♥♥♥♥♥♥
+ Best Comedy of the Year + Most Deserved Hit of the Year + Best Pennsylvania Movie of the Year
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| Star Bill Murray is literally caught inside a clock on a beautiful morning - with attractive co-star Andie MacDowell looking sweetly skeptical in the right corner, on this poster for Harold Ramis' Groundhog Day |
A weather man with big city egocentric proclivities, - which is understating the fact, - is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day phenomenon in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He hates it there. And his loathed day then mysteriously repeats itself the next day. And the next day ...
Groundhog Day is written by Danny Rubin (Stork Day (2004)) and Illinoisan master filmmaker, co-producer/co-writer/director Harold Ramis (Caddyshack (1980)).
Bill Murray (Cradle Will Rock (1999)) is wonderfully sarcastic and at the same time touchingly real as Phil Connors, on the cusp of another chapter of his career here. Andie MacDowell (Happiness Runs (2010)) adds sweetness, and Stephen Tobolowsky (Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)) is hilarious as hearty local Ned 'Bing!' Ryerson.
Groundhog Day is a perfect film, which shows the potential height for a high-concept fantasy comedy and is both really funny and equally thought-provoking. The movie's main idea is that life is what you inject it with personally on a daily basis; a simple dictum that is nevertheless rendered highly evocative and with a depth that is normally not found in a mainstream comedy. This is also why Groundhog Day rightly ranks among the absolute best comedies of all time.
Related post:
Harold Ramis: 1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Caddyshack (1980) - And you thought golf was boring?
Cost: Reportedly 14.6 mil. $
Box office: 70.9 mil. $ (North America alone)
= Big hit with domestic gross, but overall more likely a huge hit (returned 4.85 times its cost in North America alone)
[Groundhog Day premiered 4 February (California) and runs 101 minutes. Rubin and Murray attended Groundhog Day in secret to prepare for the filming. Shooting took place mainly in Woodstock, Illinois, some distance from the real Punxsutawney, as well as in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in California from March - June 1992. Murray was bitten by groundhogs twice during shooting, requiring him to get a rabies shot. He was going through marital problems at the time and continued working on the script with Rubin while alienating himself from long-time friend and director Ramis. The two broke their relationship after the movie and didn't speak again for over 20 years; not until Ramis was on his deathbed did they reconcile. Murray was reportedly paid 10 mil. $ for Groundhog Day, an overwhelming share of the film's cost. Several religions have embraced the film and claimed it for their beliefs. The length of Connors' repeated Groundhog Day has been calculated by one Internet site to last around 34 years. The film opened #1 to a 12.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weeks and then managed another 5 weeks in the top 5, grossing 70.9 mil. $. The international gross numbers are not public information, but even if the film was met with a very muted international reception (15 mil. $ for instance), it would rank the film as a huge hit. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, but later elevated it to his list of Great Movies. The film won a BAFTA but otherwise went under the major awards radar. IMDb's users have voted it in at #248 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Drishyam (2015). The film was adapted into a musical for the London stage in 2016 and later Broadway. Ramis returned with Stuart Saves His Family (1995). Murray returned in Mad Dog and Glory (1993). Groundhog Day is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.05/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Groundhog Day?
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