The Only Good Thing About Groundhog Day is the Movie "Groundhog Day"

get back in your hole

Today is Groundhog Day. I never "celebrate" it because who cares if it is going to be colder longer or who? It doesn't really matter. In Saint Louis it is going to be cold until late March or early April anyway. But I was over at my folks house this morning, one of my coffee hangouts with my dad, and my mom was watching "Groundhog Day".

I adore this movie. It is one of my all time favorites. I enjoy the tone of the movie. I like the whole idea of reliving the same day over and over again. The cast is damn near perfect. I am a Harold Ramis fan and I enjoy his directing. I also love how dark the movie gets. When my dad and I got back to his house we got to see the moment when Bill Murray's character realizes what is going on and he sees what happens when he dies. For a comedy this is bleak. He drives a car off a cliff. He gets in a bathtub with a plugged in toaster. He steps in front of a moving truck. That is some dark stuff. But it is played for comedy and it works. When he grabs the toaster from the lady at the restaurant in the hotel, she is confused. Then the lights kind of flicker and she just nods and moves on. When Chris Elliot and Andi McDowell are identifying his body after the car crash, Elliot is bringing funny faces and one liners. And even when he realizes that suicide won't work, the way he starts to treat some people is hilarious. The back and forth with him and Stephen Toblowski is comedy gold. Toblowski is such a great character actor and he goes toe to toe with Murray. When he is mean to McDowell she gives it right back to him. She is strong and not going to take his BS. And even when the "lesson is learned" in the movie, it isn't hokey or corny. It is sweet. It works. The chemistry Murray and McDowell have felt real. I bought it.

I adore "Groundhog Day". I know Murray has had some problematic stuff come out recently and that stinks. But dammit I find his movies funny and wonderful. "Scrooged" is my favorite Christmas movie. "Caddyshack" is one of the greatest comedies of all time. I was a humongous "Ghostbusters" fan as a kid. I think he is one of the best "SNL" cast members of all time. And "Groundhog Day" is another homerun. I also know that he and Ramis fought a ton, and apparently they did it a lot on the set of this movie. But they made a damn good, classical comedy movie with "Groundhog Day". It works and they work. They were a comedy dream team.

Watching the movie this morning made me miss Ramis too. He died too young, too soon. It was tragic when he died. I go back and watch his movies a lot more now and it was cool to revisit one of his best today.

Again, I think making today a "holiday" is nuts and we all know it is not a real holiday. My kids are at school today. My wife is working. We aren't exchanging any gifts or giving out any treats. But if you do want to celebrate this day, if you are looking for something to do, watching "Groundhog Day" may be the only real solution there is. And that is a damn fine solution to come to. "Groundhog Day" is a classic made by comedy geniuses with a tremendous cast. And the movie totally holds up. Go watch it. It rules. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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