Reely Bernie Faves: Groundhog Day (1993)

I have seen Groundhog Day (1993) over a dozen of times and each viewing has never felt like Groundhog Day.

Despite its premise about a day that repeats itself thousands of times from Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” at 6:00am to the next flip clock rotation 24 hours later, Groundhog Day remains innovative and fresh time after time.

It is still a cinematic miracle how weatherman Bill Murray’s self-seeking journey can be so funny on the surface yet so existential on a deeper level—even to this day—30 years later.

I mean, what would you do if you could relive the same day everyday of your life?

It turns out, it’s more a question of human powerlessness than willpower. Some might say it’s more a question of how you would trek through the “The Four Noble Truths” or Kübler-Ross’s “5 Stages of Grief.”

Too much philosophy for you? I don’t blame you. In fact, on a simpler spectrum, if we found ourselves living the same day, I think we would follow the same steps as Bill Murray’s “Phil” until we’d realize that sincere happiness comes from within and not a pot of coffee and a table loaded with baked goods.

Bill Murray is in a lot of my favorite movies from Ghostbusters (1984) to What About Bob? (1991) to Rushmore (1998), but Groundhog Day lands in my Top 50 Faves because I’ve seen it the most. And, I’ll never forget viewing its premiere with my family in the theatre and feeling perplexed by the “second” time we hear Sonny and Cher the “next morning.” And, then it happened again, and again, and again… How did Director Harold Ramis maintain the same scenes while keeping track of each little change Phil would make the next day?

Along with Sonny and Cher, notable songs include Delbert McClinton’s “Weatherman” and Frank Yankovic’s “Pennsylvania Polka.” Film composer, George Fenton, who scored one of my favorites, Shadowlands, also scored Groundhog Day the same year!

What could have been a banal rom-com turns into a spiritual transformation of sorts and one of the ultimate feel-good movies ever made. That isn’t easy to do, and that’s why I’ve always considered Groundhog Day to be a groundbreaking movie. Plus, can you name one person who only saw this film one time? It’s impossible!

For me, Groundhog Day made Groundhog Day a meaningful holiday. I think of everyone who will be watching this movie on February 2nd, and I immediately conclude that they must be good people—people trying their best to do their best, one day at a time, moving forward, no repeats.

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)