An ode to the Groundhog

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2008)

Groundhog Day (1993) As Roger Ebert pointed out in his great movie's review of Groundhog Day, it is so good, so entertaining, so fun, that its all too easy to overlook its greatness. I agree.
Groundhog Day is nothing less than a classic. It is a once in a lifetime kind of film, one that worked so well in the context of its own time period that its simply impossible to imagine the film having the same impact if it was made either 10 years earlier or ten years later. If that makes any sense. I suspect if you've seen it and loved it (which more often than not is simply the by-product of having seen it) you know what I mean.
The premise, of course, Bill Murray plays a smarmy weatherman who is forced to relive groundhog day over and over again until he comes to great realizations about the meaning what it is to live. It's not only a very funny idea, but also a deep one with philosophical and existential undertones. Yes, not only is Groundhog Day a film so enjoyable its underrated, but also underestimated.
Bill Murray is one of the funniest men to ever work in cinema, with the ability to express humor without emoting, to express subtle depth, profundity and sadness while slapsticking. Groundhog Day is one of his best outings. It's one of the few films that truly makes me nostalgic for days gone by, but optimistic for the days to come.
I realize this review is little more than a puff piece, but why waste precious time on the small trivial faults when the sum of the parts is so wonderful. It is only suiting in the context of the picture itself.