Murray and Ramis' Greatest Film

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2007)

On the very first episode of "Late Night with David Letterman", Bill Murray ran to the edge of the stage where he led the audience in an impromptu set of calisthenics while he sang "Lets Get Physical". That was the early Bill, a man who paradoxically was a smarmy phony and infectiously enthusiastic at the same time.
Later on, in "Lost in Translation" and "Broken Flowers" Murray has become more introspective. "Groundhog Day" somehow catches Murray as he in the midst of the transformation from early Bill to the current Bill.
When I first saw "Groundhog Day" I remember leaving the theater feeling oddly moved, as if I had just witnessed something that was simutltaneously humorous fluff and deeply important. Later on, and upon further viewings, it dawned on me that this was the greatest film of redemption ever made, and one of my favorite films of all time.
I won't rehash the plot, other than to say that Murray's character, Phil, undergoes a transformation from incredulity to opportunism to despondence, and finally acceptance and understanding that this day is his to perfect.
During his transformation, Phil goes from superficial to caring and motivated, and to me that is an interesting parallel with Murray's career. One scene that is particularly telling is when Phil is wooing Andy McDowall's character by using information he has gleaned on previous days. At first, his attempts work, but as he tries to re-create the scenes that help his seduction succeed, his method becomes rote and forced. Like his voice work on the "Garfield" films, he is just phoning it in.
Once he realizes that his attempts are a sham, Phil becomes despondent and tries to get himself out of his personal purgatory by various attempts at suicide, but each day starts anew with Sonny and Cher singing "I Got You, Babe". As Phil reaches acceptance of his fate, he takes his cue from the characters and the town of Punxatawny, and becomes genuinely interested and involved with his surroundings.
On Phil's final day, Ramis and Murray shine. Not one misstep, everything clicks, and you can't help but smile as Phil captures the love and attention of the town and his associates not through guile and phoniness, but with genuine effort and caring.
If you are one of the few people who hasn't seen this fine film, rent or buy the DVD ASAP. To this day, I don't believe that Ramis and Murray are fully aware of the importance of this film, but as time has gone on since its release, critics (including the IMDb folks) have recognized as the truly excellent film that it is.