Groundhog Day review
42. Groundhog Day
Rewatch
Starring Bill Murray as Phil Conners and Andie McDowell as Rita Hanson. The story of Phil Conners, a Pittsburgh weatherman who finds that he is repeating a day over and over again, when he goes to Puxsutawney to report on the Groundhog Day festival. It is also about what happens to him as the day keeps repeating, and his reponses to the situation he finds himself in. It is also about how the other characters (his co-workers and the Punxsatawney locals) respond to his different actions, each time the day loops.
The responses to the situation and decisions he makes as a result of the temporal looping are well written and acted. Bill Murray was at his best as Phil Conners, in the different parts of his thousands of days of looping, as his character changes and grows as he becomes a better person. It shows his range as an actor, displaying everything from annoying cynicism to dispair. The same goes for Andie McDowell and the supporting cast. They easily show the different reactions to Phil's actions including confusion.
The direction is also good. The looping could have easily been shown as exactly the same each time, but it wasn't. There is a variation that jives exactly with Phil's actions, agenda, feeling and personal growth each time. It all leads towards the conclusion in that when the looping ends, Phil makes a good difference to the lives of a large number of people in Punxsatawney, and is a better person than before. It is a really good movie, that is worth watching at least once. 8.5/10.