Not only has it become a cult classic over the years, it has become a classic classic.
Here’s everything you need to know about the film Groundhog Day.
Danny Rubin had a great idea for a film.
He wanted a character who relived the same day over and over.
The character changed, but everyone else on that day did not.
He settled on the day being Groundhog Day, a recognized holiday that was never prominently featured in a film
and centered the story in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the Groundhog Day capital of the world, where Groundhog Day originated.
Rubin wanted his main character to be a weatherman named Phil, just like Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who accurately predicts when winter will end every February 2nd.
Rubin took seven weeks to work out the rules for the time loops for the film, and then threw together a first draft of a screenplay in a few days.
Rubin shopped the screenplay to around 50 different producers, but it was Harold Ramis who liked it enough to take it on.
The screenplay went through several changes, with Ramis now co-writing.
Originally, producers reached out to both Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton for the lead role.
Ultimately, Ramis talked his old buddy Bill Murray into taking it.
Ramis and Murray went back since their days working together with the Second City improv group.
Ramis began filming on March 16, 1992, choosing the town of Woodstock, Illinois, located just northwest of Chicago, as the location.
Why didn’t they actually film in the real Punxsutawney?
Because it would have been harder to get a license to film there, plus more expensive and just more of a pain in the butt.
Ramis was from Chicago anyway so knew the area well.
Punxsutawney officials were mad they didn’t film in their town, but did send representatives to oversee that the Groundhog Day ceremonies were accurately portrayed.
Producer Trevor Albert later recalled they were pretty happy with the recreation of Gobbler’s Knob, which is the site near Punxsutawney used for the real Groundhog Day ceremonies.
Producers filmed much of the movie in below average temperatures- it was often well below freezing.
Even in May, as they wrapped up filming, it still snowed a bit.
The Tip Top Cafe, where producers shot several of the indoor scenes, was a set, but later became an actual restaurant after the success of the movie.
The bed and breakfast where Murray’s character stayed was just a private home, but later became an actual bed and breakfast, also probably due to the success of the movie.
Murray was going through some problems with his marriage during the filming, so he was a little moody.
Also, he and Ramis apparently got in a big fight during the film’s production to point where the two were not talking to each other on set.
Only 22 years later, when Ramis dying, did the two make up.
Despite the tension on set, the two ended up helping create a masterpiece.
Critics loved it and fans came out to watch.
Released on February 12, 1993, 10 days AFTER Groundhog Day for some reason, the film made nearly $71 million dollars at the box office, with a budget of just $14.6 million.
As time has passed, the film has become more popular and new generations have embraced it.
It currently is certified 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and is one of the highest rated films of all time on IMDb.
As I said before, it’s now basically a classic.
While you should definitely watch it yourself, here is the basic storyline.
Don’t worry, no major spoilers here.
So yeah, basically the main character, Phil Connors, as I said earlier, a weatherman, played by Bill Murray, confidently tells his audience on the February 1st nightly newscast that an approaching winter storm will miss western Pennsylvania, which just so happens to be where he is heading the next day.
After the newscast, he sets off with Larry, a cameraman, (played by Chris Elliot) and Rita Hanson (played by Andie MacDowell), a news producer that inexplicably is also along for the ride.
I used to work for a local television station and I know this is not common practice.
Anyway, Phil is clearly not happy about making this trip.
On the morning of February 2, aka Groundhog Day, Phil awakens to Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” and two local DJs talking about the town’s festivities planned around whether or not Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow.
And condescending is the word. He leaves his bed and breakfast talking down to everyone he encounters.
He walks to Gobbler’s Knob to condescendingly report on the Punxsutawney Phil’s revelations.
As soon as the event is over, he wants to head back to Pittsburgh as soon as possible, despite that fact that Rita wants to stay and cover some of the other events.
They head back to Pittsburg only to encounter the snow storm that Phil had predicted would not be there.
(film clip)
With the highway shut down, they head back to Punxsutawney.
