Groundhog Day (1993)

A weatherman finds himself inexplicably 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

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 17 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 | groundhog day | suicide | weatherman | 

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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:

Groundhog Day

Filming Locations:

344 Fremont St, Woodstock, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,517,672, 14 February 1993

Gross USA:

$70,906,973

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,906,973

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (as Dolby Stereo) Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Keaton turned down the role of Phil Connors because he found the idea to be confusing when he read the script. He and Andie MacDowell would later team up with director Harold Ramis for Multiplicity (1996).

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Goofs

When Phil is reading poetry to Rita back at his room, Rita dozes off. When she awakens, Phil says, "I think the last thing you heard was, 'Only God can make a tree'." This is a partial quote of the last line of Joyce Kilmer's famous poem "Trees". Unfortunately, either Rita must have been dreaming it, or Phil must have been quoting it from memory, as Kilmer's poem is not included in the book Phil is reading from, namely: "Poems for Every Mood", compiled and edited by Harriet Monroe in 1933.

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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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Alternate Versions

The original version that was released to the movie theatres contained an extra scene with Phil and Rita at the bar. In it, she explains how she likes sweet vermouth with a twist because it reminds her of how the sun hits the buildings in Rome in the afternoon, and also how she would like to live in the mountains. In the VHS release, this scene has been cut, but the next scene in which Phil repeats these things to Rita, still remains.

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Connections

Referenced in The Muppets.: A Tail of Two Piggies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Phil's Piano Solo
Written, Produced and Performed by Terry Fryer

User Reviews

Movies can change lives

Often you hear the adage, "It is just a film". Well, for most times it is true. But on rarest of rare occasions, it isn't. This was one of them. Like a great piece literature, painting, poetry, speech it has the capacity to change the way you feel and think. It is the biggest compliment I can pay to a film. I rank Groundhog Day with Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Waking Life, Synecdoche New York, Tokyo Story, Ikiru as one of the moves that has the capacity to change.

It is anything but a preachy film as the "intro" to the review might suggest. In fact it an extremely entertaining and funny film with one of the best performances ever by Bill Murray. The plot revolves around a weather man (Bill Murray) 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 realization that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing every day.

The challenge here for the makers was in terms of screenplay, editing and performances. Bear in mind that, the "loops" Bill Murray's character goes through, might become redundant for the audience after a while. This is where the genius of Harold Ramis and Bill Murray comes into play, who seem to introduce a "novelty" factor with every shot of the same sequence. I couldn't think of any actor other than Murray who could have pulled this one off.

It is a movie likely to deceive you in its effortless narrative and casual comic tone. Yes, it is funny, but make no mistake about it, it is a film with a strong philosophical undertone. This is a quality that separates Groundhog from rest of the movies with similar intent. It tells you what it intends to on your terms. It deals with the questions that bother us for a better part of our lives i.e. meaning of life, purpose of life, existentialism, death, god but never preaches, nor propels any propaganda. But by the end of it, you know that something has changed, something you didn't see coming has happened. And then you watch it again only to realize the moment of Epiphany that eluded you the first time.

Every time I am down or losing perspective this is the movie that eases everything and makes me ask a simple question, "What is important?". One of the absolute great films of the 90s, but more than just a film for me.