There’s a moment in Groundhog Day that genuinely changed my life: the bit where, noticing that Andie MacDowell has walked into the party that he’s rocking with an up-tempo boogie-woogie solo, weatherman Phil Connors cuts the band with a gesture, takes off his shades, and pivots straight into a soulful rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Has Bill Murray ever looked so cool in a film, before or since? Has anyone?
To be upfront, it took me a while to act on my love of that climactic moment (more on this in a minute) but there’s a lot to love in the prototypical time-loop drama even before you get to the Connors redemption arc. Murray, obviously, gets to showcase his full comedic range, moving from irascible cynic to unhinged hedonist to enlightened altruist and somehow keeping us onside for the entire problematic journey. Stephen Tobolowsky puts in a performance that would steal any other film as Ned Ryerson (“Needle-nose Ned! Ned the Head!”), and MacDowell has never played a more charming character than Rita, Phil’s endlessly patient producer. But really, the whole town of Punxsutawney should have got the best supporting actor nod: it’s the sort of place that you could imagine retiring to eat pancakes every morning in a diner where everyone knows your name. Phil might hate it: I love it, more and more every time I watch.
