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Tagline: He's having the worst day of his life... over, and over... (more)
Plot Outline: Phil, a sarcastic weather man, finds himself trapped in the identical February 2, but he's the only person that realizes it. (more)(view trailer)
User Comments:
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 the character do something the average human would do when given the power(s). And that's exactly what Phil does in "Groundhog Day." And that is why, among other things, it is one of my favorites.
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Date: 12 March 2003 Summary: 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 the character do something the average human would do when given the power(s). And that's exactly what Phil does in "Groundhog Day." And that is why, among other things, it is one of my favorites.
REVIEW BY JOHN ULMER
Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a weatherman for a local news station.
Every
year he goes to Puxatawney, Pennsylvania for the Puxatawney Phil event:
commonly recognized as Groundhog Day. You know how it goes. The groundhog
comes out. 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. Only one problem. Due
to
severe weather, the roads have all been closed, leaving only one option:
Stay in Puxatawney 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. Phil panicks as he finds everything exactly the
same 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.
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." Anyway. 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 thinks 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.
Harold Ramis, director of "Analyze This," star of "Stripes," directed
"Groundhog Day." Bill and he are old pals, and it sure shows. I bet they
had
a great time making this movie. But what is good about it is that while
making a fun movie they didn't forget to come up with an interesting and
audience-catching tale.
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 Ferarri, 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 with John Candy named "Delirious." It was
about a soap opera writer getting trapped in his own world. And
everything
he writes on his typewriter comes true. While the movie was good, and
pretty
interesting, there were so many things Candy could have done with the
ability to create and control any - and every- thing, 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 the
character do something the average human would do when given the
power(s).
And that's exactly what Phil does in "Groundhog Day." And that is why,
among
other things, it is one of my favorites.
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