By Mark Zurlo
Groundhog Day – it comes around every February 2nd, and all of us (every single American at least) breathlessly waits for Puxatony Phil to emerge from his cave and render his verdict on whether we’ll be shoveling snow for another six weeks, or sipping coconut water on the beach in a matter of days (or something like that).
This year, the appearance of Puxatony Phil is as anticipated as ever before, mainly because there are more concerns around global warming than in the past. If anyone can alleviate those fears, it’s a make-believe groundhog telling us that science has got it all wrong, and that we’re destined to wallow in frigidness until at least mid-March.
Over the past 118 years, Phil has only predicted an early spring 17 times. And since the little critter is always right – there’s a really good chance we’re going to be holed up inside our apartments watching Netflix for quite a while. To help us get through these next 6 weeks, we asked a number of local bands which movie best get them in the Groundhog Day spirit. Here’s what they told us:
Bent Knee
My favorite movie about Goundhog Day is the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. It’s a wonderful movie that really shows how we can take so much of our lives for granted but as soon as we’re open to helping others, the hellish nightmare of a frigid February day in a small hick town will finally end! It’s really very metal. – Jessica
Das Boot. Why? Because it was probably Groundhog Day at some point while they were on the submarine. It was a long movie. – Vince (Editor’s note: this answer is incorrect)
Choke Up
Not only is Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day the best movie about Groundhog Day, it is the best time loop movie. Sorry, Butterfly Effect. It also happens to feature one of Bill Murray’s best performances. Sorry, Garfield.
Anyone who has seen Groundhog Day is already familiar with its many merits, so I won’t talk about Murray’s effortless misanthropic charm as weatherman Phil Connors, Andie MacDowell’s effortless Carolina charm as producer Rita Hanson, writer Danny Rubin’s imaginative story, or Ramis’ pitch-perfect sense of comedic timing. I will, however, talk about that which any great film is destined to spawn: the bat shit fan theories and awesome interpretations.
1) How long did Phil actually spend repeating Groundhog Day?
Despite depicting only 40 or so days, fans theorize that Phil Connors spent anywhere between eight years and ten thousand years repeating Groundhog Day. Theorists account for just about every aspect of Phil’s stint in Punxsutawney – from the more edifying pursuits: like how long it would take him to master the piano, become an expert ice sculptor and fluent french speaker, to less savory endeavors: like how long it would take him to plan a bank robbery, and estimating how many times he tried to kill himself. Harold Ramis has responded to the question on a couple different occasions with varying answers, but my favorite theory so far is from Simon Gallagher of WhatCulture.com who estimates that Phil spent close to 34 years waking up to Sonny & Cher every morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYAx9RX1OmY
2) The Ned Ryerson Conundrum
I love this one. Some fans theorize that Ned Ryerson, obnoxious insurance salesman, was actually caught in a time loop of his own. After Phil meets Ned for the first time in the movie he steps off the sidewalk and sinks ankle-deep into an icy puddle, which prompts Ned to say “Watch out for that first step, it’s a doozy.” Does Ned say this just be funny? Or has he seen Phil step into that same puddle day after day? A more telling argument is to compare the dialogue between Ned when he tries to sell insurance to Phil, and when Phil tries to pick up Nancy, Nancy Taylor:
Phil & Ned Scene
Ned: Phil? Hey, Phil. Phil. Phil Connors. Phil Connors I thought that was you.
Phil: How ya doing? Thanks for watching.
Ned: Now don’t tell me you don’t recognize me because I sure as heck-fire remember you.
Phil: Not a chance.
Ned: Ned! Ryerson! Needle-nose Ned. Ned the Head. Case Western high. Ned Ryerson. I dated your sister Mary Pat until you told me not to any more. Well?
Phil: Ned Ryerson?
Phil & Nancy Scene
Phil: Nancy? Nancy Taylor?
Nancy: (laughs)
Phil: Lincoln High School? I sat next to you in Mrs. Walsh’s English class.
Nancy: Oh, I’m sorry.
Phil: Phil Connors!
