Director - Harold Ramis
Let me begin by saying MAN I LOVE BILL MURRAY!
I don't think I can state that enough. He is someone who is so intensely brilliant in just about everything he does. He lifts the energy of a scene into something that bubbles and zings with comedy, whilst he himself can remain droll and deadpan throughout. This is a man who's minorest cameo can move a film from being pretty good, to being properly chucklesome.
I'm aware I've said this a lot....but he is great.
It is however, necessary for the lead to be as charismatic and as joyous to watch as Murray, because he is up against the very energy sapping nothingness that is Andie McDowell.... a women so dull she makes Hugh Grant look exciting in 4 Weddings...So, it is to Murray's credit that he manages to keep the film going along, but also make McDowell's character seem less of a wet blanket than she makes herself look...
But, onwards to the film.
Let me begin by saying MAN I LOVE BILL MURRAY!
I don't think I can state that enough. He is someone who is so intensely brilliant in just about everything he does...... HA HA HA HA HA HA Do you see what I did there?! I am a comedy GENIUS
Anyway, seriously..... Groundhog day has an incredible central premise - in which a man is forced to live out the same day over and over and over again. Whats brilliant is that this is never explained, and that when it does, eventually, resolve itself... no one knows what it is he did differently.
It seems that the cosmos is trying definitely to get Murray's cranky weatherman Phil laid with the right girl. As it is only once she stays over for the night that he moves on to February 3rd.... but to be honest. He manages so much in that one day that it is hard to know what one thing causes it to move on.
I love that it is never explained... I love that it is just not important.
But mostly.... I love that you don't know quite how long he is there. Repeating the same day.
We see a lot of repetition.... but that's only what the film chooses to tell us. Throwaway lines indicate he has spent 6 months learning solely how to throw cards into a hat. On top of this he has learnt a lot:
That's not including the years he spends seducing women, going crazy and committing suicide. In fact far geekier people than I have sat down and worked it out.... ignoring the fact the Harold Ramis has given several (contrasting) answers....
It is a great film, which works as both a nice romantic comedy but also something far deeper, far stranger. There are little moments that try to build tension (such as the homeless man dying) but it doesn't really matter when everything resets at 6am
However.... the film's real grace is Bill Murray. The amazing joy of watching his character evolve from being a grumpy old bastard to the epitome of small town kindness. Murray is always a great watch, and in this film he just shines.
The 'No one will ever believe you' urban myth....Specially because he recently admitted it to be true.
Man I love him
1 comment:
I like to think that it's pure chance that he moved onto tomorrow on that one day, and it's a complete coincidence that it was his perfect day.
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