It's Groundhog Day! How's YOUR routine going?

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:Dhttp://amelia4bedelia.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/groundhogday.gif

It’s one of those movies that can make you think.

Or not. 😉

A bit of a gentle Purgatory for a not quite ready for heaven and not quite bad enough for hell man?

There’s a bit of suspension of belief necessary … but this tale of a spoiled, cynical, amoral weatherman who gets marooned in the small Pennsylvania town of Punxatawney by a freak snowstorm on Groundhog Day (February 2) - is memorable.

He wakes up to find himself in a time warp, where only he and his actions change - the rest of his world is stuck happily in Punxatawney on February 2 enjoying the Groundhog Day festivities he finds insipid (but must report on - again and again).

There’s a love story of sorts, an amusing “how would that world be?” kind of intellectual (and spiritual) internal query one can participate in … a comedy and a bit of science fiction and theological inquiry. I liked it. But could do a good critique on certain aspects of it too.

One View: Caution, Spoilers (if you haven’t seen the movie)

The idea one friend had was that the man suddenly found himself in eternity where time didn’t matter anymore. His clinging to his old ways wasn’t going to work.

After giving evil its try (there’s no consequence to sin there as with the dawn there’s just a rewind and do-over) and

attempting to escape his prison via suicide (some comical attempts)

he eventually begins to accept his new life, then gradually becomes a better and better person … even gaining control over his obsession with conquering the woman of his dreams (or new reality) by becoming a good person who puts others first.

Your thoughts on the movie? :)🍿😃

nationalreview.com/article/228088/movie-all-time-jonah-goldberg
 
CaptFun said:
:Dhttp://amelia4bedelia.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/groundhogday.gif

It’s one of those movies that can make you think.

Or not. 😉

A bit of a gentle Purgatory for a not quite ready for heaven and not quite bad enough for hell man?

There’s a bit of suspension of belief necessary … but this tale of a spoiled, cynical, amoral weatherman who gets marooned in the small Pennsylvania town of Punxatawney by a freak snowstorm on Groundhog Day (February 2) - is memorable.

He wakes up to find himself in a time warp, where only he and his actions change - the rest of his world is stuck happily in Punxatawney on February 2 enjoying the Groundhog Day festivities he finds insipid (but must report on - again and again).

There’s a love story of sorts, an amusing “how would that world be?” kind of intellectual (and spiritual) internal query one can participate in … a comedy and a bit of science fiction and theological inquiry. I liked it. But could do a good critique on certain aspects of it too.

One View: Caution, Spoilers (if you haven’t seen the movie)

The idea one friend had was that the man suddenly found himself in eternity where time didn’t matter anymore. His clinging to his old ways wasn’t going to work.

After giving evil its try (there’s no consequence to sin there as with the dawn there’s just a rewind and do-over) and

attempting to escape his prison via suicide (some comical attempts)

he eventually begins to accept his new life, then gradually becomes a better and better person … even gaining control over his obsession with conquering the woman of his dreams (or new reality) by becoming a good person who puts others first.

Your thoughts on the movie? :)🍿😃

nationalreview.com/article/228088/movie-all-time-jonah-goldberg
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I love that movie! It’s one of the greatest films of all time, as far as I’m concerned.

Capt., please post this exact post again next year, on the same minute and day!
 
Exiled_Child said:
I love that movie! It’s one of the greatest films of all time, as far as I’m concerned.

Capt., please post this exact post again next year, on the same minute and day!
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Or, post it every day from now on, at 6:00 am… :eek:
 
I almost think this thread belongs in the philosophy section. Is it just me, or did others find this film to be particularly deep and intriguing? I wonder if Harold Ramis deliberately set out to explore the notion of eternal recurrence?
 
My routine is going like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that…😃
 
Exiled_Child said:
I almost think this thread belongs in the philosophy section. Is it just me, or did others find this film to be particularly deep and intriguing? I wonder if Harold Ramis deliberately set out to explore the notion of eternal recurrence?
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It’s not just you … in fact, from the link I posted at the bottom of the original post, author Jonah Goldberg wrote this:
When I set out to write this article, I thought it’d be fun to do a quirky homage to an offbeat flick, one I think is brilliant as both comedy and moral philosophy.
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But while doing what I intended to be cursory research — how much reporting do you need for a review of a twelve-year-old movie that plays constantly on cable? — I discovered that I wasn’t alone in my interest. In the years since its release the film has been taken up by Jews, Catholics, Evangelicals, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, and followers of the oppressed Chinese Falun Gong movement.
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Meanwhile, the Internet brims with weighty philosophical treatises on the deep Platonist, Aristotelian, and existentialist themes providing the skin and bones beneath the film’s clown makeup.
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On National Review Online’s group blog, The Corner, I asked readers to send in their views on the film. Over 200 e-mails later I had learned that countless professors use it to teach ethics and a host of philosophical approaches. Several pastors sent me excerpts from sermons in which Groundhog Day was the central metaphor. And dozens of committed Christians of all denominations related that it was one of their most cherished movies.
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Rita: “You’re not a god. Believe me. This is 12 years of Catholic School talkin’!”
 
On TV, they seemed to say this was original a German Tradition.
 
