'Groundhog Day' is a much-loved film which has grown in popularity since its release over 25 years ago and become a classic. It's a fun film with a positive human message and for that reason, as well as being set in winter, it has become a favourite for family viewing over Christmas, rather like 'It's A Wonderful Life'. It also has something of the magical fairytale about it - a spell cast upon a human in winter-time; and a moral story of challenge, change and recovery. Thirdly, it has a deeper meaning, and it is something of an accidental philosophical masterpiece, as we shall see. The film is one of the success stories of modern cinema - a low-budget human comedy which has grown to be widely loved by the public and revered by critics and even philosophers. SPOILER ALERT Usually I don't give away the full plot in these reviews, but the second half of my note does assume knowledge of the film (it has been around a long time).
I recommend you watch the film first before you read the second part of the review.
PART ONE - OVERVIEW
What's it like ? Warm, charming, witty. A clever fantasy drama comedy reflecting on human nature and how we lead life.
Plot: Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a successful tv weatherman working with producer Rita Harrison (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman (Chris Elliott). Unfortunately, Phil is an ill-mannered, egotistical and sarcastic character who treats others poorly. Even his good-hearted producer Rita finds him quite wearing.
The tv crew Phil, Rita and Chris travel out from the city to the little town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for the annual Groundhog Day on February 2. This is a tradition that a small groundhog (like a beaver) comes out of his hibernation in his ground home and either sees a shadow or does not, meaning there will either be six more weeks of winter or not. The townspeople come out for festivities on the morning of the ceremony. Phil, as an urban sophisticate, holds the small-town people of Punxsutawney in contempt and openly derides them.
Having made their short film report, the tv crew of Phil, Rita and Chris get in the tv van and drive back to the city, but have to turn back because of a snowstorm. They end up spending the whole day in Punxsutawney.
The next day Phil wakes up and find he is in the very same day, Groundhog Day, with the same situations and people. And this happens the next day, and the next day, and the one after that. On and on and on.
The rest of the film narrates how he deals with this strange and unexpected situation.
Comment:
'Groundhog Day' is an excellent film. It's a light-hearted, v human drama comedy about how we choose to live our lives.
The 'repeating day' syndrome poses the main character Phil with an important question:
What would you do, if you found yourself in the same day, over and over ? How would you feel about it ? What would you do with your time ?
The acting is excellent and Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell are perfectly cast as, respectively, the sarcastic and rude weatherman and the warm-hearted, generous producer.
The script is witty and entertaining and well-paced: the film unfolds at a good pace, with its own rhythm. It also explores different phases in Phil's approach with clear progression and also subtle change.
Interesting facts:
Did you know 1 ? The film was made, not in Punxsutawney but in the town of Woodstock, Illinois, because Woodstock's town centre looked better and the town was less remote.
Did you know 2 ? The film's co-writer and director was Harold Ramis who had starred in Ghostbusters together with Bill Murray. Sadly, they had a major falling-out on the set of Groundhog Day (partly because Bill Murray was under a lot of personal stress at the time). But they did make it up many years later; and Bill Murray paid a special tribute to Ramis at the Oscars soon after.
Did you know 3 ? England has a similar tradition to Groundhog Day: St Swithin's Day (15 July) - if it rains on that day, it is said it will rain for the next forty days; and if not, it will not rain.
Public response to GD: It was a fairly large, though not massive, success in 1993: made for $14m, taking in $70m at the US box office. Perhaps unexpectedly, it has lasted over the years, and has grown to become a classic.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)
IMdb: 8/10 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
Verdict: 5/5 It's perfectly realised, in terms of humanity, fun and philosophy.
PART TWO - COMMENTARY AND BACKGROUND (WITH SPOILERS)
How long does Phil spend in Groundhog Day ?
It is an interesting question how long Phil spends in Groundhog Day. The film does not explicitly say at any point.
My sense from the film is that he is there for about 100 days. Someone told me they thought he was there for a month.
In fact, the writers of the film envisaged he was there for about 35 years (which is over 10,000 days) !! This does feel long, but one has to remember he learns some advanced skills while there which would take several years to master:
playing the piano
doing ice sculpture
learning about lots of people in the town in depth
and, of course, learning to be a better person.
What is the message of Groundhog Day ?
