Excellent film showing a variety of tones...

Rating: 9/10 (18 September 2014)

Groundhog Day takes place in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Phil Conners is a weatherman that is sent to Punxsutawney to cover the Groundhog Day festivities for his local news station. Accompanying Phil are his producer Rita and his cameraman Larry. Phil finds the assignment in Punxsutawney to be beneath him and wants to get in and out as fast as possible, unfortunately, the weather does not cooperate and they find themselves stranded in Punxsutawney.
Begrudgingly, Phil spends the night in Punxsutawney and when he wakes up, he finds himself reliving Groundhog Day. He is the only person that knows what is happening and he goes through several different stages. He tells Rita that he is a God, he gets depressed and tries to kill himself, and finally, he accepts his fate and starts to better him. He grows fond of the people of the small Pennsylvania town. He eventually learns to play the piano as well as create ice sculptures. Eventually, Phil becomes such a good person and Rita falls in love with him. That results in Phil waking up in his bed, and discovering that it is February 3rd. I feel the theme of this movie is that if we seek true happiness, we must first be happy with ourselves. By the end of the movie, Phil is no longer a grump and has genuinely changed for the better. He is happy.
Bill Murray, who plays Phil, is an excellent choice for the lead because of his "everyman" appearance. He does an excellent job portraying Phil going through the stages on his way to acceptance and eventually happiness. The tone of the movie changes as Phil's feelings about his fate change. There is an ominous tone early in the film with the storm. That switches to a light hearted tone when Phil is having fun with his new found fate. He steals money from an armored car, seduces an attractive woman, and gorges on desserts with no fear of repercussions. As depression sets in, the tone of the film turns dark again. Phil tries to kill himself in a variety of ways. Finally, when Phil decides that real change and growth are needed, the movie reflects that with a jubilant tone.