It’s no secret how special this movie is to me and my family. We’ved watched it every year on Groundhog Day since it came out on VHS, then DVD and now Blu-Ray. I’ve also watched it a few dozen times in between, and I’m positive that I’ve seen and will continue to see this movie more times than any other in my lifetime. And it still hasn’t gotten old. I would attribute Groundhog Day’s lasting impact to the universality of its message. Granted, first and foremost it was conceived as a comedy, and what’s a greater concept to work with than a man reliving the same day over and over? But as some of you have pointed out, it doesn’t take much to see the deeper implications in the story. To me, Groundhog Day is a movie about true happiness and the untapped potential we each have inside us. On a grander scale, though, it is really a movie about life, depression, isolation, love, and selflessness. It can be about graduating from school, getting married, or, as it was for me at one point, about serving an LDS mission. In the beginning, Bill Murray’s Phil Connors is about as self-centered and egocentric as a man can be while still remaining strangely likeable. Everything he does is to serve himself, and the rest of his world is filled with oddballs and morons who only get in the way. All he seems able to do is react to the foibles and failures of his colleagues. From the minute he arrives in Punxsutawney to the moment he goes to bed at his B&B later that night, everything is more or less miserable. He just wants to trudge through the day and get it all over with. Of course, as we all know, the godly force in the film’s universe (which very wisely chose to leave itself religiously ambiguous) doesn’t allow that. Phil soon realizes he’s trapped in an endless loop of Groundhog Days, and how does he respond? Initially his reaction is one of disbelief and panic. He even refuses to relive most of it, instead bolting past the repeat events in an attempt to get to the point of it all. However, it doesn’t take him long to realize the potential benefits of never having to deal with consequences. What ensues are a mischievous series of acts of crime, deception and destruction as Phil milks the situation dry. Women, food, wealth, he takes whatever he wants and never has to deal with the repercussions. His selfishness has never been so unbridled, and he takes full advantage of it. There have been countless psychological studies on the behavior of people who are freed of accountability, and the conclusion has largely shown that we’re all like Phil. I’m trying to avoid giving a play-by-play of this movie (it’s surprisingly difficult not to), so I’ll get to the point here. His constant acts of self-indulgence weren’t enough to keep him happy. He saw Rita, one of the few people who couldn’t be fooled by him no matter how hard he tried. What’s more, she was genuinely happy without ever appearing to serve herself. Naturally, Phil’s first instinct is to try to get Rita in the sack. Once that fails, he realizes just how empty his life really was. What follows is at first darkly humorous but soon turns tragic, as Phil desperately tries to end his own life. To this day I still often find myself crying as he throws himself from the tower with that real look desperation and loneliness in his eyes. I see this sequence as him essentially “wrestling with God,” pleading for any other way out. The final thirty minutes of this movie are some of the most philosophically powerful moments I’ve ever seen on screen. Phil is trapped. No one understands what he’s going through, on a very literal level. Every day is the same horrible holiday, with the same inane people, the same frustrating limitations, and there’s nothing he can do about it. What CAN you do in such a situation? Phil decided he wanted to be like Rita. He wanted her happiness, to be worthy of someone like her. So what does he do? He learns piano. He starts looking for ways to help, to improve the lives of those around him in whatever way he can. By the end, he’s learned to play the piano, ice sculpt, change a car’s tire in record time, and undoubtedly numerous other talents. He’s made himself not only aware, but invested in the dreams and predicaments of others, and he’s tried desperately hard to save the life of an old homeless man. Phil’s lesson has gotten me through a lot of extremely difficult times, because the message truly is universal: When you can’t change anything about your situation, change yourself. To cross-quote another amazing movie, there’s a beautiful conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring: Frodo - “I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf - “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” The fact is, the world is chaotic and messy. But like Phil Connors, we can take that chaos and try to make it as beautiful as possible. If you find yourself living in a run-down, dilapidated house and moving isn’t an option, you can either sit and complain about the awful condition it’s in, or you can get to work turning it into a beautiful home. Groundhog Day is equal parts hilarious, beautiful and poignant. It is and always will be my favorite movie of all time.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 01:31:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015