Groundhog Day (BFI Modern Classics)

When the movie Groundhog Day first came out, I was not that impressed with it. It had its moments, sure, but I just did not see the appeal that others seemed to see. In fact, I only watched the movie a second time because the final essay in the book Movies and the Meaning of Life is based upon it and so I decided to pick up this book from the British Film Institute, as well. Figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I am glad I saw the movie again. Funnier than I remember and rife with themes crying out for good discussion and good analysis, the movie does deserve the status it has achieved. Of course, being a good movie and being a good BFI book on the movie are two different things. Several excellent movies have been the subject of lackluster or even bad interpretations. See, for instance the BFI books on The Matrix (BFI Modern Classics), Eyes Wide Shut, and Se7en (BFI Modern Classics). For GROUNDHOG DAY, however, the author Ryan Gilbey has avoided many of the pretensions of other mongraphs and has also filled the few pages available to him with substance. Of the numerous BFI publications I have read, this is only the second one, other than The Shawshank Redemption (BFI Film Classics), which I have rated five stars. Gilbey first puts the movie into the context of other movies that have allowed their characters to unwind and re-edit aspects of their lives. But Groundhog Day is different. Unlike Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) does not have a guide explaining things to him. Unlike Lola in Run Lola Run, we do not see different versions of the same event. Oh no, Connors is stuck in Punxsutawney for a good long time and with no explanation given. Gilbey takes us 'behind the scenes' with the screenwriter and director and shows how the lack of explanation for Phil Connors' predicament came to fruition (the filmmakers were thinking of showing some woman putting a hex on him) and why it was a good idea that any overt explanation was kept out. Not providing viewers with such a reason, and being very unspecific about just how long Phil Connors was stuck in the loop (anywhere from a few years to thousands of them) keeps the audience itself a bit disoriented and maintains the feeling of existential claustrophobia. The author further develops the thesis of how Phil's life, day after day of the same old same old, is, depressingly, not all that different from the rest of ours. But a further look at the individual February 2s allows us to see how Phil Connors himself changes internally when he has no choice of changing his external environment. That is the key to the movie, and the key for Connors to get back into normal time. I will refrain from the pun that the book is worthy of repeat readings (groan), but for a fan of the movie (or a non-fan, as I was before seeing it a second time), it certainly is worth one. You really will appreciate the movie more.

Ryan Gilbey has written a splendid book that can only increase one's enjoyment of one of the most enjoyable movies of the Nineties. He begins by showing how the project came together. (The original script was rather darker, more SF than comedy.) His analysis of the movie itself is serious but never pretentious, yet never betrays the humor of the film. (His comments on the "Ned Ryerson" character made me laugh.) His discussion of Bill Murray's performance is wonderful. Finally, Gilbey briefly sketches the influence of "Groundhog Day" on subsequent movies. All in all, a thorough and most enjoyable and informative book, a fine addition to the BFI series.