Groundhog Day
It's just so wonderful in so many ways. Let's break it down:
1. First--well actually i'm not sure. 1 & 2 might tie for first. But first, the premise. It's just so fun on all of its levels.
a) the holiday. It could only be about Groundhog Day which has to be the most worthless holiday ever created. It would remain so were it not for this movie. Now, for me, it is beloved.
b) The repeating of the scenes. I remarked several times how fun it must have been for the actors and extras. Fun or insanely irritating? Hmm. I don't know. It sounds fun and unusual to me, a non-actor. Like, do i try to play this EXACTLY as before? Or might I say it a bit differently, because you don't know? You don't know how i would have done it based on Bill Murray's Phil Connors' lines or delivery. And that brings me to 2.
2. Bill Murray. So perfect. So PERFECT! He nails everything. It could not have been anyone else.
3. Everyone is so awesome. It's like they went straight to Punxsatawny and made everyone there a part of the movie. This is not a rip on the town as I have never been, but they just had the most perfect small town-ness about them. None of those people live in LA. Love Chris Elliot. He's the most perfect doof. However, Andie McDowell leaves a bit to be desired. She's kind of weird. Go, watch the movie again and see for yourself. We like her because she's nice to look upon and her accent is a tiny bit adorable but really, would you go for her? Would you? I wonder.
3. As mentioned, the levels and layers. The way there are some days we see more of, and mere moments in others. Some from his suicidal phase, some from his selfish phase. The golden scene of him trying to recreate the perfect date. His metamorphosis is drawn out and somehow we see the length of it which i find impossible to experience in movies these days. Everything is rushed. So yeah, I love it all. I love how the story unfolds and unfolds and reveals its depth as it goes along.
A few weeks ago, Val told me the director (genius and hands-down the hottest Ghostbuster, Harold Ramis) revealing the actual time that passed that he was reliving Feb 2. She had me guess. I thought about it and said "like a year?" She said she had guessed 6-9 months, but the director said it was 8 YEARS. Whaa?? Isn't that bananas? I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since she told me, and is probably what spurred us to watch the movie (along with the encroaching useless/wonderful holiday). What i find though, having watched it since she told me, is that he actually makes it look like it'd been that long. He pulls it off. I don't know how. It's pretty amazing, actually.
At some point, Sean asked me what I would eat if there was no tomorrow, no consequences. We both thought and thought. And then thought and thought some more. Buh. We were having a tough time coming up with anything! Like, do i want to eat one milkshake after another? No. I mean, i might want to, but I know i'd max out at one sizable milkshake. I finally gave a pathetic answer of "I dunno.. hamburgers?" Like i'm always craving a huge greasy hamburger, and I'm not. We both decided on pizza and french fries (< -- I just typed "friends." what is the matter with me? Pizza and french friends. It's so ridiculous and i am laughing way too hard over it.)
What would be YOUR answer? Because seriously, things i might have said some years ago, i know will make me sick so fast. Geez. Thanks, adulthood.
Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day. I feel like that should be Groundhog's Day. Give a day to the groundhog, for heaven's sake.
2 comments:
Loved this. And, as Groundhog Day is indeed the most worthless holiday, I think you may have hit upon the best way to celebrate it: eating as though that day were your last. I like it. When else can you do that? And once a year wouldn't kill you. I'm in. Hamburgers, pizza, etc., but I'm going to raise you to cheese fries.
Oh man, YES, Ash! So perfect. Cheese fries: spot on. I love this so much, next year, man. Look out. Although this year I did spend Feb 2nd eating pizza on the floor of a hotel room and eating cookies in bed, so I think I did rather well.
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