Groundhog Day is, without a close second, my favorite movie. I rented it several times from Blockbuster before purchasing it, and it’s one of those movies that I watch when I am sick and need something that’s comforting. It’s such a beautiful story, watching a man have essentially an existential crisis, then realize there is goodness in people, and in himself if he will only nurture it. I think Rita was the first Catholic person I ever saw depicted in film positively. She’s very morally grounded, a good foil for Phil.
 
CaptFun said:
It’s not just you … in fact, from the link I posted at the bottom of the original post, author Jonah Goldberg wrote this:

Rita: “You’re not a god. Believe me. This is 12 years of Catholic School talkin’!”
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Oh, I didn’t see that link at first. I had no idea that other people also found religious and philosophical significance in the film. In my view, it’s way heavier than The Matrix, which was a good movie, too, but not nearly so weighty as Groundhog Day. Hmmm:hmmm: I’m gonna have to ponder over that link awhile; there are some very interesting ideas there….

And speaking of Yogi Berra, check out this link:
everything2.com/index.pl?node=Joe%20DiMaggio%20killed%20JFK
It’s one of my favorite internet conspiracy theories. Did you know that Joe DiMaggio assassinated John F. Kennedy??
 
Potter said:
Groundhog Day is, without a close second, my favorite movie. I rented it several times from Blockbuster before purchasing it, and it’s one of those movies that I watch when I am sick and need something that’s comforting. It’s such a beautiful story, watching a man have essentially an existential crisis, then realize there is goodness in people, and in himself if he will only nurture it. I think Rita was the first Catholic person I ever saw depicted in film positively. She’s very morally grounded, a good foil for Phil.
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You’re awesome, Potter!👍 I like that.
 
I don’t think I’ve missed watching this on or near Groundhog Day since it was first released. While watching it tonight, I stumbled across an article that talked about the “real” reason Phil was reliving the same day over and over again. In the original script (which was pretty much discarded), you learn that it’s due to a curse put on him by an ex-girlfriend. We got to talking about how, if that were the case, it changes the whole tone of the movie altogether. It suddenly becomes a fairy tale about true love’s kiss and not a potentially deep film about a man’s journey toward redemption. As depicted, I think it’s very strongly implied that this is a punishment placed upon Phil by God (the numerous religious and even Catholic references, Phil looking up toward the sky when the old man dies and everything finally falls into place for him). If, instead, it was a curse placed by an ex-girlfriend then the value of his redemption is lessened tremendously. You’re left with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc. However, if this is an act of God, then the tone of the movie is instead in line with It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. Looking at it from that perspective gives Phil’s journey a lot more meaning.

After his adjustment to his situation and some comical misadventures, you get to the point where he’s seeking to woo Rita. One of my daughters asked me why the story didn’t end after their first moderately successful date, or after his suicidal period when he convinced her to stay the night with him. As a character, he’d clearly turned a corner. I told her that was true, but up until Rita told him, essentially, that she would use eternity to make herself a better person, everything he was doing was for selfish reasons. He made changes and learned new skills but only in the pursuit of Rita. It was still a selfish goal. After the scene in the diner when she agrees to stay with him, he wakes up alone again the next morning and decides to take Rita’s advice. He sees his predicament not as a living hell but as an opportunity to make himself and his own little corner the world better. It’s a major shift in attitude for Phil, but he’s still not redeemed. It’s not until he acts selflessly toward the old man that he finally loses himself (in particular, his old, selfish self) for the sake of someone else (notably, the old man he treated with such derision at the start of the movie). The “next” day (because, honestly, it still could have been 1000 days later), everything Phil has learned and experienced comes together and he spends the day sacrificing himself for the whole world, even if the whole world is just Punxsutawney.

I’m sure there’s more that could be said along the lines of Phil as a Christ figure (rising from the dead, one of his deaths involves him with his arms stretched out as if on a cross). If I were still in school that might be a good idea for a paper. I’m sure there’s also something to be said about the fact that the bartender and the old man both seem to recognize him or have some sort of awareness of his actions on the previous “days.” I will say that my family and I put a lot more thought into it this year that in years past and enjoyed it at least as much as we always have.
 
I’ve seen the film lots of times, and realized it’s even mentioned once in the film, but just fully noticed while viewing it last night that Bill Murray’s character has the same name as the groundhog - Phil.

Murray is Catholic, BTW (his sister is a Dominican sister). In a recent interview, he even described his preference for the Latin Mass, and spoke of his admiration for the recently canonized Pope John XXIII: (catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/11/21/billy-murray-misses-the-latin-mass/)
 
Well, from a Forums perspective, when the subjects are the Sign of Peace, girl altar servers, and several other popular topics, every day is Groundhog Day - endless repetitive discussions that just cycle over and over…
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Well, from a Forums perspective, when the subjects are the Sign of Peace, girl altar servers, and several other popular topics, every day is Groundhog Day - endless repetitive discussions that just cycle over and over…
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At least it’s a rare occasion to see posters questioning the Church’s teachings on sexual matters. :rolleyes::whistle: 6:00 am: da da - da da - da da - da “I got you babe!”

youtube.com/watch?v=iweOSPbU73Y 😉
 
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