Watch Out For That First Step. It's a Douzie! (Movie Only) (Groundhog Day (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Groundhog Day (DVD)
Date:	20/01/08 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Murray at his best

Disadvantages: Bit sugary at times

Phil Connors (Bill Murray) yearns for more status. Tired of doing the local weather and the occasional quirky news story, he's generally dismissive of the people that work with him, unkind to strangers and feels that life's a drag. So when he gets asked to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney yet again, he reluctantly goes together with his pretty producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman, Larry (Chris Elliott). Holing up in a local bed and breakfast, he's woken at 6am by his radio-clock alarm to the strains of Sony and Cher's "I Got You Babe" followed by the inane babble of two of the radio station's DJs.

Connors shoots the scene involving local celeb, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who can apparently predict whether there's going to be an early Spring but on attempting to leave town afterwards, the crew are sent back following the closing of the roads due to a blizzard. The following day at precisely 6am, the alarm goes off again playing exactly the same song and followed by word for word babble from the two DJs. Connors meets the same man on the stairs, replays the same scenario at breakfast and bumps into the same ex-school chum in town. Confused, he lives out the same day as before only to find that the following day is another exact repeat. As every day unfolds the same as the previous one, Connors comes to realise that he's in love with Rita but what does he have to do to break the repeating cycle?

"Groundhog Day" is a romantic comedy film released in 1993. Directed by Ghostbuster, Harold Ramis (who gets a cameo as a doctor), it is based on a story by Danny Rubin with the screenplay co-written by Rubin and the movie's director. I must admit, I am a big fan of Murray. I love the Ghostbuster movies, thought he was great in "Scrooged", wasn't so keen on his character in "Lost in Translation" and generally find his deadpan humour funny.

In "Groundhog Day", Murray is on top form. Classically laconic and mostly cynical, Murray's wry stare pre-empts many of the golden one-liners that litter the script. Compelling as a man caught in a time-loop, Murray's character steals bags of money from security vans guarded only by doddery old men, courts women having built up a winning formula too woo them following several days of punctuated chat and even tries to commit suicide in numerous different ways. At one point, having realized that whatever he does, he can operate with impunity, he goes on a joy ride, trailed by cops, eventually crashing the car. As a stern officer wanders over to the smoking vehicle, Connors winds the window down, looks out and says: "Yeah, three cheeseburgers, two large fries, two chocolate shakes and a large coke.". Needless to say, he, along with his co-drinkers, get thrown in jail but he wakes again the following day at 6am on the dot as though nothing has happened.

MacDowell is delightful in her co-lead role. Best remembered (by me, at least) for her role in "Sex, Lies and Videotape", she plays along with Murray's deadpan humour beautifully. Sure, it all gets a bit sugary towards the end as the love story plot gathers momentum but it's in context and MacDowell's smile lights up the screen, scene after scene as the metaphorical girl next door. Chris Elliott as Larry makes a great foil for Murray's biting wit as the grey jumper wearing, nerd whilst Stephen Tobolowsky as Ned Ryerson provides a wonderfully funny sub-plot as the insurance salesman, ex-school chum who Connors simply can't remember. There is a moralistic undertone to the movie, seen before in films like "Scrooged", with a blatant message about man's humanity to man, true love, being kind to others and all that kinda thang, that some producers/directors can't resist sermonizing over but it doesn't derail the comic momentum behind many of the set pieces and Murray's cynicism is just enough to add an edge of credibility that allows the audience to feel warm and fuzzy without feeling guilty about any saccharine intentions laced in the plot.

The setting of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is just adorable with snow filled streets and charming town bandstands and it's almost a throw back to sets like Bedford Falls in "It's a Wonderful Life", all idealistic, rustic charm and good natured locals going about their business (notwithstanding, I'm not sure whether there was any hidden intentions behind calling the rural, park area of town "Gobbler's Knob". The mind boggles). February 2nd is a real life celebration in the town featured in the movie and in 2006, Groundhog Day was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Because of the dates involved, there's always been a special resonance for me as the day after the festival happens to be my birthday, although I've never been able to wander out of a cage, sniff the ground, look for a shadow and whisper into someone's ear that an early spring is due.

At a reasonable 101 run time and with a PG certificate, "Groundhog Day" is a delightful comedy that will appeal to older children and adults. Having won numerous awards including several BAFTAs, the movie has a sparkling script, a barn full of deceptively funny one-liners and with both leads on top form, this a movie that deserves the status of classic. I watched it again the other night and loved it. If you haven't seen it before then it's a must-see. If you have, tune into Sky Movies, rent the DVD or steal it from a friend and watch it again. Whatever you do, this is a brilliant film.

Thanks for reading

Mara

DVD available at Amazon from £15.01 new (£3.49 used)

Summary: Overview of "Groundhog Day"