Groundhog Day Review

I first saw Groundhog Day during its theatrical run in 1993; it was my birthday - or close to it - and because it was my 30th, my friends Betsy, Richard and David decided to invite me to a Dinner and Movie Friends' Night Out.

Because we had started watching Saturday Night Live in junior high school, we were already familiar with the movie's lead actor, Bill Murray.  David, the lone golfer in our quartet, had loved Caddyshack, while all of us had seen and thoroughly enjoyed Stripes and Ghostbusters, which had been pretty successful vehicles for the SNL alum and Groundhog Day's director, Harold Ramis.

For some reason, I had not read or seen any review of Groundhog Day before we all chose to see it;  I usually like to read a professional film reviewer's opinion or watch shows such as At The Movies or the now-gone Roeper and Ebert, but in this case I was going into cinematic "terra incognita."

Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?

Ralph: That about sums it up for me.

Groundhog Day has a simple storyline: wry, acerbic, misantrophic weatherman Phil Connors is assigned by his Pittsburgh television station to cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, along with Rita (Andie MacDowell), a new and bubbly producer, and Larry, a wonderfully sarcastic cameraman/driver (Chris Elliott). Unhappy with being saddled with the assignment for the fourth year in a row, Phil grouses, mocks Rita's Candide-like cheerfulness, and generally acts like a television prima donna.

Groundhog Day really takes off when Phil -- having been forced to stay in Punxsutawney by the sudden approach of a nasty blizzard -- wakes up at 6:00 in the morning and discovers that there "was no tomorrow" for him. It's Groundhog Day all over again, with the same situations recurring over, and over, and over, and over again. Worse still, Phil can remember everything and everyone he encounters, even though everyone else doesn't.

My Viewpoint:  Although the film has a vast array of supporting characters that are always fun to watch -- Stephen Tobolowsky's comically annoying Ned Ryerson is my favorite -- Groundhog Day is carried by the wonderful chemistry between Murray and MacDowell, whose irrepressible Rita becomes the first woman to truly capture Phil's heart.

This being a romantic comedy, of course, I knew that Phil would eventually fall for the gorgeous brunette, but what caught me off-guard was the subtle way that screenwriters Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis (who, in addition to being one of the producers and the director of Groundhog Day, has a brief cameo as a medical doctor) inform the audience that Phil has feelings for Rita; in the scene where the still-acerbic and selfish weatherman seduces Nancy Taylor (Marita Geraghty), he calls out "Rita" twice while they're having sex.

Ned: Phil? Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you. Now don't you tell me you don't remember me 'cause I sure as heckfire remember you.

Phil: Not a chance.

Ned: Ned... Ryerson. "Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High. I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing. Ned Ryerson, got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson, I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?

Phil: Ned Ryerson?

Ned: BING.

Phil: Bing.


There are other subplots to Groundhog Day's tale of Phil's re-entry into the human race, some being straightforward comedy, and some are bittersweet moments that show Murray's character's slow-but-steady redemption, but I think it's best for first-time viewers to discover them on their own. Suffice it to say that Groundhog Day is one of those rare movies that truly deserve the title of "classic comedy." Its mix of wry humor, fantasy, and warm romance lifts Groundhog Day head and shoulders above most "funny films."