BMBS at the Movies: 17 Years Later, Shadow of Murray's Best Performance Can Still Be Seen

I just got done explaining how bad The Hangover was, and I noticed a few commenters posted what I guess were quotes from that movie (but to be honest I couldn't tell you because it was so awfully unmemorable that I don't recall a single line from it).

Once upon a time, movies actually used to be funny and reflected a culture that didn't require the f-word or male genitalia being exposed every five seconds.  I am talking about a style of humor that I'm not smart enough to think of myself.  I am talking about real comedy.  I am talking about movies like 1993's Groundhog Day.

I remember going to see this modern-day classic at the Spartanburg Carmike theater in fourth grade.  It has since become standard wintertime cable movie channel programming, and America has never looked at February 2nd the same away ever since.



We start with our protagonist, Pittsburgh weatherman Phil Conners. Disgruntled Phil despises having to go to Punxatawny, Pennsylviana to cover the annual Groundhog festivities. In Phil we see a more bitter sarcasm than we are used to in Murray; a more vitriolic side to the traditional typical 80's smart-ass roles we are accustomed to watching him play.  Basically a Peter Venkman who wakes up on the wrong side of bed in the morning, every morning, both figuratively and literally.  

While Murray's performance is unparalleled here, Andie "hey, Andie MacDowell ever give you one a these?  Eh?" MacDowell and Chris Elliot are also key ingredients to the film's success.  MacDowell (who is also from Spartanburg) plays the soft, compassionate, idealistic producer who loves people.  As Conner's opposite, it is ultimately she who helps him appreciate the simplicities of life.  Elliot, meanwhile, natrually portrays the gawky, maladroit (thanks Thesaurus.com!) cameraman and reminds us of a time when the David Letterman show was actually worth tuning into.

To this day, Groundhog Day has become the classic "snowed in" movie to watch in my household (and I'm the only person in my household so that works out pretty well).  Perfect example:  it snowed earlier today in Atlanta, roads are iced over, everyone has the day off from work; so without any hesitation my first move this morning was to pop in Groundhog in the old Xbox DVD player, fix some Orville Redanbachers, and enjoy Harold Ramis' writing and directing genius for two straight hours.



This is not to say that Day doesn't contain a few flaws.  The glaring problem is that Murray is rewarded for abandoning his self-centered, jerk self and becoming a nice guy.  I usually only like movies where the selfish, egotistical guy wins out because, in my mind, selfish people usually do a lot more for the world than nice people do.  That's just the Ayn Rand in me, I guess.

But all in all, this is a comedy and we're not ultimately concerned with issues like plot resolution or character development.  It might be true that this was Murray's jumping off point where he would start increasingly doing more serious and "ambitious" (read: boring) projects, but, like with Ghostbusters or Caddyshack, the measuring stick remains how much laughter is obtained from the audience.  And Ramis clearly hits one out of the park on that basis alone, easily making Groundhog a masterpiece.

So over the next month, when you're flipping through channels like USA, AMC, or TNT, be sure to catch Hog at some point.  Phil Conners demonstrates that sometimes we could all use that annual trip to our own "Punxatawney;" that place deep inside of all of us where we learn that mistakes may be repeated, where we can't seem to get our own personal Sonny and Cher songs out of our heads, but where redemption can ultimately be found.*

*That last sentence really made no sense but I had to cap things off in some way that sounded real powerful and allegorical.