Groundhog Day

 Groundhog Day

In the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania there is a yearly tradition that’s been going on for ages. Groundhog Day celebrates the weather predictions by a groundhog called Phil. When the film portraying this quirky annual event was released in 1993 starring Bill Murray, audiences were sure to be curious. The film was not a documentary about the small town festival that happens every February 2^nd, but instead tells the story of a TV weatherman who somehow gets stuck in the same day – Groundhog Day – and has to relive it… over, and over and over.

At first glance this premise looks like a one-note idea, but the film cleverly carries the character of Phil, played by Murray, through an interesting journey.

The story begins when Phil heads off to the rural town north east of Pittsburgh, with his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and camera man Larry (Chris Elliot). Phil is a self-centred, ego-centric media man who has reported the Groundhog Day festival several times before… and is completely over it. He lets his crew know this could be his last time, before moving onto bigger and better things.

February 2^nd arrives, and Phil wakes early to the tune “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher on his radio, which becomes an important reference for the rest of the film. The radio then talks about a big blizzard closing in on the town, which causes some problems later on. As he leaves his hotel, Phil bumps into an old high school friend named Ned, who instantly annoys Phil with his over eager friendliness. Phil quickly moves on and hopes he can just get through the rest of the day with no surprises. As he arrives at the town centre to meet up with Rita and Larry, Phil takes position with his microphone as the festival gets into fulls wing.

The groundhog emerges from his little house to predict the weather, and announces that winter will be a bit longer this year.  With little enthusiasm, Phil mulls his way through the rest of the news story. Afterwards, Phil discovers the blizzard has closed down all the roads leading out of town, so he can’t get back to Pittsburgh. Hoping to get out the next day, Phil stays one more night in town.

Cue the next morning, and Phil awakes early once again to the same song he heard the morning before. Then, the radio announcers talk about Groundhog Day and as Phil looks out the window at six o’clock in the morning, he sees people everywhere. What the hell is going on? As he heads outside, he runs into the same people at the same places who say the same thing they did yesterday. This doesn’t seem to be strange to anyone else – it’s only happening to Phil. How he then reacts to the curse or privilege of being trapped in the same day again and again makes for an entertaining film. To begin with, Phil uses his odd situation to his own advantage, i.e. picking up women, robbing a money delivery truck, etc. He also tires to woo his producer Rita, who isn’t an easy catch.

Groundhog Day is a clever, funny and touching story about a self-obsessed man who has to get beyond himself and learn some important life lessons if he ever wants to escape the trap of being in the same day forever. It’s one of Bill Murray’s best films and one of my favourites… because as the character of Phil relives the same day over and over, making it so entertaining… makes me feel like watching it over and over again. 

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