Connors, Mr. Murray's
amusingly rude Pittsburgh television personality, surely deserves to be
punished for his arrogance. But who in the audience hasn't ever wished
time would stand still and offer a second, third or even a 20th chance?

The jaded Phil, a perfect character for Mr. Murray, begins the story
sounding terminally smooth. He refers to himself as "talent," and
addresses a fellow newscaster as "Hairdo." He sneers at Punxsutawney and
is contemptuous of his own charming producer (Andie MacDowell) and
darkly funny cameraman (Chris Elliott). He even delivers
pleasant-sounding insults to the proprietors of the bed-and-breakfast
where he is staying, not realizing he may be staying there forever.

As directed breezily by Harold Ramis (who wrote the screenplay with
Danny Rubin), "Groundhog Day" employs the sort of time-bending trickery
that worked so well for "Back to the Future." Thus, Phil finds himself
revisiting the recent past and coming face to face with people not fully
aware of his special powers. On the first Feb. 2, he is cheerfully
odious to everyone he meets, including an insurance salesman named Ned
(Stephen Tobolowsky, hilarious as the quintessential pest). But as time
goes by — or doesn't — Phil begins to try out different gambits,
testing the limits of his plight. He learns that he can do nothing bad
enough to keep himself from waking up under the same flowered quilt,
listening to Sonny and Cher sing "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio at
6 A.M. Not even smashing the radio to bits will make them shut up.

Wildly frustrated at first, Phil gradually begins to treat his plight as
a learning experience. He can, for instance, take enough piano lessons
to impress Ms. MacDowell's enchanting Rita, once he realizes how wrong
he was to treat her badly. One of the film's many repetitive sequences
shows Phil on a date with Rita, learning so much about her that he can
begin sounding like a mind reader and passing himself off as the perfect
mate. "You couldn't

plan

a day like this!" Rita finally sighs happily. "Well, you can," says Phil. "It just takes an awful lot of work."

The film makes the most of the sentimental possibilities in Phil's
rehabilitation.  But it
also has fun with the nihilism. Phil eagerly explores every
self-destructive possibility now open to him, from jumping off buildings
to smoking cigarettes to overeating and refusing to floss; at one point
he even casually robs an armored truck, just to see if he can. "Well,
what if there

is

no tomorrow?" he anxiously asks someone. "There wasn't one today!"

Mr. Murray is back in top form with a clever, varied role that draws
upon the full range of his talents. As in "Scrooged," he makes a
transition from supreme cynic to nice guy, and this time he does so with
particularly good grace. Half Capra and half Kafka, the story of
"Groundhog Day" presents golden opportunities, particularly in the
gently romantic scenes with Ms. MacDowell. Mr. Murray is as believable
and appealing at these moments as he is flinging insults. Ms. MacDowell,
a warm comic presence and a thorough delight, plays a modern working
woman while also reminding viewers that this is at heart a fairy tale.
As Phil tries one desperate tactic after another, fairy tale fans will
be way ahead of him, knowing what it takes to break a spell.

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Anson Panz

11 years ago

Thanks Pamela. It’s one of my favorites too, right behind Bull Durham.

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MA02169

11 years ago

No good deed goes unpunished.
Thirty pairs of shoes, and a Bronx apartment.
NY Homeless Man Given Boots By Cop Has ’30 Pairs Of Shoes’ At His Apartment
Posted on Mar 26, 2013 @ 15:33PM | By Debbie Emery, Radar Reporter
A simple act of selfless generosity has sparked a bitter backlash after it has been revealed that the homeless man who was bought brand new boots by a NYPD cop last winter has reportedly been scamming well-wishers and abusing the kindness of strangers.
Not only does barefoot beggar Jeffrey Hillman have an apartment and a preacher paying his bills, he also has bags of shoes sneakily hidden in a garbage bag, according to the New York Post.
The allegedly faux homeless man was spotted Sunday night counting a fat wad of bills while riding the subway from his panhandling spot in Times Square to his home in the Bronx, and the immoral act was caught on tape by a Post reporter.

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MA02169

11 years ago

So. For the Easter/Passover weekend you chose Groundhog Day?
What did you choose for the Groundhog Day? Exodus?
====================
To all the Shruggers! Happy Easter, and Happy Passover!

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MA02169

11 years ago

Andy Williams: “The Exodus Song” (This Land Is Mine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEYmomUuveU
I love this song.

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JakeTobias

11 years ago

A guy I know is one of those people who never watches the same movie twice. Even though he loves movies. While he prefers to see them in a theater, he does rent. And he sees all of them. And I do mean all of them. Including foreign ones. But he made it clear a long time ago, he will not accept DVDs as a gift. Whenever someone mentions they bought this or that movie, he just rolls his eyes. Or asks if they are hoping for a different ending. Well, guess which movie he chose for his first bought movie ever? That’s right! Caddyshack. (just kidding) Of course it really was Broken Flowers. Wait a minute, I think the guy I’m thinking of is dead now. I think he’s the one that was hit by a train while driving down the tracks. Well, I’ll ask him tomorrow, okay?

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sharia observer

11 years ago

Thank you Pamela. Definitely parallels waking up every day to creeping Sharia.
Jack

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James Linnstrom II

11 years ago

That IS funny.

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James Linnstrom II

11 years ago

I would not call Bill Murray as a comic genius but he is a very good actor. However This movie, Groundhog Day, is his best role, IMO.

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Bronwyn

11 years ago

Well done. You made me smile. I hope you keep writing.

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duh_swami

11 years ago

Happens to me all the time…It all started when I watched the movie ‘Slaughter house 5’…it was the cake, ‘Stepenwolf’ was the icing…
‘The Magic Theater for Mad Men only’ was appealing until I found out Allah was the proprietor…But it was Montana Wildhat who convinced me that if I have to live every day over and over, I might as well do it in a good mood…

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DebbieL

11 years ago

It is interesting to think about how long Bill Murray spent trapped in the same day. The lowest estimate seems to be 8 years but others have estimated it to be as long as 30-40 years. Wow! It takes a long time to change!

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