'Groundhog Day' at 29
I got you Babe...do do do do do do...I got you Babe...
Groundhog Day - 1993 - Directed by Harold Ramis - Comedy, Drama, Fantasy - PG - 1h 41m
Groundhog Day is a classic. Obviously. No one is rattling any cages by saying that. But what’s remarkable is how fresh it still feels 29 years later. There’s no need to add qualifiers. You don’t have to explain that it was “good for the time.” It’s good any time. And it will continue to be great, Groundhog Day after Groundhog Day.
The key to the film’s immortality is its character-first approach. Bill Murray’s Phil is a bitter, sarcastic, condescending jerk of a weatherman. For mysterious reasons, he gets trapped reliving Groundhog Day over and over again — a temporal prison that forces him on a path to becoming a better person. This single character arc serves as the guiding light behind every creative decision.
Opposing forces are constantly being pitted against each other. Cynical Phil versus positive Rita (Andie MacDowell). Big-city Pittsburgh versus small-town Punxsutawney. And of course, Bill Murray’s natural crankiness versus his undeniable charm. All these contrasts highlight the worst of Phil’s personality, making his eventual transformation more striking. He becomes a small-scale superhero, performing selfless acts of good like saving a child falling from a tree or helping some old ladies fix their flat tire — all with clockwork precision. One of the most touching examples of Phil’s change is his attempt to save an old homeless man from his inevitable death — the same homeless man he callously turned his back on in previous loops.
The road to Phil’s emotional maturation is a taut balancing act between philosophy, comedy, and sentimentality. Behind the scenes, director Harold Ramis pushed for more comedy and romance. Bill Murray and screenwriter Danny Rubin wanted to lean more into the philosophy. The creative pressure between all three forces yielded a finely cut diamond, evenly refracting all elements from all angles. If you want to look at Groundhog Day through a Buddhist lens of reincarnation, you can. If you want a little warm romance, it’s there. Or if you just want a Bill Murray comedy where he’s a lovable grouch, there’s a feast to be had.
It’s a shame that such an everlasting film resulted in the erosion of the long friendship between Ramis and Murray. Their creative differences and Murray’s difficult behavior on set were too much to bear. But that difficulty is also why Murray was perfect for this role. Tough to work with, but magnetically likeable, he was only a few degrees removed from his fictional counterpart. It’s hard to imagine Phil being played by anyone else who openly holds their contradictions so gracefully.
By now, Groundhog Day has seeped itself permanently into pop culture. If you haven’t seen it before, then you’ve certainly seen or heard references to it. Or seen other work inspired by it: Russian Doll, Edge of Tomorrow, Palm Springs, and so on. Seeing the core concept being spun in new directions is great, but Groundhog Day still holds onto its legacy as essential viewing. It’s a captivating concept that is thoroughly built, fleshed out, and explored — condensing an eternity of life lessons into a delightful 101 minutes.
Groundhog Day is available to rent/purchase on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, and Apple TV.
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My dad is a big Bill Murray fan (our family begrudgingly watched What About Bob? many times at his request), and I'll always have a soft spot for Groundhog Day. Thanks for this reminder of what a great film it is.