#butimnotgoingto

I didn't see this movie until my 20's, and I can say with full confidence that it is one of my deepest regrets. This movie is a double espresso shot of sarcasm, blended into the coffee of relatability (wow, I don't even know if people mix that shit; the coffee metaphor was probably a bad idea. Then again, so is coffee). In short, I thought this movie ruled pretty hard. 

If this picture doesn't make you want to see this film, then there are no answers for your problems.

Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray as a mega-jaded narcissistic weatherman who is sent to cover the sleep-inducing groundhog day event in Punxsutawney, PA. After the event, he tries to leave the town, but a blizzard (ironically) blocks his departure, and he is forced to retreat back to Punxsutawney. When he wakes the next morning, he finds that he is reliving groundhog day; however, with each day he relives, he retains his memory of the past groundhog days. Hilarity ensues. 

This movie, as a comedy, does a lot of things well. It's fairly light, funny (I realize this is subjective), and awesomely relatable; I think just about everyone has had a feeling of deja vu. As a narrative, surprisingly, there aren't a lot of moments that I found myself questioning, despite the fact that the movie revolves around the idea of a guy reliving the same day over and over again. I'll get to my points: 

Pros:

- Sarcasm abounds. Bill Murray is a man known for his sarcastic demeanor. I won't pretend that I'm familiar with his acting career (I've only seen this, and like, Ghostbusters), but this movie really takes the sarcastic cake. He spends, easily, 75+% of this movie not taking things seriously. This is the root of his comedy, and I happen to think it's funny, too. It's not everyday that you find a character so in love with his or herself that they can confidently navigate life the way that Phil Connors does in this movie. I could see how audiences might be split on the guy as a protagonist; he is such a colossal asshole that, at times, he's hard to root for. At the same time, his encounters are ones that we can all relate to: feeling stuck in situations we are powerless to control, the universe conspiring against us.

...all while being accosted by THIS guy. 

What makes the sarcasm interesting is that, for me, at least, I found myself thinking "Wow, yeah; that's how I feel most of the time." If you're not inherently sarcastic, this is probably a con for you. Adjust the review accordingly. 

- Potentiality. I don't care who or what you are (for the army of hedgehogs reading this blog that don't quite make it into the "who" category), you've encountered a situation in which you've wished you could get a mulligan. This entire movie is dedicated to that premise. Moreover, the main character here gets a seemingly infinite number of chances to relive this one day, and he spends it doing the least altruistic things a person could do: from seducing the local women to kidnapping a groundhog. Again, hilarity ensues. I don't want to say too much more about what he does without spoiling the film. 

Cons: 

- It takes a dark turn. Phil spends most of the film with, well, not the best attitude. But it's a livable one. At around the halfway point, the toll of living the same day over and over again starts to drive the main character to madness, and Phil begins to wonder: "what happens if I die?" He explores suicide in a number of ways, and dwelling on this is a real bummer. Imagine: given an infinite amount of time, how long would it be before you began to convince yourself that suicide is an escape? I don't know, it made me wonder about my own mortality, and nobody likes to ponder that stuff. Mental illness is, after all, one of the most uncomfortable things for us "sane" folk. 

"Sane."

At the same time, like I mentioned earlier about subjectivity, you could be into this serious take on what I thought was an otherwise light-hearted film. So, really, it's almost like this con is just another good thing the movie has going for it. 

- Romance. You know, I understand the why of romance in movies, and given the fact that this spans such a large amount of time, I also understand the inevitability of it. That said, I also understand the inevitability of my death: that doesn't mean I have to like it. It seems like there is a never ending supply of screenplays that wedge romance into themselves in order to be relevant, and, frankly, I find it a more than a little annoying. In this film, it's palatable, but only because I think Andie MacDowell is endearing (and hot), and Bill Murray is just an average looking dude. This gives average looking dudes everywhere a sense of hope, that one day, through intense sarcasm and mastery of French poetry, we might land our own Andie MacDowell. Well, the joke's on us: you can't fuck French poetry. 

...until NOW!

At this point, I'm rambling, and it doesn't matter; you've probably seen this movie. Unless you are under 20, in which case, because of the generational gap, it might be lost on you. Even so, there's very little for me to complain about, and I'm betting, with a cold winter's night and two hours to kill, you'll enjoy this movie the same way I did.