Groundhog Day
Today is February 2nd which, for all you Americans, means Groundhog Day.Therefore it seemed only right to do a review of the 1993 romantic comedy Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell.
Groundhog Day is a strong of redemption which sees rude, sarcastic and egotisical TV weatherman Phil Connors sent to Punxsutawny to cover Groundhog Day, along with producer Rita and cameraman Larry. This is his 4th year covering the story and he makes no effort to hide his frustration or deep loathing for Groundhog day, the town and everybody in it. On awaking the following day, he discovers that it is Groundhog Day again and again and again. Phil is left with the dilemma of what to do when there is no tomorrow and how the hell to get out of it!
The citizens of Punxsutawny are kept to a minimal number in the cast as around 9 or 10 are reused in different scenes with different importance in those scenes. This not only saved the film a great deal of money in casting but it creates a connection between them and the audience. As Phil sees them all over the place and grows to know and like them, so do the audience.
The film is quite a pick’a’mix of comedy, no doubt to try and capture everybodys sense of humour at one point or another. The first sweet to be pulled from the bag is the sarcastic humour which is to be expected from any comedy starring Bill Murray. This comedy of sharp tongues is contained solely behind the lips of Murray’s character Phil. This keeps the sarcasm from overwhelming and becoming dull and provides plenty of laughs through Phil’s quick wit and his co-stars reactions.
The second sweet is just as pleasing and much more subtle, sort of like the red Haribo bear: it doesn’t have the strongest flavour, but it’s everyone’s favourite. I am referring to the satire of the citizens of Punxsutawny where the writers have tried to cover every small towner stereotype they could think of. My favourite is Ned Ryerson, an old school friend that Phil bumps into, who now sells insurance. Ned is one of those people who are perfectly pleasant but also perfectly irritating. Ned’s satire follows the path of the insurance salesman that just won’t leave you alone and his cheery sales personality makes you want to punch him in the face which, incidentally, Phil does during the film.
The last sweet I shall mention is one of a far more sour taste; the films dark comedy. When Phil becomes sick of repeating the same day over and over, he tries to kill himself over and over in every different way that he can think of. While the scenes bring a few chuckles, you can’t help but wonder if you should really be laughing.
While the film has oodles of laughs, it is still a romantic comedy and so plenty of love and gooeyness is provided through Phil’s love for his producer Rita. However, the film never seems to manage to find a balance between romance and comedy and so while ¾ of the film is complete laughs and then the last 45 minutes is complete romance with barely a titter. This lowers the films quality as the audience expect more laughs but find themselves unsatisfied. The ending is when the film hits it’s romantic peak and also becomes the most unrealistic, which says a lot for a film that is about a man repeating the same day
Bill Murray plays his role quite similarly to the other films of his heyday; with sarcastic humour and quick wit. On the other hand, Phil’s personality transformation from complete arse to talented humble romantic is very smooth and convincing and yet he still manages to keep his unique style. Andie McDowell gives some C grade acting as the sweet lovable Rita and her performance rests greatly on her good looks, girl next door personality and amazing romcom reputation.
Groundhog day is a great comedy with a good storyline, good acting and good laughs but unfortunately I think it needs a genre rename because the romance is simply shoved in at the end.
Groundhog Day is a strong of redemption which sees rude, sarcastic and egotisical TV weatherman Phil Connors sent to Punxsutawny to cover Groundhog Day, along with producer Rita and cameraman Larry. This is his 4th year covering the story and he makes no effort to hide his frustration or deep loathing for Groundhog day, the town and everybody in it. On awaking the following day, he discovers that it is Groundhog Day again and again and again. Phil is left with the dilemma of what to do when there is no tomorrow and how the hell to get out of it!
The citizens of Punxsutawny are kept to a minimal number in the cast as around 9 or 10 are reused in different scenes with different importance in those scenes. This not only saved the film a great deal of money in casting but it creates a connection between them and the audience. As Phil sees them all over the place and grows to know and like them, so do the audience.
The film is quite a pick’a’mix of comedy, no doubt to try and capture everybodys sense of humour at one point or another. The first sweet to be pulled from the bag is the sarcastic humour which is to be expected from any comedy starring Bill Murray. This comedy of sharp tongues is contained solely behind the lips of Murray’s character Phil. This keeps the sarcasm from overwhelming and becoming dull and provides plenty of laughs through Phil’s quick wit and his co-stars reactions.
The second sweet is just as pleasing and much more subtle, sort of like the red Haribo bear: it doesn’t have the strongest flavour, but it’s everyone’s favourite. I am referring to the satire of the citizens of Punxsutawny where the writers have tried to cover every small towner stereotype they could think of. My favourite is Ned Ryerson, an old school friend that Phil bumps into, who now sells insurance. Ned is one of those people who are perfectly pleasant but also perfectly irritating. Ned’s satire follows the path of the insurance salesman that just won’t leave you alone and his cheery sales personality makes you want to punch him in the face which, incidentally, Phil does during the film.
The last sweet I shall mention is one of a far more sour taste; the films dark comedy. When Phil becomes sick of repeating the same day over and over, he tries to kill himself over and over in every different way that he can think of. While the scenes bring a few chuckles, you can’t help but wonder if you should really be laughing.
While the film has oodles of laughs, it is still a romantic comedy and so plenty of love and gooeyness is provided through Phil’s love for his producer Rita. However, the film never seems to manage to find a balance between romance and comedy and so while ¾ of the film is complete laughs and then the last 45 minutes is complete romance with barely a titter. This lowers the films quality as the audience expect more laughs but find themselves unsatisfied. The ending is when the film hits it’s romantic peak and also becomes the most unrealistic, which says a lot for a film that is about a man repeating the same day
Bill Murray plays his role quite similarly to the other films of his heyday; with sarcastic humour and quick wit. On the other hand, Phil’s personality transformation from complete arse to talented humble romantic is very smooth and convincing and yet he still manages to keep his unique style. Andie McDowell gives some C grade acting as the sweet lovable Rita and her performance rests greatly on her good looks, girl next door personality and amazing romcom reputation.
Groundhog day is a great comedy with a good storyline, good acting and good laughs but unfortunately I think it needs a genre rename because the romance is simply shoved in at the end.
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