Cult Classic That Lives Up to Its Hype

Rating: 8/10 (5 March 2015)

Finally got around to seeing "Groundhog Day," the cult classic about a jerk of a T.V. weather man (Bill Murray) who finds himself stuck reliving the same day over and over.
I was afraid that the very premise of the film would force some predictability on the screenplay: he has to first figure out he's reliving the same day, then finds it cool that he's reliving the same day, then gets sick of reliving the same day, etc. And it does tick off these boxes, but in a way that's much more creative and less formulaic than it might otherwise have been. Murray is perfectly cast as a misanthrope who gradually learns how to become a better man when he's forced to practice, and Andie MacDowell, who I don't particularly like (and of whom this film didn't make me a convert) is fine if bland as Murray's love interest.
The film does actually make you think about what you would do with yourself if you had to repeatedly live the same day. Would you be maddened by the sameness, or would you embrace the possibilities? Kind of like life itself, no?
Grade: A-