Blu-Ray hd movie review of Groundhog Day
March 19, 2009
Bill Murray earned himself Oscar nomination for Lost in Translation. He should have been nominated and won the Oscar for Groundhog Day. Had it not gone up against Schindler’s List and Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, I think Bill Murray and the Groundhog Day could have garnered Oscar nominations. This quirky science fiction/fantasy film had great script, great direction, and great acting. The movie gets better with time and it is still enjoyable.
The movie revolves around Phil the weatherman. For some strange reason, he has relived the same day over and over again while on assignment to cover the Groundhog. Along for the ride are his producer, Rita played by Andie MacDowell, and the cameraman named Larry. As you can imagine, there are some funny and interesting situation that go along with this dilemma. At first, Phil is confused, followed by him taking advantage of the situation in various ways like robbing the bank and hooking up with some stranger. But, as days go by, he can’t have what he truly wants, Rita. The ultimate question is whether he can end the endless cycle of same day.
The film could have been tiring if Phil did same thing every day. On the contrary, Phil grows as human being and matures in one day, the same day. He goes from shallow selfish person to someone everyone wants to be friends with. The film doesn’t seem forced or unnatural. The progression of story flows naturally to the convincing and gratifying ending. Bill Murray manages to infuse a great humor into a movie that sends a great overall message. It manages to be relevant today as it was in 1993. And, just as funny.
What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.
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The greatest movie of all time?
Most people tend to experience dull and monotonous days on a regular basis. The movie’s simple, yet effective premise is that by taking small steps to improve and enrich yourself on a daily basis, one can improve his lifestyle to a degree. Incredible acting by a charming and beautiful cast makes this movie a pleasure to watch over and over again. One of the rare movies where you glean something new everytime you see it. The script is so tight and carefully thought out that you will marvel how it all final comes together at the end. Wish hollywood made more like these.
Note to detractors:
This movie demands that it be seen multiple times to be appreciated.
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Murray carries this film all the way to the finish line…
I happen to find Bill Murray utterly hysterical, when he’s in the right movie. If he is not in the right film I find him excruciating. While I can’t say that `Groundhog Day’ is a completely realized concept (there was so much more that could have been done here) I can honestly say that Murray’s transformation as Phil Connors is a completely realized performance. He is quite possibly at his very best here (his `Lost in Translation’ stint is still his finest work to date) and evokes enough human feeling to make Phil a very real, a very relatable and in the end a very honest portrait of the average American male.
The film focuses on Phil, a weatherman for a Pittsburgh news station who has to travel to Punxatawney to cover Groundhog Day, when Punxatawney Phil comes out to see his shadow. Phil is a cynical mess who loathes his life and his stagnant attitude towards those around him makes him somewhat of a bother. No one wants him around and he doesn’t really want anyone else around either. When Phil, his producer Rita and their cameraman Larry find themselves trapped in Punxatawney during a blizzard it seems as though their trip couldn’t get any worse, but for Phil it was just about to hit the fan. Phil wakes up the next morning to find out that it is yesterday, Groundhog Day, yet again.
Talk about Deja vu.
What’s worse is that the next morning it happens again; and again and again. So what would you do if you could relive the same day over and over without any consequences or repercussions. Phil at first begins to use it for his own selfish gain (learning about pretty women so as to seduce them) which only leads to his own self hatred and thus moves him to attempt unsuccessful suicides; but when Phil finally realizes that this could all serve to make him a better more fulfilled person things start to change and the cynical mess he used to be begins to strip itself away to reveal a kinder more human side to him.
Really, `Groundhog Day’ is about taking advantage of the chances we have for self improvement. There are two types of selfishness; the malicious and self-congratulating kind that only leads to hurt feelings and loneliness; and then there is the kind that leads to self betterment and awareness. Phil learns to differentiate between the two, becoming selfish for his own good; learning to love himself and thus become a better more fulfilled human being.
Murray is phenomenal here, and he needs to be since he is in every scene practically and this he carries this entire film. His comedic timing is priceless, but it is the warmth he brings to his character; the tragic realism he gives Phil that makes his so much more relatable. I wish they had cast someone other than Andie MacDowell though. I find her dreadfully boring most times, and here she fails to really make Rita someone we would fall in love with. She pretty much plays the same character she did in `Four Weddings and a Funeral’ except we see much more of her here, which strips away the mystery that surrounded her equally boring yet much more intriguing character in `Four Weddings’ and leaves us with a dreadfully uninteresting creation.
I do wish that this film had taken a different direction as far as genre is concerned, because it has all the makings for an intelligent adult character study, along the lines of say `Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ or even Murray’s own `Lost in Translation’; but instead, targeting a younger audience, the film winds up feeling like a standard comedy a lot of the time, which takes away from the promise of the premise. It isn’t a bad film AT ALL, but there is potential here for a much deeper and much more meaningful film. Regardless, it is still a film to see, and Murray gives an Oscar worthy performance as the man we all may end up being if we don’t learn now how to find fulfillment.
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One of the worst ever.
I would not recommend this movie to anyone. Complete waste of time. So terrible it’s not worth any more words here.
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A true Classic Movie!!
I never watched this movie went it came out 15 years ago, and I thought I would rent it from Redbox yesterday (I had a free night promotion code). The movie was very funny and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The movie is basically about a man who has to live the same day OVER and OVER again (probably for many years since he knows intimate details about other people’s lives). It is a good romantic comedy and the chemistry between Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell is excellent. They really shine in the movie.
This film is right up there in classics with Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music. Hopefully I will never have to relive a day over and over again in my life, like Bill Murray’s character had to. But if I did I would want it to be the 4th of July or Valentines Day. A major point of this movie deals with the banality of our existence since we sort of live each day without much change. It was funny how even though Bill Murray’s character tries to kill himself in the movie, he wakes right back up at 6:00A the next morning…he is like a god or something!
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