Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a comedy movie starring Bill Murray as a an arrogant, self-centered weatherman trapped in a time warp in a small town. He has to live February 2nd over and over: he wakes up every morning and it's Groundhog Day all over again.

As the movie begins, he's assigned a new (and very pretty) producer, played by Andie MacDowell. His assignment is to cover the Groundhog Day festival in Punxatowney, Pennsylvania (actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois).

Responses to his existential quandary

At first, he's disbelieving. Next, he lapses (further, if one can believe it) into selfish behavior, learning everything he can about each person he meets so he can exploit them for his own benefit. He seduces a girl, robs an armored car, overeats (with no risk of getting fat).

Then he tires of the sameness and tries to kill himself, a ploy which works but doesn't work. Not even death ends the cycle, because he always wakes up "the next day" at 6:00 A.M. to the irritating strains of Sonny and Cher singing "I've Got You, Babe" on his clock radio.

Something (or Someone?) has got him. What can he possibly do? (Watch the movie and find out!)

Reflections on Eternity

Many have speculated on how long the director and screenwriter have Phil live the same day. Consider that he learns to play classical and jazz piano, as well as ice-sculpting, so we're probably talking decades, not years.

Comments on the movie

• "It's about doing things in the moment to make things better, instead of making things worse." (from the DVD extras)
• Romance: "He tries to look like a guy in love."
• Harold Ramis: "He stops worrying about himself, and starts living a life of service."

Director Harold Ramis says he got comments from all sorts of religious people saying that the movie encapsulated their philosophy: Buddhists, a yogi, Jesuits, fundamentalist Christians.