Nancy: Wow. That’s amazing.
Phil: You don’t remember me, do you?
Nancy: Um.
Phil: I even asked you to the prom.
Nancy: Phil Connors?
Is it possible that Ned never went to high school with Phil and never dated his sister Mary Pat? Phil never went to high school with Nancy and never sat next to her in Mrs. Walsh’s English class; he learned those details about her from her. Did Ned learn details about Phil from Phil? Information is presented excitedly in either scene in order to get something from the other person. Phil wants to hook up, Ned wants to sell insurance. I like to think that both time-loops are brought to an end when Phil finally buys the policies from Ned.
3) Religious and spiritual interpretation
Since its debut, religious and spiritual groups have lauded Groundhog Day for its higher message, and director Harold Ramis heard all of them: “At first I would get mail saying, ‘Oh, you must be a Christian, because the movie so beautifully expresses Christian belief’…Then rabbis started calling from all over, saying they were preaching the film as their next sermon. And the Buddhists! Well, I knew they loved it, because my mother-in-law has lived in a Buddhist meditation center for 30 years and my wife lived there for 5 years.”
One of the most compelling spiritual interpretations is from the Buddhists. They believe the film demonstrates the idea of samsara–the continual cycle of rebirth– which is seen as a process of suffering from which humans may be liberated should they follow the Buddhist path. Angela Zito of NYU’s Center for Religion and Media is a fan of Groundhog Day and screens the comedy for her Buddhism classes. In an interview with the NYTimes, Zito said this of the film: “In Mahayana, nobody ever imagines they are going to escape samsara until everybody else does. That is why you have bodhisattvas, who reach the brink of nirvana, and stop and come back and save the rest of us. Bill Murray is the bodhisattva. He is not going to abandon the world. On the contrary, he is released back into the world to save it.”
There are an endless supply of theories and interpretations (including the one where Phil is stuck in Purgatory and the one where the whole movie is a metaphor for psychoanalysis), but these are my favorites.
Here’s to Groundhog Day, the best movie ever made about Groundhog Day.
P.S. See here for the best movie about Leap Year (also starring MacDowell):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnEUiTbliHA
St. Nothing
Our favorite movie about Groundhog Day is Groundhog Day because we love groundhogs. Did you know that an average groundhog is expected to move up to 3,000 kg of soil when making their burrows? WOW.
DCDR
EDGE OF TOMMOROW! Jk good movie though, really! Give it a watch. But…Phil! Phil Conners? When Phil finally buys all of Ned’s insurance just to impress his coworker. He becomes manipulative asshole but not in the way most people probably would, so hmm! Don’t blame him I guess. (Editor’s note – this is a reference to Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray).
Foam Castles
Thanks for asking. I googled “movies about Groundhog Day” and found this list:http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/02/the-top-10-groundhog-day-movies
…which wasn’t very helpful!
Gonna have to go with Groundhog Day (1993)
Littlefoot
Well I’m going to have to say, GROUNDHOG DAY with Bill Murray… because Bill Murray is a god
Raw Blow
Our favorite movie about Groundhog Day is the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, because it takes a meaningless holiday (Editor’s note: Groundhog Day is not meaningless) and uses it to juxtapose the futility of existence in modern society with man’s personal (and universal) quest to give that very existence meaning. If one can appreciate this while overlooking The Ultimate Lie (about the redeeming power of love) on which the plot rests, it is most appreciable.
Rye Pines
Groundhog Day starring Bill Murrray because never before has suicide been so hilarious.
Vesper Chimes
Our favorite movie about Groundhog Day is Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day. Many thanks.
Wakes
My favorite Groundhog Day movie is definitely Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, the adventures of the four parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities. I’m a sucker for ghost movies and giant anthropomorphized marshmallows wreaking havoc on New York City so Groundhog Day with Bill Murray is an obvious choice. Sigourney Weaver is also the perfect casting choice as Dana Barrett, Bill Murray’s sassy future ex-girlfriend. The sequel also wasn’t too shabby, either.