Groundhog Day

For this week, I watched a movie that's long been on the list of movies I've wanted to see, but just never seemed to have the time to watch it. However, I first got 8 from the random number generator, which corresponds to a movie I'd previously seen: The Dark Knight. I absolutely loved that movie, but I'd seen it so many times I couldn't justify watching it again and writing a blog post about it. The main point of this blogging experience is to open myself up to movies I haven't seen and ultimately come out of my comfort zone culturally.

Anyways, back on topic, after getting 8 and choosing to roll the figurative dice again, I got 168 from the random number generator, which corresponded to Groundhog Day. I have some kind of stigma against earlier movies, especially comedies, because I always think what was funny or considered good then would be so far from what I like. This is proven wrong every time I watch a critically acclaimed older film, but the stigma still remains.

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Groundhog Day has become such a fixture in American life, I feel. The phrase is commonly used to describe something repetitive, as Bill Murray finds himself living the same day over and over again in the movie. It wasn't as funny as I've been led to believe by some people, but I definitely did laugh and even laughed aloud a couple times, so it does accomplish it's job. What I found more impressive was how fast the movie seemed to go. It's an hour and a half long, which isn't long for a movie at all, but it seriously felt like a half hour at the most. The plot line was so driven that I never felt myself getting sidetracked and thinking about anything else while watching. That's something I feel helps to make films as timeless as Groundhog Day is. The story flows so well, nothing feels out of place or unnecessary, and every scene feels, at least to me, completely integral to the story.

Now I understand why people love Bill Murray so much, because he is truly an incredible actor. He made Groundhog Day, since he was the main focus of the film. I actually do not think there is one scene where he's not only not in it, but even not the main character of it. He owns the camera like few people can, and it truly shows.

This movie is definitely worth your time, even if it's just to tell people that you've finally seen it so they get off your back about it (but I promise that you should enjoy it).