Groundhog Day Review

How can you not like a romantic comedy with a time loop and a groundhog that drives? Groundhog Day is on my short list of the best romantic comedies of all time. If you haven't seen it, plan to rent it -- it's a terrific date movie and it's really fine for the whole family.

A Pittsburgh TV crew heads to Punxsutawney, Pennslyvania, to record the annual Groundhog Day festivities. On the team is the insufferable Phil (Bill Murray), a jaded and critical weatherman who enjoys showing everyone how smart he is. Also on the team is Rita (Andie MacDowell), a sweet and attractive producer, and Larry (Chris Eliott), a droll cameraman. Phil spends the night before Groundhog Day in a bed & breakfast, and delivers a string of put-downs as he heads out the door to do the TV shoot. Once the shoot is over, the crew heads back to Pittsburgh but is turned back by a surprise snowstorm. The next thing Phil knows, he is waking up in the morning and it is Groundhog Day all over again.

In fact, it is Groundhog Day over and over and over and over again, seemingly forever. Only Phil is aware that the day is repeating and everyone else acts as though Groundhog Day had not happened before. Although there is no explanation as to why the day is repeating for Phil and he has no idea how to break the loop, Phil tries all sorts of things to end his interminable existance on a single day. Many of these are hilariously comic and laugh-out-loud funny. Among other things, he works at seducing Rita. Each time he makes a mistake and she rejects him, he learns from it gets further the next time. Still, Rita is never quite convinced that the jerk she knew the day before is really the romantic and sensitive guy now in front of her. Phil's initial attempts to seduce Rita are all rebuffed no matter how hard he tries -- and he tries VERY hard.

Slowly, after possibly years of looped Groundhog Days, Phil gets the idea to better himself. He takes piano lessons, saves people choking in a restaurant and actually cares about a sick homeless man. It is only through this redemption that Phil eventually breaks out of his temporal prison, but getting there is quite a ride.

Goundhog Day is just completely unique in so many ways. For one thing, you never really know it's a romantic comedy until it's over. As you're sitting there watching, it's more of a science fiction allegory, albeit a very funny one. I'm no fan of Bill Murray but he was absolutely the perfect choice for Phil, and the part fits him like water fits a pond. Andie MacDowell is the right choice as Rita, vulnerable and professional in turns. A relationship between Rita and Phil is initially unthinkable, yet completely believable by the end of Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day is a film for just about all ages. The youngest kids won't figure out what's going on, but it is fine for kids 10 and older. Phil seduces several women in the course of the film but there is no nudity and no bedroom scenes. The language in the film is fairly mild, nothing kids haven't heard on playgrounds by age 10. Better still, the message of Groundhog Day is one for the ages: Only by constant improvement and introspection can you get what you want in life. This Zen-like concept is delivered so gently and quietly that it sneaks up on you. Yet it leaves a powerful impression at the end -- and Groundhog Day still has more genuine laughs than just about any other comedy.

I strongly recommend Groundhog Day. It is funny, clever, romantic and completely entertaining.