Great Movie!

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2010)

Harold Ramis's film "Groundhog Day" revolves around bill Murrays character "Phil", a miserable weatherman forced to once again go on assignment to Pauxatuany to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebration. After forcing his way through the day his team encounters a blizzard on the way home which forces them to turn around. He awakes the next day to find that it is the day he just lived. Hilarity ensues and in the end he discovers he must find happiness and his true self before he is able to snap out of his funk. He falls in love with his coworker Rita played by Andie MacDowell and they live happily ever after. The theme of this film kind of reminds me of Jerry McGuire except it is actually funny.
Before Phil can overcome his miserable existence and find true happiness he is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right. Faced with seeing Ned, the annoying insurance salesman, everyday this takes some time. Phil experiences all the ranges of emotions while working to the end product and the director does a great job of taking us through them. He tries everything to get the day to end before realizing that he needs to embrace the day and make the best of it.
The author uses several good techniques to reinforce the theme throughout the movie. I feel that "I got you babe" music every morning he wakes up is a nice touch in reference to the happiness he finds at the end of the film with Rita. The lighting is also used to reinforce how gloomy and dull both the town of Pauxotowny is and also the existence that Phil is living.
While this film is a comedy classic, it also shows a real lesson that people take for granted most of the time. We go to work every day and get into the same rut over and over without putting everything into perspective. This film shows that sometimes we need to take a step back and evaluate what is important to us and spend the time putting it into perspective.