Groundhog Day [PG]

Grouchy and self-centred weatherman, Phil Connors, is sent with producer, Rita, and cameraman, Larry, to the little of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremony: every February 2^nd a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerges and, depending on whether or not he sees a shadow, predicts if Spring will come early if there will be six more weeks of winter. Phil doesn’t want to be there at all so when he wakes up the next morning to discover that he’s reliving the same day, he is less than thrilled, a feeling which is heightened as he relives the same day over and over and over again. 

This was a very clever, charming, and original comedy. I was expecting it to be some sort of silly, repetitive, and predictable story, but it was actually really clever particularly because you never find out why Phil is forced to relive the same day over and over. It also, at one point, toon a turn for the sinister thus, making it a very engaging and evenly balanced comedy. 

Grouchy and self-centred weatherman, Phil Connors, is sent with producer, Rita, and cameraman, Larry, to the little town of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremony: every February 2^nd a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerges and, depending on whether or not he sees a shadow, predicts if Spring will come early or if there’ll be another six weeks of winter. Phil doesn’t want to be there at all so when he wakes up the next morning to discover that he’s reliving the same day, he is less than thrilled, a feeling which is heightened as he discovers that he’s waking up to the same day over and over and over again. 

As I mentioned before, this is a very clever and original story, one that had a strong message about goodwill to all men and no reason to its rhyme. You never learn what causes Phil to relive the same day over and over and usually that would annoy the crap out of anyone, but the way the script and screenplay are written prevents you from dwelling on the fact that you don’t know why all this is happening. It’s really clever and I don’t think there has ever been a comedy that has done that, before or since. 

Bill Murray stars as Phil and he was brilliant. He’s a perfect prick to begin with, but as he goes through these different frames of mind caused by the repetition of the day, you find yourself willing him to succeed in straightening everything out. He delivered a performance that was egocentric, comedic, gluttonous, suicidal, romantic, charming, and versatile. He’s was just great the watch. 

Starring Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, and Rick Overton, Groundhog Day was a cleverly constructed comedy that was filled with sarcasm, slapstick, romance, all things cold, and Sonny and Cher. Securing a place in The Book it’s definitely a film you have to see before you die.