the groundhog day project

I used to try to stay up all night sometimes. I thought if I could stay conscious I could figure out what was going on, or at least hang onto something from the day before. But I gave up on that a long time ago. (Ramis, 1992, January 30, p. 98) Oh, and let's subtitles this, there's no way these notes on Ramis' third revision of the screenplay for Groundhog Day ... is ever going to end, as long as I nitpick the details . (But, what the hell? Details be damned.) Phil has managed to get good at not only pool and bowling , but also juggling and hacky sack, and he can ride a unicycle (p. 99). There's an extra detail to the moment at the end of "god day" in which Rita inspires Phil. Phil concedes that he isn't a jerk and adds, "It really doesn't make a lot of difference. I've killed myself so many times, I don't even exist anymore. I'm just completely empty." "Or completely clean," Rita replies. "If you're g...

Episode 5 of Day Break : "What if they're stuck?" Today I will be watching several episodes of Day Break , so I will try not to just list details about the plot with a comment on the time loop stuff here and there. Instead, I hope to comment on the larger use of the time loop and the show's themes. For example, Hopper's got a To Do list this morning, and he tells Rita that for the first time in a while "I see some daylight." The metaphor is simple; the time loop is Hopper (or Phil) in the dark, with all its complications, but there's light at the end of the tunnel (to mix metaphors). Speaking of which, I haven't commented on the title of the show itself: Day Break . On the one hand, the time loop seems to begin and end around daybreak (one word). When Hopper headed out of town a couple episodes ago, as the sun rose over the horizon-- Ehrmentraut (at the rock quarry, where this time they have Hopper and Rita): "Do you believe in deja vu?...

There's an X on page 37 of Benesh (2011), but I don't want to talk about Benesh today. Still, I'll explain the X. By the way, there's a yellow tab labeled "self-awareness/Rita-awareness" on pages 37/38. Highlighted bit: "Phil responds, 'That's not true. I don't even like myself.' That is humor, perhaps deflective and defensive humor, but, like his calling Nancy by Rita's name, an unconscious revelation of a deeper truth..." "He may, at this point believe he sincerely admires Rita, but at the same time he is coming to the realization that he hasn't earned her" (p. 37). Then the X through the end of this bit: "Later his moral profess is confirmed when he states, as she sleeps (her sleep signifying he has, unlike before, neither means nor motive to impress her), 'I know I don't deserve you'" (ibid). Phil does not say that. When I was describing È già ieri on my second viewing, I would pause an...

Benesh (2011) comes to a subsection of a subsection of chapter two on the Gestalt cycle of experience on page 45 of her dissertation. I'm only jumping ahead because she referenced it back on page 21 (where I left off). "The Cycle of Experience," Benesh explains, "presents a metaphor of 'metabolism' for taking in and expanding one's boundaries by exchanging boundaries with another entity" (p. 45). She explains further, "each point on the cycle is a microscopic reflection of the whole, like a fractal, and cycles of all sizes are presumed to be going on continually at interpsychic, interpersonal, group, and system levels. We can't attend to all of them at once" (p. 46). I'm reminded of Bacha (1998) who was once a mainstay of this blog. Bacha, at one point asks, "So, how does the mind work?" (p. 384). The answer is not a simple one. The immediate answer is this: A starting point might be to differentiate between three aspect...

Watching È già ieri (aka It's Already Yesterday , aka Stork Day ), the Italian remake of Groundhog Day ... again. Filippo's nature show is ridiculous, filmed in front of a blue screen and using fake foreground scenery. But, it amuses me that he's filming a groundhog episode. His complaint when he sees the groundhog: the color is wrong to go with his outfit. Then he complains about the heat. His assignment: to go do a field report about an anomalous migration of storks in the Canary Islands. And, he has a fight with a girl at the station... I wonder if the version of the script they worked from for this remake was the second revision with Stephanie, except this girl doesn't curse Filippo. Filippo doesn't want to go do the report because of the heat. Cameramen draw straws to see who gets stuck going with Filippo—Enrico loses. Enrico asks why the storks made their nests on a volcano. Filippo's response: "Because they're assholes."* *Note: any d...

I finally watched È già ieri (aka Stork Day which is easier to type), the Italian remake of Groundhog Day , today. Note: the Italian title translates not as Stork Day but It's Already Yesterday (or maybe just Already Yesterday . My initial thought: it was rather funny. I mean, I could predict most of where it would go (structurally, there are a few differences between Stork Day and Groundhog Day but the broadstrokes are the same) but it still managed to make me laugh a few times. I will have to watch it again and write a blog entry as it goes, provide some details. For now, know that while Stork Day is actually shorter than Groundhog Day , it's got some sequences added that don't come from the original. For example, Filippo doesn't just Phil Connor the Nancy stand-in but a series of women and at least one man before he gets to Rita (named Rita in both films). He also helps Enrico (Larry) hook up with Marta (Nancy). He gets to know Rosa (the Mrs. Lancaster...

This entry is for new arrivals. It is unfortunate that a sad event--the death of Harold Ramis--might bring me new readers, but I welcome you nonetheless. This is The Groundhog Day Project where I watch Groundhog Day every day--today is day 210--and blog about it (or inspired by it). If you want to catch up, there are indexes (of everything prior to February) on Day 180 , Day 121 , and Day 62 . Or, if you just want to understand why I'm doing this, maybe read this , this or this . In the meantime... I meant to write about e' gia Ieri today. That translates as "it's already yesterday" but the film is also known as Stork Day . It's the Italian remake of Groundhog Day . Variety , 15 February 2004, tells us that producer Riccardo Tozzi and director Giulio Manfredonia "were talking about making a 'what if' comedy and decided to go straight to that subgenre's original source." The thing is, I never managed to watch it today. And, it...

Subtitle: one lingering detail that wasn’t all in voiceover. Just after Phil was “learning how to listen” in Rubin’s original, there’s a scene at a Basketball Court. Phil plays one-on-one with “some TEENAGER.” In the direction, “Phil steals the ball and does a good lay-up. The Teenager calls it a “[p]retty good move for an old guy.” Phil says he practices a lot. (Six months, four to five hours a day, and you’d be an expert.) So, the Teenager says he’s going to practice a lot, too. And, Phil asks him, “Aren’t you supposed to be in classes now?” (Nevermind that in Punxsutawney, they probably get the day off school… despite the frog prince scene as well.) The Teenager responds: “You wanna be my daddy or you wanna play b-ball?” (There’s already some things going on on Groundhog Day regarding parenting and parental roles, but they’re worthy of a separate entry.) Then, it’s the Teenager’s turn to do some exposition, while dribbling: Everybody worrying about my future. I say, “He...