Groundhog Day (1993)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers (WGA):

Danny Rubin (screenplay) and
Harold Ramis (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Every dog has his day.

Plot:

A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Plot Keywords:

Groundhog | Groundhog Day | Weather Forecasting | Weatherman | Shovel

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 6	10:00 AM	FX
Tue. July 7	8:00 AM	FX

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Phil
Andie MacDowell	...	Rita
Chris Elliott	...	Larry
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Ned
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Buster
Marita Geraghty	...	Nancy
Angela Paton	...	Mrs. Lancaster
Rick Ducommun	...	Gus
Rick Overton	...	Ralph
Robin Duke	...	Doris the Waitress
Carol Bivins	...	Anchorwoman
Willie Garson	...	Phil's Assistnat Kenny
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Man in Hallway
Les Podewell	...	Old Man
Rod Sell	...	Groundhog Official

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Germany:6 | Ireland:15 | Norway:10 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Originally, Phil was supposed to murder the groundhog in his lair. This was changed, however, since it seemed too much like Caddyshack (1980).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning of the movie when Phil is reading the weather forecast. We can clearly see him standing almost against the blue screen which casts a very strong shadow. Yet in the preview window he appears clear on the projected background. In reality Bill Murray's shadow would have cast a terrible blue screen shadow that would have been impossible to remove using the chroma key.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Phil: Somebody asked me today, "Phil, if you could be anywhere in the world, where would you like to be?" And I said to him, "Prob'ly right here - Elko, Nevada, our nation's high at 79 today." Out in California, they're gonna have some warm weather tomorrow, gang wars, and some *very* overpriced real estate. Up in the Pacific Northwest, as you can see, they're gonna have some very, very tall trees.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Chuck: Chuck Versus Santa Claus (#2.11)" (2008)

Perfect!

It's kind of hard to pinpoint what makes 'Groundhog Day' work just right- many movies have great premises, some even a bit more ambitious than this one (though not as heartfelt, maybe) but fail. I think that 'ratedness' may play a bigger role than people imagine. For example, this movie came out a bit before my time, and because of that I missed the trailers and stuff for when the film came out. Even so, people that were around when 'Groundhog' came out in the theatres, might've also thought it was underrated, as the title 'Groundog Day' doesn't necessarily *try* to draw in huge crowds.

OK...all my above rambling means one thing: I loved 'Groundhog Day', but I'm embarrassed I didn't watch it sooner. Having the typical Generation X-er mentality I assumed this film would have outdated humour- but let me assure you (and seeing Rushmore confirmed this for me) -Bill Murray and his humour will NEVER go out of style; he is fabulous. He takes just the right amount of self-deprication (not too much) and combines it with cynicism....well I don't want to try to *define* his humour- the easiest way would be to watch him in action! Also, the writing for this film is absolutely perfect.

Go see for yourselves... and hope that ONE DAY the groundhog will actually NOT see his shadow......lol