a large squirrel predicting the weather

This blog entry begins late--1:27 A.M.--because I've been playing games. Played some Tsuro, some Carcassonne, some Munchkin and some Monster Fluxx. Two members of the speech team are here at this point to watch Groundhog Day. Victor has seen the film before, even used it in an Impromptu round (like I have) at Districts this past March. Tracey has not seen the movie before... so figure most of what follows will be descriptions of her responses, if any.

For example, but not a very interesting example, she laughed at Larry's "Home Shopping Network" line.

And at Phil imitating Rita in the van.

(An aside: I was asked two nights ago what my (current) favorite scene in Groundhog Day was. As I hesitated in answering, Dr. Classen (who taught the class for which I wrote my Christ-figure paper) suggested that maybe that would be like picking a favorite child. Still, I tried to answer. I didn't go with my favorite per se, but a scene that is still consistently entertaining--Day 2, Phil exits his room at the Cherry Street Inn to meet Chubby Man and that moment where Phil pushes him up against the wall and Chubby Man squeals still amuses me every time.)

And, the shovel hit gets a laugh. Yay.

And the squeal got a response from both Tracey and Victor.

Poor Mrs. Lancasters' "deja vu" line gets a laugh, as well.

When they were doing the groundhog ceremony on Day 1, Tracey asked something like, so the groundhog is supposed to predict the weather? I guess she had no notion of Groundhog Day, the holiday.

Rita's Day 2 slap got a laugh from all 3 of us. I'm not sure why I found that particularly amusing on this, Day 318, but I did.

Phil's second shower got a laugh from Tracey. I fear that Tracey may not be much of a talker like Stephanie was.

A few small laughs, but a big one on "if we wanted to hit mailboxes, we could've let Ralph drive" and "don't drive on the railroad tracks."

(It occurs to me that Phil, when he says Punxsutawney is "starting to grow on me" might appreciate Tim Minchin's song, "You Grew on Me." The first few lines:

You grew on me like a tumour
And you spread through me like malignant melanoma
And now you're in my heart
I should've cut you out back at the start

It's a romantic notion disguised as a horrible one.)

"Sometimes I go months without looking" gets a little laugh.

I love how much Bill Murray/Phil Connors commits to, "I'd like to say a prayer and drink to world peace."

Car chase under way and Victor has fallen asleep.

(It's interesting that the chainsaw scenes--and I thought of this in this middle of the night because in Munchkin earlier, I had "The Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment"--or rather the ice(/snow) sculpting scenes encapsulate the rest of the plot fairly well on their own; Phil sees ice scupltures (Phil recognizes the time loop). Phil ice sculpts (Phil takes advantage of the time loop). Phil takes a chainsaw to the ice sculptures... this is a deleted scene:

Phil take chainsaw to the ice sculptures (Phil lashes out against the time loop by, among other things, killing himself). Phil sculpts Rita's face (Phil accepts the time loop and lives in it).

Ned's weird meow after "I got that" gets a laugh.

Tracey's question as the movie ends: "So, the groundhog was there to predict the weather?"

The next bit was more interesting: "I don't get it. Why does his life repeat?" Pause. "Was it because of the groundhog?"

And, this: "So, he was bitter in the beginning. He wasn't enjoying his life. And, he learns to enjoy his life?"

"The whole movie was basically about, it's ok to make mistakes?"

It's kinda of funny, Tracey is obviously tired but trying to solve the movie. Like figuring out that Phil shares his name with the groundhog. And, "isn't fire supposed to signify something?" (Because the "poor thing" (the groundhog) got set on fire.)

...a lot of rambling. And, "The groundhog in the cage can represent trapped freedom" and "in mythology, fire represents a force of change."

"You can't force something to happen." But, Tracey mitigates this one because his forcing stuff early on benefits himself and his forcing stuff later benefits others. "His intentions for doing stuff were different."

I wish I could keep up with all of Tracey's rambling right now... something about how there was no "self-fulfillment" in Phil's actions early on...

Tracey, like Benesh, wants to say the snow means something.

Tracey: Phil learning to play piano is Phil getting to know himself better each day. He progressively gets better at figuring himself out just like he gets progressively better at playing the piano. (Also with the ice sculpture.)

"It doesn't matter how many times you repeat life. If you don't know what you want... you'll never be happy." (There was more to this line but that was a gist.)

"If you never take that first step, you will never accomplish anything." Pause. "But, you have to be careful because, at the beginning of the movie, he steps in that hole over and over..." There was something about a metaphor, the hole for a hole in one's life.

"Does he really know French?" ... "In life, if you pretend to know things you really don't, you're not getting far in life."

Regarding Rita's dislike of white chocolate and fudge, "Life can never be too sweet."

Today's reason to repeat a day forever: to have friends over every day, and to make sure each gathering is unique and special.

...or to take a chainsaw to everything.