Bill Murray has a bad day over and over again

Rating: 9/10 (13 September 2016)

Pittsburgh Weatherman Phil Connors is not overjoyed when he is once again sent to observe the Groundhog Day festivities in the town of Punxsutawney. He goes there the day before with his producer, Rita, and cameraman Larry then heads to the bed and breakfast he is staying at. He wakes at 6am and heads to the site of the ceremony where Phil, the groundhog, is due to predict whether or not winter is over. After a half-hearted report they have something to eat before setting off home only to be forced back by a blizzard that Phil and said was certain to miss the area. Unable to continue he returns to the B&B. The next morning he gets a sense of deja vu it would appear that it is Groundhog Day again. This doesn't just happen once; for Phil Groundhog day keeps repeating although nobody else is aware of this. He soon realises that this means he can do anything he likes without consequences if he goes to jail or even dies he will still wake up at 6am on Groundhog Day. Eventually he decides to use the repeating day to better himself as he tries to woo Rita.
On the face of it this is just a rom-com with a twist but thanks to Bill Murray's performance as Phil it is so much more; few actors can do cynical as well as he does. He does a fantastic job portraying Phil's reaction to what is happening; confusion, reckless elation, frustration, depression and finally acceptance and even happiness. At first it is a little hard to like his character as he uses the repeating days to learn more about Rita with the sole intention of getting her into bed that night but gradually he improves and becomes a better person a bit cliché perhaps but it was enjoyable to watch. He gets solid support from Andie MacDowell as Rita and Chris Elliott as Larry, the rest of the cast were pretty good too. There is little here to offend although some might not want younger viewers seeing his suicide attempts; particularly when he drops a toaster into his bath with no lasting consequence. Overall I heartily recommend this to anybody wanting a good comedy.