Have you ever experienced déjà vu? We all feel the times when life just seems to be one day flowing in and out at the other. And we catch ourselves on the thought: Is it happening to us over and over again? It is like a Groundhog Day indeed! –we can say .
One of the most favorite comedy movies of all time, “Groundhog Day” was released February 12th in 1993 and had and still has great success among the viewers because of collaborative work of the director Harold Ramis, the screenwriter Danny Rubin, and, of course, brilliant play of the actors Bill Murray who meant to be for the role of cynic Phil, Andie MacDowel, and others. “Groundhog Day” didn’t receive any major awards, but now it is regarded as a modern classic comedy. The American Film Institute placed it on their list of the best comedies and the best fantasy films, and in 2006 it was added to The National Film Registery as being culturally, historically and aesthetically significant. In 1994 “Goroundhog Day” won BAFTA award for the best screenplay (Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis). Comedy won British Comedy Award in 1993 as the best comedy film. The movie is brilliant because it is both comedy and moral philosophy. According to Johan Goldberg, the author of the article “A movie of all time”, countless number of professors use the movie to teach ethics and host of philosophical approaches, dozens of Christians of all denominations claim that it was one of their most cherished movies. Also, the movie is number 32 on Bravo’s “100 Funniest Movies”. But what it make so comical to audience? The humor in this movie always arises out of the main character Phil, who is cynical, ironic, absurd in the beginning. The two clips that had been presented to the audience show two comic elements, such as repetition factor and comic exaggeration that make the movie funny, interesting and simply and enjoyable to watch.
Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray), a cynical, grumpy weatherman goes to Puxatawney, Pennsylvania for the “Puxatawney Phil event”, commonly recognized as Groundhog Day. Every year Phil and the crew go there to cover the festival. The only problem about going to this event every year for Phil is that he hates it. He hates the cheery people. The little town. The weather. The event. The story. Everything. He hates it. He is a lonely, desolate, forsaken soul, with a great cynical side. Due to severe weather they have to stay in Puxatawney until the storm calms down. When Phil wakes the next morning, he discovers that the day is the exact same day as before. It is Groundhog Day again! Seems he stuck in the time loop. Whatever he does- suicide , committing the crime, he invariable wakes up at 6 am the next morning with annoying music blaring from his radio alarm.
The first clip represents repetition factor as the most funny, memorable moment in all film. Despite the repetition of this never-ending day, it surprisingly never becomes boring. Although the situations may be the same, but Phil’s reactions are priceless, and he experiments in a variety of different ways. The scene is presented where Phil has different ways of destroying the clock radio, from knocking it off the table, to hurling it to the floor. That’s understandable if you have to wake up to “I Got You Babe” every single morning. It seems everyone who has been watched the movie could feel his angriness, desperate when he wakes up at 6 am. But at the same time it is very funny to watch because we see ourselves in this scene. It is simply human nature presented here. People are laughing at themselves in this scene. Phil wakes up and realizes it is the Groundhog Day again, we wake up and realize that we need to do what we have to do and feel like the “Groundhog Day”. Phil hates the sound of alarm, the song “I got you babe”, because it symbolize that he stuck in that day for one more day. We don’t like to hear the alarm sound too. Phil is so eager to break that alarm clock, so do people sometimes…
The second clip is the scene “I am a God” where Phil after going through all stages of depression, acceptance, desperation is deciding to confess that he is immortal God. This is the most hilarious scene in the film, because it represent comic exaggeration element. Phil says, “I am a God”, not THE God. I have been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted and burned…I am immortal”. In my opinion, Bill Murray is the only one who could play the role of Phil in such a humorous way. With miraculous insight, he exploits the introspective, narcissistic humor of the scene. The scene is very funny on the surface, but it also contains a philosophical depth underneath.
“Groundhog day” is a romantic comedy, fantasy and drama that anyone can relate to. What is wonderful about this film is the way it explores every possible angle to Phil’s situation and covers such a wide spectrum of emotion that every human being has, including us. The film contains the message for the audience as a path of true happiness.
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