Groundhog DayDéjà vu is the sensation of experiencing something you have already experienced before. Déjà vu is the sensation of experiencing something you have already experienced before. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.) Groundhog Day is the story of Phil Connors (Bill Murray), an egotistical meteorologist from Pittsburgh, assigned to report on the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the groundhog sharing the same name as Phil will determine what the future holds. But what the human Phil could not have predicted was a stranger fate far than a mere blizzard, as he is trapped reliving the same day seemingly forever.
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Groundhog Day exists within a strange place as a movie, both a heartwarming comedy and yet also a kind of metaphysical science fiction film of subtle proportions. The nature of what triggers Phil's space-time defying loop is never concretely explained, but the evidence suggests that it is not just a delusion of Phil's, and the insanity of the event cannot be solely the purview of an uptight weatherman. For Phil alone, the second of February is like a record skipping, some kind of "bump" resetting his day at six in the morning on the dot, and all of the events he experienced before are reset, with the residents of Punxsutawney repeating their roles for another take, returning to first positions. The absurdity of this intriguing conceit has become so recognized for its literal manifestation of déjà vu, that in popular culture to refer to something as being like "Groundhog Day" means the sense of being caught in a kind of experiential loop. Coincidentally, Groundhog Day shares a lot in common with "A Christmas Carol", the story of a miserly wretch who is forced to acknowledge his shortcomings and reawaken to humanity before his own "haunting" can be lifted. Bill Murray's portrayal of the arrogant Phil Connors who disdains human warmth recalls his own portrayal of the Scrooge-like Frank Cross in Scrooged; both characters undergo a dramatic personality shift in the face of their supernatural trials to become better people. (Kind of makes you wonder what holiday's next for the comic talent...) By this interpretation, the repetition of Groundhog Day is like the visitations of the three spirits in "A Christmas Carol", save that it's always the same one, repeating over and over with torturous regularity. Groundhog Day also shares motifs with Krzysztof Kieślowski's film, Blind Chance, in that each day is like a fragmented "reality", but one that Phil is forced to reevaluate and recognize that how Phil spends his hours directly impacts the lives of those around him...even if it doesn't stick. Even more, like in Blind Chance, Groundhog Day intentionally downplays any foreshadowing of the first repetition, making that revelation a shock not just for Phil, but for the audience--assuming no prior knowledge.
Groundhog Day is a film which moves in waves; once Phil understands his situation, his responses are like those of someone in a crisis or having experienced a serious loss--moving from denial to panic, dread, and ultimately acceptance. He does not cope well with the experience at first, his unhinged reactions speak to a control complex he rarely even bothers to restrain. He resists the experience, chalking it up to some kind of nervous breakdown. He consults with his new producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), for advice, but understandably she is ill-prepared and even distrustful of the conceited weatherman suddenly soliciting her for advice about his mental health. Phil then gets the idea that as each day is a hard reset, with no consequences or repercussions, to exploit this event, and unsurprisingly the still egocentric Phil goes about it by seducing women, robbing an armored car, and other indulgences without accountability. As if to challenge himself, to see just what kind of power he can exert, he then takes it upon himself to attempt to win over the affections of Rita, albeit by rote memorization. These scenes are some of the more interesting ones in Groundhog Day, as we speculate just how many repetitions of each day Phil underwent in his attempt to prove something to himself--and for what? Certainly Rita is attractive, but it is as though Phil hasn't learned the real lesson of his experience. Her rejections to his advances as his dishonesty slips through is a sting as sharp as Rita's slap. These moments might have been simply an excuse to recycle footage, but each iteration is a little different, almost imperceptible. But it is this very kind of human detail which makes Phil's scheme fall apart like a shabby snowman. Phil is forced to confront the reality that he has no real control over his world--that he is not "a god" as he believes at one point. The great irony is that just as absurd as it is of an idea that a groundhog would have any ability to predict the future--much less communicate it to humans--Phil himself is a "weatherman", who does the same kind of job; and when were weathermen ever really right about their job, blizzards or otherwise? (No disrespect to meteorologists everywhere.) Every February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his shuttered off cell to see the community, having previously been confined to his own little world. Phil Connors is, in many ways, like his smaller mammal comrade-in-weather, in that he has a very narrow world view prior to this forced experience with a wholesome cross-section of humanity. As Phil sees his proverbial shadow, he is forced to acknowledge the things about himself that need improvement, to empathize and really humanize again, and move outside the gravity well of his own ego.
Recommended for: Fans of a deftly clever, heartwarming comedy which dallies with metaphysics, yet is ironically never bound by the conventions of science fiction. The elements of déjà vu make it a film which is immediately identifiable, and supports the humor that comes with it--you'll never hear Sonny & Cher the same way again.
Groundhog Day is a film which moves in waves; once Phil understands his situation, his responses are like those of someone in a crisis or having experienced a serious loss--moving from denial to panic, dread, and ultimately acceptance. He does not cope well with the experience at first, his unhinged reactions speak to a control complex he rarely even bothers to restrain. He resists the experience, chalking it up to some kind of nervous breakdown. He consults with his new producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), for advice, but understandably she is ill-prepared and even distrustful of the conceited weatherman suddenly soliciting her for advice about his mental health. Phil then gets the idea that as each day is a hard reset, with no consequences or repercussions, to exploit this event, and unsurprisingly the still egocentric Phil goes about it by seducing women, robbing an armored car, and other indulgences without accountability. As if to challenge himself, to see just what kind of power he can exert, he then takes it upon himself to attempt to win over the affections of Rita, albeit by rote memorization. These scenes are some of the more interesting ones in Groundhog Day, as we speculate just how many repetitions of each day Phil underwent in his attempt to prove something to himself--and for what? Certainly Rita is attractive, but it is as though Phil hasn't learned the real lesson of his experience. Her rejections to his advances as his dishonesty slips through is a sting as sharp as Rita's slap. These moments might have been simply an excuse to recycle footage, but each iteration is a little different, almost imperceptible. But it is this very kind of human detail which makes Phil's scheme fall apart like a shabby snowman. Phil is forced to confront the reality that he has no real control over his world--that he is not "a god" as he believes at one point. The great irony is that just as absurd as it is of an idea that a groundhog would have any ability to predict the future--much less communicate it to humans--Phil himself is a "weatherman", who does the same kind of job; and when were weathermen ever really right about their job, blizzards or otherwise? (No disrespect to meteorologists everywhere.) Every February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his shuttered off cell to see the community, having previously been confined to his own little world. Phil Connors is, in many ways, like his smaller mammal comrade-in-weather, in that he has a very narrow world view prior to this forced experience with a wholesome cross-section of humanity. As Phil sees his proverbial shadow, he is forced to acknowledge the things about himself that need improvement, to empathize and really humanize again, and move outside the gravity well of his own ego.
Recommended for: Fans of a deftly clever, heartwarming comedy which dallies with metaphysics, yet is ironically never bound by the conventions of science fiction. The elements of déjà vu make it a film which is immediately identifiable, and supports the humor that comes with it--you'll never hear Sonny & Cher the same way again.