Groundhog Day (1993)

Bill Murray has a true classic in Groundhog Day and Andie McDowell sweetly plays the romantic foil that his schmuck needs to finally escape from a one-day-in-time self-made hell. Bill plays Phil, a snarky TV weatherman who is climbing the career ladder towards a reputably large metro market. Unfortunately, his annual bottom-of-the-barrel assignment sends him to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsatawney, Pa. He takes it on the chin like a prima donna -- sniping at Andie, his producer, and Chris Elliott, his cameraman -- only to learn (each morning at 6 am) that he apparently has been condemned to repeat the day -- over and over and over again -- presumably until he gets it right. What must he do? He has no idea. He has to discover the answer by trial and error -- over and over and over again -- and herein lies the true magic of this movie. His daily encounters with ordinary citizens -- beginning with the improbably named Stephen Tobolowsky as clueless insurance salesman Ned Ryerson ("am I right or am I right?") -- and the associative and distributive, positive and negative, and even sometimes cumulative lessons he learns from them are the bread and butter of this wonderful situational comedy. Put Bill (as Phil the weatherman not Phil the groundhog) in a sticky wicket -- or a wicker basket -- and see how he pokes and prods to try to get out. That's how this movie works -- and it works marvelously. I love this movie and can't see myself ever getting tired of seeing it one more time. 5 stars.