Why Groundhog Day is the best movie
A unique film for a unique holiday
Groundhog Day may not be the most critically acclaimed picture in history. Hell, it may be a bit of a punchline for some people.
But I find it to be quite possibly the perfect movie. Let me explain.
Any movie that can identify itself so closely with one day each year should have some staying power. I love the idea of watching a particular film on the same day each year.
Of course there are plenty of holiday movies out there. Hundreds of Christmas movies get watched each year in late November and December. I'm very fond of "When Harry Met Sally" each year on New Year's Day. Maybe that's the closest equivalent to the Bill Murray masterpiece.
No other movie has captured the literal one day per year as Groundhog Day has. The movie itself takes place over the course of just one day. Or many thousands of versions of the same day depending on how you interpret it. And to my knowledge, no other piece of content has associated itself with the mammalian pseudo holiday that takes place each year on the second day of February.
Unless you live in Punxatawney, PA there is virtually nothing else do to on this holiday except watch the movie as many times as you can. Even AMC got smart enough to start playing the movie on repeat for 24 hours a few years back. That treatment only gets reserved for a small crop of films. Aside from "A Christmas Story" on Christmas, I can't think of another example of repeat programming from a major broadcast network.
Is it the holiday that is so fascinating? Is it the film itself? Or is it the magical interconnectedness of the two? I'd challenge you to find a movie and holiday combo that are more perfect.
Groundhog Day just shouldn't be something that we all care about. Maybe it's just a provincial thing celebrated in Pennsylvania. And there are a few copycats (copygroundhogs?) that sprout up this time of the year in other locations that may have interest. But for our whole country to care about an animal predicting the weather? It's pretty absurd.
Would the holiday be as popular if it weren't for the film?
In my house, we watch Groundhog Day the movie every year on the holiday without fail. Some years we watch it once, other years we keep it on repeat throughout the day. Maybe the number of times I watch Groundhog Day on February 2nd is a predictor of the type of year that lies ahead!
I could get into the deep philosophical meaning behind living the same day over and over again. The endless time loop movie is really hard to pull off. Andy Samberg in Palm Springs is a nice spiritual successor to Groundhog Day that's probably worth a revisit in the near future.
When I watch the film, I don't over analyze. Sure, Phil Connors maybe learns a lesson over the presumed thousands of times he relives the day in Punxatawney. But the morality of the movie doesn't change how funny it is to see Needlenose Ned get socked in the face.
Perhaps my appreciation of the film goes a bit too far. We even have a framed illustration of Phil & Needlenose Ned hung on a wall of our house. I could say that seeing it everyday reminds me of my own mortality and living each day to its fullest, blah, blah, blah. No, it's really just something that makes me smile whenever I look at it.
We all have a bit of Phil Connors inside of us. There is the egotistical Phil who is bitter about his job and just looking to hook up with Andy McDowell and eat donuts. And the multifaceted Phil who helps people in need while bettering himself in the process. We can steal groundhogs AND learn to play piano right? We all contain as many multitudes as the various incarnations of Phil Connors.
So on this hallowed day of Groundhog and time loop appreciation. Let's take a moment to savor the minutiae of our existence and relish the fact that tomorrow is a new day.
And I'll leave you with a quote from Phil himself. Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.
When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. From Punxsutawney, it's Phil Connors. So long.
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