Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day
February 12, 1993
Columbia
Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
DVD
A

This is a modern classic, the only movie I can think of that is on a level with Some Like It Hot.  Like that Billy Wilder movie, this Harold-Ramis-directed-and-cowritten movie has wonderful leads and great supporting players.  (Stephen Tobolowsky is the clear stand-out, as adorably obnoxious Ned Ryerson, but I also enjoy all the little touches Robin Duke adds to her role of Doris the waitress.)  This movie also shares with Wilder, and with Preston Sturges, a successful blend of cynicism and sentiment, although I think this '90s film is ironically much more positive about human nature than many older films.  It goes dark at times-- including in a funny but disturbing suicide montage-- but it also argues that even the most self-centered, miserable man can change his life and the lives of others, if given enough time.

The movie is obviously about time, how it can be an enemy or an ally.  I wasn't sure whether to go with sci-fi or fantasy as the label for one of the film's genres (comedy and romance were easy), because we're never given a definite reason why weatherman Phil Connors keeps repeating the same February 2nd.  There are many theories out there, ranging from the Magical Negro Bartender with his knowing looks to a whack on the head with a snow shovel.  I decided that a time warp is more of a science fiction motif than fantasy, but in the end it doesn't really matter why it happens.  It just matters what Phil does with it.

He does a lot with it, some of it illegal and immoral and fattening, and some of it uplifting.  Over time, Phil falls for his producer Rita and has to figure out how to win her.  He can't just manipulate her, like he does with other women.  She's too smart for that.  So he becomes a better person in every way.

I can't think of any movie that is so simultaneously funny and thought-provoking.  It appropriately improves on repeat viewings.  You know what's coming but you need to see it play out, watch all the variations.  Also, you grow fond of the town, as Phil does, with its Sturges-like eccentrics.

Bill Murray is perfectly cast as Phil, because, as Ramis points out on the commentary, he's got that blend of sweet and nasty.  Also, his ability to improvise serves Phil as well as the humor.  I've never been 100% happy with Andie MacDowell as Rita, but she's grown on me, and this last viewing I appreciated her little reactions when she's not the focus of attention.   I'm not sure if she's why I can't give the film an A+.  I guess a hypothetical A+ movie would have to have all the qualities of both this and Some Like It Hot, like a more memorable soundtrack here.  (Though the Ramis-penned "Weatherman" is cute.)

Bill's big brother Brian Doyle-Murray plays Buster, "the head groundhog honcho."  Rick Overton, who's Ralph here, was Dr. Rick in Earth Girls Are Easy.

Reni Santoni, whose voice was dubbed for the State Trooper, would be a Police Officer in The Brady Bunch Movie.  One of the Flat Tire Ladies, Barbara Ann Grimes, would be Mrs. Cardoza in The Hudsucker Proxy.  Stephen Detherage, who's a News Intern here, would be Al the Concert Shirt Vendor in Music and Lyrics.