A briliant comedy with an important theme

Rating: Null/10 (6 February 2001)

For a comic mastermind, Harold Ramis has made a brilliant film that deals with the universal human spirituality and the importance of personal contributions to the world we live in. The beauty of this film is that a concept as utterly impossible as repetition of time is made completely and undeniably believeable, and then used to comment on the need for selflessness in today's society. In my notes from this film, I find the quote, `since time and talents are all we have, that's what we should give.' Groundhog Day delivers this powerful warhead in the non-threatening missile of a Bill Murray comedy. Although zany and comedic, the movie has an intended message within the script, that selflessness is both a virtue to be strived for and not a characteristic to be ashamed of. If this film had just been written as a screwball comedy, and Ramis had tried to include the theme secondhand, the message would have no power. Morality and message never works when injected into a film de facto; they only appear as contrived and misplaced. This film is a perfect blend of comedy and serious introspective reflection for me. In my personality, just as in the movie, I can effectively juxtapose desires to strive for selflessness and generosity with quotes like `I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. That was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over?' Crass comedy doesn't get anywhere with me, but I can appreciate a joke like that. I think it's just my convert sense of humor, which sometimes does me more harm then good. It is a disappointment that much of today's comedy has departed from clever comedy with a positive theme to crass scatological humor or anger-laced ranting. The classic comedies of the eighties and early nineties have given way at the box office to films like American Pie, Dude Where's My Car, and Saving Silverman. At least when Groundhog Day had a sexual joke it was done tastefully. We've degraded drastically from clever word play and wit to adolescents fornicating with pastries on camera. I'll stay with the oldies, but the goodies.