Groundhog Day (1993)

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers (WGA):

Danny Rubin (screenplay) and
Harold Ramis (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

He's having the worst day of his life... over, and over...

Plot:

A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Plot Keywords:

Groundhog Day | Groundhog | Weather Forecasting | Weatherman | Blizzard

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Phil
Andie MacDowell	...	Rita
Chris Elliott	...	Larry
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Ned
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Buster
Marita Geraghty	...	Nancy
Angela Paton	...	Mrs. Lancaster
Rick Ducommun	...	Gus
Rick Overton	...	Ralph
Robin Duke	...	Doris the Waitress
Carol Bivins	...	Anchorwoman
Willie Garson	...	Phil's Assistant Kenny
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Man in Hallway
Les Podewell	...	Old Man
Rod Sell	...	Groundhog Official

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Germany:6 | Ireland:15 | Norway:10 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The scene where Bill Murray gets out of the news van and talks to the state trooper was filmed on the Amstutz Expressway under the Grand Avenue overpass just outside of downtown Waukegan, IL. You can see the Waukegan business district in some of the shots. The Amstutz Expressway was also used for the filming of the big chase scene in the The Blues Brothers (1980).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: At the beginning of the scene where Phil and Rita talk in the Bavarian restaurant, a waitress crosses carrying 4 large steins of beer. She sets them on the table behind Phil and Rita. Watch as she walks away from the table. She touches the shoulder of the older gentleman seated at hat table and leaves foam on the top of his jacket sleeve.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Phil: Somebody asked me today, "Phil, if you could be anywhere in the world, where would you like to be?" And I said to him, "Prob'ly right here - Elko, Nevada, our nation's high at 79 today." Out in California, they're gonna have some warm weather tomorrow, gang wars, and some *very* overpriced real estate. Up in the Pacific Northwest, as you can see, they're gonna have some very, very tall trees.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Groundhog Day: The Weight of Time (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Phil's Piano Solo

An endless day where everyday is like Sunday

Phil Connors, a cynical and unbearable journalist goes like every year in a small town in Pennsylvania to report on "Groundhog Day", it means the beginning of the spring. But, he is out of luck because due to the bad weather, he and his crew (including the pretty Rita) he is compelled to stay at his work place for the night. The following day, he awakes and lives exactly the same day again but he is the only one to realize it. It is like this, the next days again and again! What should Phil do to stop this? Maybe an improvement of his personality would be the wisest solution.

You can easily imagine what a filmmaker like Frank Capra would have done with such a topic but Harold Ramis managed very well and he signs here his most beautiful success to date and one of the finest comedies of the nineties. The main strength of "Groundhog Day" comes from a strong and inventive screenplay which enables Bill Murray to go through all the different states which is logical because if tomorrow is the same day, anything goes for him! The script also draws its comical force from the repetition. This process gives delightful sequences, notably in the first part of the movie. You have to see Murray live the same day again, faced with the same situations and as he despises people, it can only make the spectator laugh. Moreover, Ramis described his main character by mocking at him a little.

Of course, the evolution followed by Murray is a little predictable (scornful at the beginning, he will succeed in becoming nice at the end of the film and in finding love with Rita) and you easily guess the message that Ramis tries to put across. But it remains nevertheless warm and deeply humane. However that may be, the director gave us a pleasant, sometimes funny sometimes moving movie to watch. And it is one of Bill Murray's best performances: fair, never bombastic. What more could you ask from him?