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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 2nd, 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 2nd 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.
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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