The celebrations are still happening back in town when they arrive, but Phil wants nothing to do with it.
He heads back to the bed and breakfast, takes a cold shower, and goes to bed early.
The next morning, however, he wakes up and yesterday is today.
The exact same events of the previous day are repeating, and it is freaking Phil out.
Hoping it’s a bad dream, he goes to bed hoping to awake to tomorrow.
But he awakes to the same day, a day, I might add, that might be one of the worst of his life.
Phil is trapped in a time loop that no one else is aware of, and the rest of the film follows how Phil changes as each day stays the same.
(film clip)
According to various sources, including Ramis himself, this time loop lasts anywhere between 30 to 40 years.
Living the same day in the same place, over and over.
Phil encounters classic characters like Ned Ryerson, played by Stephen Tobolowsky, and Buster Green, played by Bill Murray’s older brother Brian Doyle-Murray.
Groundhog Day is part fantasy, part light-hearted comedy, and part drama, with some very serious moments sprinkled in.
While it looks at many of the comedic elements of the reality of living the same day over and over in the same place, it also looks at serious subjects like depression as a natural response to the reality.
It’s a film first, and foremost, about improving oneself, making the argument that one can only be truly happy by serving others first.
Ultimately, Phil Connors goes from being a narcissistic jerk to a someone who puts others ahead over his own selfish desires.
It’s a film about rebirth, a representation of the Christian belief in purgatory, or the Hindu or Buddhist belief of reincarnation.
But really, it’s more universal that one religion. In the story, good behavior makes life better.
It’s a metaphor for psychoanalysis, as we tend to go to the same stories in our heads or repeat the same patterns in life.
It’s about trying to find a way to break the cycle, to get out of the rut we often find ourselves in.
To stop the momentum. This is one reason why the film is so universally appealing.
Groundhog Dog has proven to be an influential film to a point where it has changed the actual holiday of Groundhog Day and even the definition of Groundhog Day.
“Groundhog day” has become a trope, synonymous with meaning being trapped in an unpleasant time loop.
Want proof? The first definition on Urban Dictionary of “groundhog day” reads:
“The same day over and over. Doing the same things repetitively. From the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray.”
The second definition of “groundhog day” on the site reads:
“Military person being sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., again-and-again. A term first-used by military personnel for the war in Bosnia...because many had multiple tours-of-duty.”
(Bill Clinton clip)
Again, these definitions wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the film.
Many more people have made their way to the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day events ever since the film’s release.
Shoot, many more people have their made their way even to Woodstock, Illinois, where they filmed it, since its release.
Every Groundhog Day in Woodstock, the town features a dinner dance, free screenings of the movie, and a walking tour of the town.
AMC shows the film on repeat all day every February 2nd.
On February 2nd, 2016, Liverpool fans binge-watched the film 12 times in 24 hours.
Groundhog Day, once an obscure Pennsylvania Dutch holiday, has become a worldwide holiday because of this film.
25 years later, and Groundhog Day the film has not just boosted Groundhog Day the um, day, but it has overshadowed it.
It continues to resonate with fans everywhere, showing its timelessness. Get it? Timelessness.
What’s crazy is that, while critics generally praised the film when it first came out, it was later that critics realized it was even better that they originally thought.
Roger Ebert best summed it up in 2005:
“Groundhog Day” is a film that finds its note and purpose so precisely that its genius may not be immediately noticeable. It unfolds so inevitably, is so entertaining, so apparently effortless, that you have to stand back and slap yourself before you see how good it really is.”
Perhaps Groundhog Day, a film about repeating the same thing over and over, is a film you have to watch on repeat over and over, in order to truly appreciate its genius.
(film clip)
Can’t believe it’s been 25 years since this film came out. Let me know your thoughts about the film in the comments below.
Also, what other film would you like to see explained in a similar fashion?
Please let me know in the comments below. Thanks for watching everybody!