Is time a blessing or a curse? Usually, the curse of everlasting life is told in vampire form; for a future eternity of February 2nds, however, it will be told through the iterative comedy of Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. Weatherman Phil Connors is doomed to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right, and it’s not just any day; it’s February 2, the groundiest hoggiest day of them all — the Super Bowl for cheesy weathermen.
Do we have to call Phil Connors (Murray) a meteorologist? That seems pretty highbrow for a guy whose ego has far surpassed his talent. Vain, shallow, and egocentric, Connors previews his endless day by playing “nice” with his new (and attractive) producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell). In a way, veteran weatherguy Phil has already lived this day over and over through past fairly formulaic groundhog visits. Pittsburgh Phil’s previous predictable patterned Punxsutawney pilgrimages portend perfunctory performance. He isn’t wild about the trip, the b&b, his cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott), nor the entire scene where a small town captures the attention of a bored nation for about ten seconds every year.
It doesn’t get any better when Phil’s Hell begins: waking to Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You, Babe,” an ice-cold shower, an encounter with a schoolmate he’d sooner forget forever, an unexpected dip in a water-filled pothole, and late public welcome to the strains of “The Pennsylvania Polka.” One uninspired broadcast later, insult turns to injury when the weather system he predicted would avoid the commute back to Pittsburgh does no such thing, stranding the trio back in the rodent-obsessed hamlet. Should Phil be surprised upon waking up the following morning in the same b&b to “I Got You Babe?” A little. And then the elements of déjà vu hit with the force of an intense Nor’easter: this isn’t just a day similar to the past day; it is the past day. Phil is reliving the same Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, again. And again after that. And again after that.
“What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one yesterday!”
It’s quite a coup to make a film repetitive and fresh at the same time. Groundhog Day is an absolute treasure for finding the cracks in the minutiae. As each day plays out over again, Phil tries something new – one day, he clocks the schoolmate; one night, he goes on the lam; one afternoon, he robs an armored car and then volunteers cosplay for a film revival. Each iteration, he learns something new; will it help him to move on, or is it just added frustration? His outlook turns bright when he realizes that his personal Hell has a little Heaven in the form of Rita. And it turns much darker upon the realization that conquering Rita will probably involve a personality overhaul … and maybe a new skill set or five.
What would you do with several lifetimes of the same day? Groundhog Day is fascinated by that very question and every variation of the answer. Does endless repetition give you Godlike powers? Does it give 
you the time to do all the things you always wanted to do in life? What is it about personal perception that makes the same day both Heaven and Hell? Lord knows, I hate the cold; the idea of being stuck day after day in the ice and snow would give me serious small town blues. And yet, imagine what I could do with it. I mean, if the day repeats no matter what, it’s clearly not a work day. Also … always waking up in the same health as you went to bed in? Screw it! I’m trying every stunt I’ve ever seen on YouTube. And what an experiment in social engineering, huh? With patience, I could learn eight new ways to get whatever I want and six-thousand ways not to.
Despite Phil’s protests, his Groundhog Day isn’t Hell at all. Hell suggests an eternity. We know that Phil’s torment is not endless so long as he gets it right, just once; perhaps it’s better to think of Groundhog Day as one really, really hard video game where you have to level up without dying or start the day over anew. Man, you think this is hard? You should see February 3; now that’s a tough level.
♪It’s been a marred day’s plight and I been filming that groundhog
It’s been an endless fight to get some ink from the FrogBlog
But when I get past Feb 2, and meet with anything new
You know I’ll feel all right♫
Rated PG, 101 Minutes
Director: Harold Ramis
Writer: Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis
Genre: The morality of time
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Writers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Groundhogs
♪ Parody Inspired by “A Hard Day’s Night”
