Movies from the Heart—Groundhog Day

Happy New Year!

As we continue to talk about films that, in one way or another, tug at the heart, I couldn’t help but think of a film that looks at what’s important in life—and as we begin a new year, well, I didn’t want to wait until Groundhog Day to focus on Groundhog Day [1993] by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis.

This film has a message, for sure. But it’s clever in how it gets to it. And that’s the thing with “message” movies. They’re too often boring and preachy. But not this one. So how did they do that?

Well, first they started with a great character. Phil is a middle-aged newscaster who’s totally full of himself. He’s the classic narcissist. He’s not at all someone we like.

This is important—it’s generally thought that your main character has to be likeable, that people want to see movies about people they can care about, empathize with, etc. But Phil is not that kind of guy. He’s a weatherman who is burnt out and about as uncaring as you can get. His producer, Rita, is stuck with him as they cover the events in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2^nd. If you don’t live in the U.S., this date and Punxsutawney probably mean nothing to you. Well, it’s the day that everyone looks at the groundhog, who emerges from his burrow, and either sees or doesn’t see his shadow. If he sees his shadow, he retreats back into his den for another six weeks. If he doesn’t see his shadow, it means that it will be an early spring.

Is this a reliable forecast of spring weather? Of course not. But it’s one of those weird little traditions that somehow got started and have now become minor celebrations.

Take a look at a trailer for the film.

In the film, Phil is beyond reluctant to be at this—to him—ridiculous “holiday” and does his job with absolutely no interest. It’s like someone had put a gun to his head and made him come here.

But—lucky him [and lucky us]—he gets caught in a sort of time loop. He wakes up the day after Groundhog Day to the same banter on the radio as the day before, and pretty soon he sees that absolutely everything that happened yesterday is happening again. Every day he wakes up and it’s Groundhog Day. He’s stuck reliving the most disgusting day he can imagine.

This is quite an original idea. You’d think it would be boring watching a character relive the same day multiple times. But each day… well, he’s bored, so he tries something different. And eventually it’s like he has unlimited time—so he does things he always wanted to do, like learn the piano and speak French… and try and woo the girl he’s fallen for. In essence, by taking time to live his life he creates a better life.

Original ideas are hard to come by—but keep looking and you just might find one of your own.

Next week another character who’s affected by time—because he gets to visit the past in Midnight in Paris.

Copyright © Diane Lake

05Jan25

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