Sweet and witty

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2004)

** O'boy here be spoilers **
Phil (Murray) is a meteorologist in Pittsburg. He is totally egocentric and does not like at all that he has been assigned to go to Punxsutawney and cover Groundhog day. Along with him goes sweet Rita (MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Elliott). Phil, just wants to do the work and leave as quick as possible ( or before that if he gets his say). Well, unfortunately for Phil, a snowstorm (that he himself predicted would miss them) makes leaving town impossible and when Phil wakes up it's Groundhog day all over again. Phil is stuck. Stuck in Punxsutawney and stuck on Groundhog day. What to do? Well, you could perfect the arts or study. You could get dates with attractive women just by trial and error. You could be the biggest jerk in the world or an angel sent from above. You could rob a bank or kidnap a famous woodchuck. Or you could get depressed and kill yourself in a lot of different (more or less creative) ways. And always wake up to the same day all over again. Phil does all that. But how to solve this mysterious riddle so that poor Phil can go on with his life?
A funny and interesting movie, with funny little quirks. The story is great, and the concept of it brings a _lot_ of unique possibilities, most of them followed through in the movie. Good work Ramis and Rubin! Murray is great as the sarcastic Phil. He is asked to act out in a lot of different moods and situations and pull all of them off brilliantly. MacDowell is good as well, even if her character is given a secondary role to that of Murray. Elliot's character is even more in the perimeter but he is good and occasionally chips in with a funny tidbit. But mostly, the movie is funny because of a great story, Murray's acting and a nice directing and editing. There is a romantic bit in the movie as well, but in my opinion that is well integrated in the comedic part, which is the one emphasized.
8/10