Murray plays everyone's favorite weatherman, Phil Connors, who is getting ready to make his annual trek to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for Groundhog's Day to cover Punxsutawney Phil's big day. Phil (Connors, not the marmot) has seen this act more times than he cares to remember. This time, he is being joined by one of the station's producers, Rita played by Andie MacDowell (Multiplicity) and the camera man, Larry (Chris Elliot of There's Something About Mary notoriety), and if there is one thing Phil wants, it's to leave this little town as fast as possible. Unfortunately for him, a surprise blizzard keeps the trio in Punxsutawney one more night, and doubly unfortunate, for some reason, every time Phil wakes up in the morning, it is once again Groundhog Day and he must relive the day over and over again.
Phil quickly realizes one thing about this strange phenomenon. No matter what he does, it has no consequence on the next day. First he uses this to get to know some of the local girls, and then he decides to go after Rita, whom he has been harboring feelings for. Each day, he makes a few moves, learns what goes wrong and tries out new tactics the next time around. But no matter what happens, each day always ends with a slap in the face and a 6:00 AM alarm as if the previous night hadn't happened.
This is followed by a string of attempts to kill himself, and then, after seeing an old bum that he has tried to help die (many times), he decides if he is going to live this day over and over again, he is going to make sure it is the most perfect day in Punxsutawney's history, and who knows, he might actually catch Rita's eye after all.
While there have been plenty of TV series and/or movies that have taken from this idea in the 15 years that this movie has been out, every time I see one, it always reminds me of Groundhog Day. Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell play off of each other perfectly. During the scenes when things seem to be going right for Phil, the chemistry between the two is solid, and when he makes a wrong move, MacDowell knows how to look angry.
As for special features, I sort of wish for a bit more on a 15th Anniversary Special Edition. It has a slew of deleted scenes and a commentary and interview with the director, but besides that, the DVD's only other features include a making-of featurette and a look at real-world groundhogs.
Like I said at the beginning, this is one of those romantic comedies that I could watch over and over again, and every time I do, I can't help but smile as Phil changes from the self-absorbed character that he is in the beginning to the all-around good guy that he eventually becomes by the end. While the movie doesn't try to explain exactly what is happening to Phil, that's good, because as I've seen from movies like this that do, it always leaves something to be desired.
