Groundhog Day (1993)

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

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

Danny Rubin (screenplay), Harold Ramis (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott

Top Rated Movies #222 | Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the 'following' day he discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day.

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Plot Keywords:

trapped in a time loop | time loop | cult film | existentialism | groundhog day | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un jour sans fin

Filming Locations:

344 Fremont St, Woodstock, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,600,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$70,906,973 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Phil tells Rita in the dinner that Gus wishes he would have stayed in the Navy. Rick Ducommun played a Naval C-2 Greyhound Navigator in the Hunt for Red October.

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Goofs

When Phil is ready to leave the B&B on the first repeat day his scarf is outside of his unbuttoned jacket. Yet once he turns around and exits through the front door his jacket is buttoned and the scarf is tucked inside.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Doctor Who: Heaven Sent (2015)

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Soundtracks

Pennsylvania Polka
Written by Lester Lee & Zeke Manners
Performed by Frankie Yankovic
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

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?