In a message on the online service GEnie, my friend Gary Utter once posted:
Category 3, Topic 23
Message 17 Wed Jul 24, 1996
GARY.UTTER at 05:42 EDTGROUNDHOG DAY is more than a comedy, more than a love story. It is, among other things, a deep look at society, the way we view others, the way we view ourselves. It is also quite a metaphysical examination of the very reason for being, if you care to look at it that deeply.
This is, actually, an amazing film, and if it survives long enough, will be as overanalyzed as Shakespeare. There is meaning in there that I do not believe the producers intended. It just happened.
I think it will still be available for rental in 20 years…..
Fourteen years so far, so good. It took 12 of them for Roger Ebert to recant his original, mediocre review. It's never too late for a great film to grow on you, Roger. And "sublime" is indeed a great description of male lead Bill Murray, be it here or in another one of my favorite films, Lost in Translation.
So what are you waiting for? It's Friday night — there's no school tomorrow. Bust out this classic romantic comedy and watch it over and over and over.
We've owned Groundhog Day on DVD for a couple of years now. It's still a fun movie although I have to be in the right mood to watch it.
http://www.simplyscripts.com has an original screenplay of Groundhog Day which explains the reason why Bill Murray is stuck in the loop. It also some other interesting scenes, including one where Bill Murray gets tattooed from head to foot.
SimCity creator Will Wright recently cited Groundhog Day as an excellent example of storytelling, asking: why can't we create video games like that?
Happy 15th anniversary of Groundhog Day's release! Script author Danny Rubin writes on his blog about just how long Phil Connors was stuck in the time loop. The answer is longer than the "six extra weeks of winter" I'd calculated. (Hat tip to Angela Gunn!)