I think the message is simply that:
we should choose to be kind and good-hearted in each day of our lives
we should avoid indulging our desires selfishly and not caring about other people
The development of the main character Phil
Phil clearly goes through various phases while in Groundhog Day:
first half
Initially, he is scared and freaked out to find himself trapped in a repeating time-warp.
Then it dawns on him that he can live without consequences, because the next day it is as if the previous day has not happens, so he embarks on a wanton spree of self-indulgence
Eventually, despair overcomes him, probably a mixture of dread at being trapped and a discovery that self-indulgence does not ultimately satisfy. second half At this point, Phil begins to change and seems to turn over a new leaf, to live in a more positive and caring way: he starts being polite and positive to other people he helps people who are having difficulties
(eg a car breakdown, a fall, or a first-aid matter) he starts developing useful skills such as playing the piano
He also starts wooing and pursuing Rita, whom, though he didn't entirely realise it at first, he is quite attracted to. Initially, he does this in a v calculated and manipulative way, with some success.
conclusion
In the end, as viewers of the film know, he breaks free from Groundhog Day. It is clear to this is because he has become a better person, looking out for others. It's interesting to note that Phil is still not perfect - he's still a bit egotistical and full of himself, but in a much more self-aware and gentle manner. However, he has become good enough to break free. Finally, by the end, there is genuine love and that seems to be key in breaking the spell and allowing Phil to move forward with his life. What other literature and films it is like Groundhog Day has similar features to other stories with a human or moral lesson: magical fairytales: GD is set in winter-time, with a spell cast. It is quite like a fairytale such as Sleeping Beauty (whole kingdom asleep); or the fantasy story The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (whole country in winter). A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Like Scrooge, Phil is a misanthropic, mean character who learns to live better and look after other people. Like Phil, Scrooge is confronted by a surprising and scary events: encounters with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
How Groundhog Day came to be revered by religious groups and philosophers The writers of the film, Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin, simply made the film as a light-hearted exploration of some interesting questions about being human, such as: what would happen if you lived the same day over and over again ? They developed it into a fantasy comedy, and explored the implications of the scenario in human terms; and simply saw it as a human drama. But once the film was released in cinemas, they started being approached by various religious and philosophical groups, who explained excitedly that it dramatized their world view. The four main groups were:
Jews: that righteous people who do good works will be rewarded with good things Buddhists: that we go through various incarnations, each one giving the opportunity to improve our spiritual state and move up to a higher level of being with the next incarnation Roman Catholics: that we spend time in purgatory to purge ourselves of our failings and weaknesses existentialists: that Phil's situation is absurd, like everyone's life is, and he has to make a decision about how to give it some meaning
Other ideas: perpetual recurrence The universe goes through exactly the same cycle again and again. We live the same life over and over again. This was an idea of Frederich Nietzsche, the German philosopher https://www.rupertwegerif.name/blog/groundhog-day-nietzsche-and-the-meaning-of-life a model of psychoanalysis: reflecting on past events again and again until you find resolution and grow as a person https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-symbolism-behind-the-movie-%E2%80%9CGroundhog-Day%E2%80%9D There is even a popular psychology/self-help book called 'The Wisdom of Groundhog Day: how to improve your life one day at a time' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wisdom-Groundhog-Day-improve-your-ebook/dp/ Q. So, are these thinkers over-analysing the script of the film ? A. Not at all, I think. Rather, Ramis and Rubin stumbled upon some deep facets of being human, by simply writing a very human film within an unusual time structure. And the whole struck a chord with themes and models in major philosophies and religions. Reading: Wiki: The Wiki article has a lot of interesting background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film) 8 interpretations of Groundhog Day: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55243/8-creative-interpretations-groundhog-day Meanings of Groundhog Day: https://nypost.com/2016/02/02/people-are-weirdly-obsessed-with-the-true-meaning-of-groundhog-day/ A story of learning to live with more compassion and humanity: https://transparencynow.com/groundhog.htm A message of taking it easy and living in a simple manner and doing good things: https://www.salon.com/2018/02/01/groundhog-day-at-25-we-need-its-anti-hustle-no-yolo-message-more-than-ever/ Philosophy Now: https://philosophynow.org/issues/93/Groundhog_Day Interview with Harold Ramis on meaning of GD: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/02/582852283/how-to-understand-the-philosophy-of-groundhog-day-and-live-life-by-its-message Life Lessons from GD: https://www.flavorwire.com/368169/10-life-lessons-from-groundhog-day 16 December 2019
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