Movie Review: Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day (1993) co-written and directed by Harold Ramis

Pittsburgh weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a smart guy but completely full of himself. He has to travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the "most famous weatherman," Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who might or might not see his shadow, thereby predicting if winter will continue for another six weeks. He hates the assignment. Punxsutawney is small-town America and Phil thinks the locals are all small and uninteresting. He's isn't shy about his attitude either, complaining to his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman (Chris Elliott). He wants to finish the assignment and get back to Pittsburgh. A blizzard comes in and blocks the highway, forcing them to return to Punxsutawney. Phil wakes up the next morning to discover that it's February 2 again. He has to go through the whole day over. And over. And over. And over.

Phil has a bigger problem than the constant repetition of the same day. He's a narcissistic jerk. He initially hates that he is trapped in a podunk town but soon realizes he can indulge himself in any pleasure he wants. He starts off with food and sex, though he reveals a romantic interest in Rita. The hedonistic life does not satisfy him. He turns to suicide, though that only ends the day early, with another start at February 2 right after. He tries to seduce Rita but fails again and again. He eventually comes around to the idea of improving himself and the lives of others around him in order to be truly fulfilled.

While being a funny comedy, there's a deeper meaning to the film, in the sense of being more profound, not hard to find. Phil's transformation is inspiring though the path to that change is more played for laughs than didactic. That emphasis makes the film more enjoyable and more rewatchable, and well worth getting stuck in a loop.

Highly recommended.

The people over at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast discussed this a while ago on Episode 14. Check it out for a much deeper discussion of the film.

 

Movie Review: Happy Death Day (2017)

Happy Death Day (2017) directed by Christopher Landon

Tree (Jessica Rothe) is a spoiled sorority girl who wakes up in some strange guy's dormitory bed. She's hung over and doesn't remember the guy's name, and doesn't particularly care either. She's unpleasant to a bunch of people she mets on her walk of shame back to the sorority. She has an antagonistic exchange with her best friend their and dumps the cupcake her roommate made for her in the trash. Tree is not a nice young woman. She get her comeuppance in the most horrible way possible: She's murdered on the night of her birthday. If that wasn't bad enough, she wakes up in the same dormitory bed and has to relive the day over and over again with the same ending--death by a masked killer. Is the only way out killing the killer before the killer kills her? She's so rude and selfish to people, the list of suspects is practically everyone on campus.

This premise may sound like an exceptionally dark take on Groundhog Day. A lot of modern horror movies do go for a pessimistic view, often with a "no win" ending for the protagonist. Happily, this movie's tone is much lighter and it takes the redemption of the main character seriously. She is really unlikeable at the beginning, she does realize she is a horrible person, she does take steps to be a better person. Instead of always doing the selfish, easy things, she starts to do much harder and more selfless actions, partly in hope of solving her murder but also in recognition that a morally better life is a happier life. Pain and sorrow are not unavoidable but they can have a healing quality that Tree recognizes. The story turns out to be perfectly in tune with Groundhog Day's message.

This movie isn't as great as Groundhog Day but it does have good thematic similarities and a lot of attention to detail. Similar events throughout the day are given enough variation (either through different camera work or different actions by Tree) that the film doesn't become monotonous or predictable. Other than her dying every time, of course. The deaths are also not as gruesomely depicted (the movie is PG-13), which keeps the tone lighter. The movie makers are certainly aware of the tropes of slasher films (Tree is stalked in a tunnel, in a hospital hallway, in a parking garage, etc.) and uses them well. While it has tense moments it isn't particularly scary. It is immensely enjoyable.

Recommended as a surprisingly upbeat and well-crafted horror film.

Parental warning: In addition to some non-grisly death scenes (mostly she's stabbed but not with lot of blood), the characters use a moderate bit of swearing, including one f-bomb presumably to ensure the PG-13 rating. There's some mild kissing scenes and one naked walk of shame without any private parts showing. One student turns out to be gay and Tree encourages that character to be open about it (there's nothing graphic other than a video of two guys kissing).