Classic rom-com (Groundhog Day (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Groundhog Day (DVD)
Date:	18/09/09 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfectly cast, very funny

Disadvantages: None

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

Groundhog Day is a fantastic comedy that's written by Harold Ramis, the superb mind behind the classic comedy Ghostbusters. Here he brings Bill Murray back into the fold for a rousing and immensely entertaining film.

The film revolves around a weatherman, Phil Connors (Bill Murray), who travels to Punxsutawney with his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott), to document Groundhog Day, a ridiculous ritual where the townsfolk observe a groundhog to see whether the coming year will be a prosperous one. However, this is merely the start of the story - after a blizzard traps him and his crew in the town, he goes to sleep and wakes up experiencing the same day, stuck in a seemingly endless time loop which he uses to his advantage, messing around with the locals and also attempting to woo Rita, learning with each day what she likes and doesn't like.

What makes this so great is Bill Murray's charm - his character is thoroughly detestable, crude, and just plain horrible. However, his desperation as he seems to be unable to break the timeloop just gets more and more frantic, resulting in some truly zany situations, such as when he takes the groundhog hostage and drives it off of a cliff, exploding in a fireball, but inexplicably waking up in his bed the next "day". This is a warm and loving ode to the fantasy and rom-com genres - it's one of the best romantic comedies ever made and is also an utterly engrossing fantasy thanks to magnificent performances.

In my opinion one of the greatest romantic comedy of all time, Groundhog Day has a gimmick, yet rises above it to produce a hilarious and at times, poignant tale. Murray is fantastic as the thoroughly dislikable news anchor, and the various scrapes he gets into make for great viewing. Great stuff.

Summary: A classic of the genre