GROUNDHOG DAY (Harold Ramis, 1993) ***

Rating: 7/10 (24 January 2010)

While I had always been aware of this film's considerable reputation, it took me this long to get acquainted with it; in retrospect, I feel the picture to be deserving of the epithet "modern comedy classic". It deals with an original – and for the genre, singular – concept: a literal case of multiple deja'-vu experiences (in all fairness, the minor sci-fi entry THE TIME TRAVELERS [1964] had already delved into the theme, though obviously lacking the skill and polish realized here). Bill Murray tackles one of his best roles, actually a variation on the actor's own characterization in the much inferior SCROOGED (1988), which I watched only last week; now he is an arrogant (can he play any other way?) Weather Man assigned to the unexciting titular event in Pennsylvania – eager to get out of there, he not only finds the passage blocked by a snowstorm but, by some unexplained quirk of nature, finds himself reliving the same day over and over again! At first, he is understandably baffled and frustrated by all of this – especially in the face of the obliviousness to his predicament shown by colleagues and townspeople alike; then, he is amused by the sheer predictability of the day's proceedings; gradually, however, he learns to take advantage of this state-of-affairs – not only involving himself in the everyday life of the town, but also striving to better himself (such as becoming an accomplishment piano-player or a hand-craft artisan seemingly in the space of single day); most of all, however, he works at cultivating a loving relationship with Andie McDowell, the producer of his TV program who, normally, cannot stand him! Apparently, Murray and director Ramis (co-stars in STRIPES [1981], another recent viewing, and the GHOSTBUSTERS films) fell out during the making of this one because they had contrasting opinions about the prevailing tone of the script: Murray wanted it to be of a more philosophical bent, while Ramis thought better of extracting the comic potential out of the central situation; in the end, I feel the film strikes a good balance between the two (with plenty of visual gags and assorted mayhem but, at the same time, having a definite bittersweet side to it – in view of the above-mentioned budding romance and also Murray's numerous failed suicides!).