Once again, for the fifth year in a row, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is forced to cover the Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, an assignment he truly despises. But this year something truly bizarre happens after he finishes the report: When he wakes up the next morning, ready to leave, he discovers it's February 2 all over again. He tries to tell his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), what's happening, but neither she nor anyone else understands; only he remembers that they've already lived through Groundhog Day. When the same thing happens the next morning, he thinks he's going insane and wreaks havoc all through the town. More and more mornings pass, all of them February 2, and all of them with an ever angrier Phil. Desperate to escape, he even tries suicide, but still another February 2 dawns. As he starts realizing that his exploits are not making time march on any quicker, Phil begins to change his behavior, performing a series of lifesaving tasks until he becomes a model citizen, hoping it will be enough to get him out of Punxsutawney forever. Along the way he learns more about the people around him--and himself--than he ever thought possible. The film is extremely well put together by director Harold Ramis, and the script by Danny Rubin and Ramis is sharp and clever. The actors--many of whom have to perform essentially the same scene over and over again, with only subtle differences--is a riot.
Hollywood once produced three or four classic comedies each year. Nowadays we're lucky to get one a decade and this is a contender for the 1990s. Bill Murray gives one of the best performances of his career as Phil Connors, the weatherman with attitude, trapped in a day he will remember for the rest of his life because, unless he can find some answers, it will be the rest of his life. Director Harold Ramis uses every cinematic trick in the book to keep what is essentially a one-gag movie brimming with life and fresh ideas. Stephen Tobolowsky is superb as a nerdy insurance salesman and, as Murray's TV producer, Andie MacDowell has never been better.
Halliwell's Film Guide
A 90s version of It's A Wonderful Life: tougher, smarter, more knowing and successfully avoiding corn to provide an unexpectedly witty and warming comedy.
Variety
"...Murray's weatherman is tailor-made for his smug screen persona....Stephen Tobolowsky is hilarious..."
Radio Times
Halliwell's Film Guide
