Groundhog Day (Film)

***Groundhog Day*** is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. It was later made into a broadway musical in 16 July 2016.

## Plot

On February 1, television weatherman Phil Connors reassures his Pittsburgh viewers that an approaching blizzard will miss Western Pennsylvania. Alongside his producer Rita Hanson and cameraman Larry, Phil travels to Punxsutawney for his annual coverage of the Groundhog Day festivities. He makes no secret of his contempt for the assignment, the small town, and the "hicks" who live there, asserting that he will soon be leaving his station for a new job. On February 2, Phil awakens in the Cherry Tree Inn to Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" playing on the clock radio. He gives a half-hearted report on the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and the festivities. Contrary to his prediction, the blizzard strikes the area, preventing all travel out of Punxsutawney, and although he desperately searches for a way to leave, he is forced to spend the night in the town.

The next morning, Phil wakes once more to "I Got You Babe" and the same DJ banter on the radio. Phil experiences the previous day's events repeating exactly and believes he is experiencing déjà vu. He again unsuccessfully attempts to leave the town and retires to bed. When he awakes, it is again February 2. Phil gradually realizes that he is trapped in a time loop that no one else is aware of. He confides his situation to Rita, who directs him to a neurologist, who in turn directs him to a psychologist; neither can explain his experiences. Phil gets drunk with locals Gus and Ralph and then leads police on a high-speed car chase before being arrested and imprisoned. The next morning, Phil awakens in the Cherry Tree Inn.

Realizing that there are no consequences for his actions, Phil begins spending loops indulging in binge eating, one-night stands, robbery, and other dangerous activities, using his increasing knowledge of the day's events and the town residents to manipulate circumstances to his advantage. Eventually he focuses on seducing Rita, using the loops to learn more about her so that he can try to sleep with her. No matter what steps he takes, Rita rebuffs his advances, particularly when Phil tells her he loves her; Rita asserts that he does not even know her.

Phil gradually becomes depressed and desperate for a way to escape the loop. He commits suicide in a variety of ways, even kidnapping Punxsutawney Phil and driving them both off a cliff. Each time he reawakens on February 2 to "I Got You Babe". He eventually tries to explain his situation to Rita again, using his detailed knowledge of the day to accurately predict events. Convinced, Rita spends the rest of that day's loop with Phil; she encourages him to think of the loops as a blessing instead of a curse. Lying on the bed together at night, Phil realizes that his feelings for Rita have become sincere. He wakes alone on February 2. Phil decides to use his knowledge of the loop to change himself and others: he saves people from deadly accidents and misfortunes, and learns to play the piano, sculpt ice, and speak French. Regardless of his actions, he is unable to save a homeless old man from death.

During one iteration of the loop, Phil reports on the Groundhog Day festivities with such eloquence that other news crews stop working to listen to his speech, amazing Rita. Phil continues his day helping the people of Punxsutawney. That night, Rita witnesses Phil's expert piano-playing skills as the adoring townsfolk regale her with stories of his good deeds. Impressed by his apparent overnight transformation, Rita successfully bids for him at a charity bachelor auction. Phil carves an ice sculpture in Rita's image and tells her that no matter what happens, even if he is doomed to continue waking alone each morning forever, he wants her to know that he is finally happy because he loves her. They retire to Phil's room.

Phil wakes the next morning to "I Got You Babe", but finds Rita is still in bed with him and the radio banter has changed; it is now February 3rd. Phil tells Rita that he wants to live in Punxsutawney with her.

## Cast

* Bill Murray as Phil Connors
* Andie MacDowell as Rita Hanson
* Chris Elliott as Larry the cameraman
* Stephen Tobolowsky as Ned Ryerson
* Brian Doyle-Murray as Buster Green
* Marita Geraghty as Nancy Taylor
* Angela Paton as Mrs. Lancaster
* Rick Ducommun as Gus
* Rick Overton as Ralph
* Robin Duke as Doris the waitress
* Ken Hudson Campbell as Man in hotel hallway
* David Pasquesi as Phil's psychiatrist
* Richard Henzel as radio host #1
* Rob Riley as radio host #2
* Hynden Walch as Debbie
* Michael Shannon as Fred
* Rod Sell as Groundhog Day official
* Les Podewell as homeless man
* Harold Ramis as neurologist
* Scooter as Punxsutawney Phil

## Psychological Synopsis

At first glance, Phil Connors, a fictional character in the 1993 romantic comedy, Groundhog Day, is depicted as self-absorbed, cocky, blatantly rude and unhappy. The Wiki Knights research group speculates that these character traits are the result of a depressive disorder. While his relationships with people from his past and present push the comedic narrative forward, they’ve also resulted in clinically significant distress for some time (i.e., his symptoms have been present for more than two weeks). Phil demonstrates multiple symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder such as depressed mood, visible to other characters and viewers through a negative outlook on most things (a.k.a. cognitive error that is known to be a risk factor for depression), irritability, and diminished interest or pleasure in his daily activities. The latter is manifested through the recurrence of his day, illustrating a drone and monotonous view of his life. After several repetitions of the same day, Connors begins to look fatigued and disheveled, thus identifying insomnia as another symptom. Lastly, Phil becomes suicidal; having recurrent thoughts of death, planning, and attempting different ways to end his life.

While Phil’s cognitive distortions appear to play a role in perpetuating his depression, the etiology of his mental illness can be discussed by reviewing Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory. We are first introduced to Phil in midlife, unhappy at his current job. At the 7th Eriksonian stage of psychosocial development, Phil is having difficulty achieving generativity; he feels stagnated in doing things to promote future generations. As the plot unfolds and we narrow the focus on the romance developing between Phil and Rita, it becomes evident that Phil struggles with intimacy. His repeated efforts (having re-lived the same day 12,395 times [1] over a period no less than 10 years [2]) to woo Rita reveal that he is fixated at an earlier stage of development, specifically, Intimacy versus Isolation (stage 6). Perhaps a prequel to Groundhog Day would focus on seminal relationships during Phil’s young adulthood and further make sense of why he is depressed in the original film.

## External Links

* *Groundhog Day* at Wikipedia
	1. Fletcher H. How long was Bill Murray's character trapped for in Groundhog Day? (2023), https://www.indy100.com/showbiz/how-long-was-phil-stuck-in-groundhog-day-2659351101
	2. Lord A. Groundhog Day writer reveals how long Bill Murray relived the same day (2020), https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/groundhog-day-bill-murrary-relive-same-day-10-years-a9477601.html