Groundhog Day!
I recently re-watched one of my favorite films (re-watching is quite appropriate in this case as you’ll know if you’ve seen this clever, funny movie!). And I was still as charmed as ever!
Groundhog Day came out in 1993 which is when I saw it (that makes me feel rather ancient!) at the cinema in Brisbane and found myself completely enchanted by how original this story is. If you write and if you watch a lot of movies and TV, you generally can predict where a plot is going to go. Yet I remember that I was surprised over and over, watching Groundhog Day for the first time.
I still think it’s one of the cleverest conceits for a story that I’ve ever seen. Bill Murray is wonderfully dry and sardonic as Phil Connors, the bad-tempered, rude, selfish man at the center of the story, and I think Andie MacDowell makes a lovely heroine. Perhaps a little too sweet but the performance makes a perfect contrast to Phil’s abrasive personality, especially in the earlier part of the film.
If you haven’t seen it (although I suspect you have!), this is a story of cosmic redemption and belongs to the same stable of films as It’s a Wonderful Life or The Enchanted Cottage or A Portrait of Jennie. I think you could even go back to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for the original blueprint.
Otherworldly forces have our characters in their grip for the sake of their souls. We never quite get to the bottom of those otherworldly forces but that doesn’t really matter – the hint of mystery adds an extra enigmatic touch to the story. What matters more than the how is the character arc for the protagonist/s. They start in one place – generally curmudgeonly or depressed or lost or unfulfilled or disappointed in some way – and by the end of the film, their eyes are open to a new and much happier life. It’s a journey I always enjoy taking in a story (it’s a popular one in romance, although generally without the woo-woo element).
Phil Connors is a horridly cynical and callous weatherman for a public broadcasting station in Philadelphia. Every year, on 2nd February, he and a small film crew go out to Punxsutawney in the back blocks of Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day, when a large rodent comes out of his burrow to forecast whether winter will continue or whether spring is on the way. This year, Phil is on the road with beautiful new producer Rita (MacDowell) and a long-time associate, cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott). Larry has learned to loathe Phil, who treats him with a casual contempt that makes you cringe. Phil is definitely due for redemption!
Phil is always pretty grumpy about having to endure all the folksy charm of this small town and even grumpier when a blizzard after the broadcast forces him and his associates back to Punxsutawney to spend an extra night instead of returning home. Then the next day, Phil wakes up to discover that it’s the 2nd February all over again – and he’s the only person who knows that he’s lived this day before.
This pattern repeats and repeats, with Phil going through all the stages of grief from denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (I was reading about the film before I put this column together and discovered this was a concept in the writers’ minds). In the process, Phil is dragged kicking and screaming to learning about life, himself, and love, so that the man at the end of the film is ready to step up and become a valuable member of the society that he once scorned.
In the wrong hands, this could have been really sickly sweet, but the script is sharp and funny and full of great observations and character comedy (I love the ex-high school acquaintance who is selling insurance played by Stephen Tobolowsky, who is always good for a laugh). It’s also genuinely touching and heartfelt – not an easy mix to pull off with all the black humor. A lot of the credit for this goes to the writers Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis, the disciplined direction (Harold Ramis again) and Murray’s deadpan performance. Oh, and the groundhog (another Phil) is also pretty darn cute!
Clever, unusual, original romantic comedies have been pretty thin on the ground lately – maybe it’s time to turn to the groundhog for relief, even if you’ve seen him before! This is a true classic!
