"Groundhog Day"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Groundhog Day is a 1993 comedy directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray and Andie Mac Dowell. An all time classic, Murray plays Phil Connors, an egocentric Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during a hated assignment covering the annual Goundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, finds himself repeating the same day over and over again. After indulging in hedonism and numerous suicide attempts, he beings to re-examine his life and priorities.

In 2006, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

The shooting location for most of the film was Woodstock Illinois, a far northwest suburb of Chicago about 10 miles from the Wisconsin border. Residents of the city helped in the production by bringing out heaters to warm the cast and crew in cold weather.

The film was released to universal acclaim. It currently garners a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is number 34 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Funniest Movies. Film critic Roger Ebert acknowledged in his "Great Movies" essay that, like many viewers, he had initially underestimated the film's many virtues and only came to truly appreciate it through repeated viewings.

The phrase "Groundhog Day" had entered common use as a reference to an unpleasant situation that continually repeats, or so it seems. In the military, referring to unpleasant unchanging repetitive situation as "Groundhog Day" was widespread very soon after the movie's release in February 1993.