A Film to Remember (Groundhog Day (DVD))

Member Name: Midrange

Product:	Groundhog Day (DVD)
Date:	25/06/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Light-hearted, strong concept and cleverly directed. Good price too.

Disadvantages: I honestly can't think of any

I have split my review into two sections. Enjoy!

The Film
Phil Conners (Bill Murray) experiences the same day over and over again. He is essentially stuck in eternity and no-one realises except him. The world "resets" every morning at 6:00am. The plot develops logically - with Phil naturally thinking he's gone crazy to begin with, then enjoying the experience of having "no tomorrow, no consequences" then finally decides to set his sights on his co-worker, Rita (Andie MacDowell).

The film is extremely memorable and well crafted. You might expect that a film concerning only one day, repeating over and over could get tedious. But it's cleverly cut so we don't see the same material each time and, if we do, there's a new comic twist to enjoy. Phil explores the various possibilities that this bizarre time warp can offer, meeting every person in town, learning piano and even driving a car along the railway line. Sometimes these things are advantageous (no prison sentence, no hangover!) and sometimes it is very frustrating (as no-one remembers him on the following "day").

The humour is my very favourite kind - witty, well observed and not slapped across your face like some Rom Coms can do.

The DVD
As one expects from DVDs these days, the disc features original theatrical trailers, deleted scenes and various documentaries. Interestingly, the director reveals in the audio commentary that Phil Conners was invisaged as repeated Groundhog Day for approximately 10 years - an interesting piece of trivia that is fun to think about when watching the movie. Considering that Phil has learned piano, ice sculpting and met almost every person in town this would make sense!

Summary: Well written romantic comedy with a decent "twist"