Groundhog Day, the movie

[scottydog]

Groundhog Day, in my opinion, is a terrific movie, and it can be argued that it is easily Bill Murray's best performance as an actor. Here's why I believe the movie has proven to be so popular.

The movie works so well because it is both funny and poignant at the same time. I'm not a big Roger Ebert fan, but I'm glad he had sense enough to place the movie on his Great Movies list.

What do you think of Groundhog Day? What are your favorite scenes?

 

[FPAlpha]

It never gets old.. i always watch it whenever it's on TV because it's just so funny and Murray is at his best in this one.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

Oh yes. I suspected this movie was a classic-to-be when I first fell in love with it in 1993. I really enjoyed the Harold Ramis quote in the linked article:

“This movie spoke to people on a lot of levels,” said Ramis. ”The spiritual community responded to this film in an unprecedented way. Hasidic Jews held up signs outside of theaters asking, ‘Are you living the same day over and over again?’ Then I started getting letters from the Zen Buddhist community, the Yoga community, the Christian fundamentalist community, the psychoanalytic community, and everyone claiming that this was their philosophy and that I must be one of them for having made this movie.”

 

[TheBrew]

Absolutely fantastic movie. Endlessly re-watchable, well acted and even Chris Elliot isn't unbearably annoying.

 

[scottydog]

The casting for the movie was just perfect, too. The guy who played Ned Reyerson was priceless. Plus, Andie MacDowell was phenomenal.

 

[Gov Kodos]

One of the unapreciated points of this film is how well the secondary actors play their roles/or that their performances blend with the main ensemble. It is a wonderful film that I often use with my students here in Seoul and has never been short of refreshing views and reviews on the story.

 

[Scout101]

I like some of the stuff that's popped up from the movie, like people that try to figure out how long he was stuck in the loop. Average time to learn all of these skills at his level (plus wasted time trying to get the teacher up to speed every day, gotta be tough to walk into a room and have to demonstrate where you left off every day if the teacher has never met you), plus wasted time, other persuits, etc, could have been in the loop for hundreds of years, easily. Plus the time in the middle where he just went nuts for a while, which after years of repeating the same day without change, makes perfect sense...

 

[scottydog]

I like some of the stuff that's popped up from the movie, like people that try to figure out how long he was stuck in the loop. Average time to learn all of these skills at his level (plus wasted time trying to get the teacher up to speed every day, gotta be tough to walk into a room and have to demonstrate where you left off every day if the teacher has never met you), plus wasted time, other persuits, etc, could have been in the loop for hundreds of years, easily. Plus the time in the middle where he just went nuts for a while, which after years of repeating the same day without change, makes perfect sense...

The guy who wrote the original script had Phil Connors stuck for 10,000 years. Apparently that's a spiritually significant number in Buddhism. I can easily imagine it being at least hundreds of years, as Phil knows everything and everyone in town and, as you mention, acquires some amazing skills (ice-sculpting and piano) that take many years to master.

 

[Corran Horn]

Great movie. I watch it whenever it's on.

 

[Mistral]

Not a Murray fan. I've found him generally annoying since he was on SNL. That said, this is one of my favorite movies. I will watch it twice in one day if TNT runs it that way.

 

[Samurai8472]

The scene that gets me is when he feeds that homeless man then the next scene is Phil in an alley trying to revive the old man.

"C'mon!"

 

[tomalak301]

I consider a great movie of all time to be that in which I can turn it on the TV, and stay to watch it. Groundhog Day is one of those movies, and I still consider it Bill Murray's Best performance.

I do like the coincidence that Stephen Tobolowsky played Ned Ryerson and then many many years later he plays Sandy Ryerson in Glee. It was probably intentional, but still interesting anyway.

 

[Amaris]

The scene that gets me is when he feeds that homeless man then the next scene is Phil in an alley trying to revive the old man.

"C'mon!"

Yes! That scene, where the little old man is eating his soup and Phil gives him more to eat and he smiles, because you know what's coming. *sigh*, I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it.

 

[scottydog]

Interestingly, one of the best and most important scenes is one that is hard to hear. I only heard it the last time I saw the movie because I turned the volume all the way up to maximum. Phil is lying in bed with Rita, and while she sleeps he tells her that he doesn't deserve someone like her, but if he ever did, he would be with her forever.

Among Kubler-Ross's 5 stages of dealing with loss, this is his bargaining stage. He's already been through denial, anger, and depression, and is on his way to acceptance.

 

[bigdaddy]

I watched it like20 times in one month years ago and my mom kept going "You are watching it again". It's a repeated time line you can watch it forever. It's such a wonderful, funny, and darkish movie. He does spend part of the movie trying to kill himself, yet it's still light and fun and funny.

 

[Joeman]

It's #160 on the IMDb top 250. It's a movie that seems like it would be hard to dislike. Consider me a big fan as well.

 

[I Grok Spock]

"Don't drive angry." - A line I use with some frequency.

This is just one of those perfect movies. Like The Sting or Star Wars or The Philadelphia Story or Back to the Future. Adding or subtracting one scene or one line would diminish it.

Plus, my wife and I are from PA (and her from near Punxsutawney), so that's an added bonus.

 

[scottydog]

Director Harold Ramis tells the story of how Tom Hanks was going to play the lead role but was unable to do so because of other film commitments. After the film was released, starring Bill Murray instead, Hanks told Ramis how much better Murray was for the role. Hanks said that Phil Connors' transformation from bad to good would have been too "anticipated" given that Hanks usually plays likeable characters. Bill Murray's darkness and disagreeableness makes his character's transformation more impactful to audiences.

There could be some truth to this idea. I can't imagine anyone but Murray playing the role of Phil Connors.

 

[FPAlpha]

"Phiiiiil???"

"Ned?"

*WHAM*

*me on the floor for minutes *

 

[scottydog]

[after Phil has driven the truck he has stolen off a cliff to kill both himself and Punxsutawney Phil]
Larry: He... might be okay.
[the truck explodes in a fireball]
Larry: Well, no. Probably not now.