Wannabe writer/critic currently selling PCs - and my soul - at PC World. Spent a lot of time crashi...
Wannabe writer/critic currently selling PCs - and my soul - at PC World. Spent a lot of time crashing intellectual parties in Prague. Now being nice on Ciao! UK.
Member since:13.12.2000
Reviews:116
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Bill Murray manages to make smugness, sarcasm, self-centredness and generally being a bastard seem like desirable character traits in a bloke. He also manages to hijack any movie he has a relatively small part in (eg. vile Ernie Cracken in 'Kingpin', and wannabe transexual Bunny in 'Ed Wood') So it's nice to see that he can dominate a film just as much when he's centre stage.
Much is made of 'Groundhog Day's Capra-esque qualities, and it's similarity to 'It's A Wonderful Life'. The high concept is there - all round bad egg Phil Connors, a sarcastic, mean spirited weatherman is shown the error of his ways by some kind of supernatural intervention. George Bailey had Clarence to show him what a wonderful life he had, whereas Phil is persuaded by something altogether more ethereal that being nice is the way to go. Phil is basically an anti-George Bailey - whereas George was totally selfless, devoting himself and sacrificing his dreams for others, Connors is totally self-absorbed.
The concept: sarky weatherman Connors pays his annual visit to the tiny town of Punxsutawny for the Groundhog Festival, accompanied by a sickeningly cute Andie McDowell and his snidey cameraman, played by Chris Elliot. A freak blizzard hits the town, and the next morning Phil wakes up to find everything is strangely familiar...he quickly realises that he is trapped in the town, doomed to live the same day over and over again.
Connors initially relishes the greedy prospects of such a situation, but soon realises what a daunting purgatory he has been consigned to - no matter what he does, it amounts to nothing. After desperation sets in, he finds himself falling for his co-anchor McDowall, and decides the only way out is to turn benevolent and live the perfect day.
Murray's former 'Ghostbusters' cohort Ramis proves to have an excellent comic touch - with the aid of a sharp and deceptively dark script, each repetition of Groundhog Day is fresh and milked for it's full comic potential. Murray stands in the centre of all this, spitting acidic one-liners at the clueless inhabitants of Punxsutawney, before finally warming into an equally charming local hero.
The ambivalence of Phil's character is underlying, giving the film a darker tone - he is wreckless with the lives of the townsfolk, and initially would rather kill himself than be nice. It's Murray's best film so far, and is one of the sharpest comedies of the Nineties.
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Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Decent, lighthearted and fully amusing slapstick is hard to come by these days, and ... more
1993'sGroundhog Daymanages to also be genuinely wise about the human condition. All this and belly laughs too! Bill Murray stars as Phil, a bored, petulant news reporte...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Decent, lighthearted and fully amusing slapstick is hard to come by these days, and ... more
1993'sGroundhog Daymanages to also be genuinely wise about the human condition. All this and belly laughs too! Bill Murray stars as Phil, a bored, petulant news reporte...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Decent, lighthearted and fully amusing slapstick is hard to come by these days, and ... more
1993'sGroundhog Daymanages to also be genuinely wise about the human condition. All this and belly laughs too! Bill Murray stars as Phil, a bored, petulant news reporte...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![Groundhog Day (Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1993]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78545717.jpg "Groundhog Day (Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1993]")
![Groundhog Day [DVD] [1993]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78551473.jpg "Groundhog Day [DVD] [1993]")
Feb 13th, 2001
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