the groundhog day project

RITA There’s something so familiar about this. Do you ever have deja vu? PHIL All the time. (p. 71) A moment where, presumably, Bill Murray’s sense of humor overcame Harold Ramis’. Murray’s line is a classic— Didn’t you just ask me that? —whereas All the time is plain, boring, forgettable. Just after that, Larry has a nice moment in the final revision that he doesn’t have in the film. In the film, we see Phil steal the distributor cap from the newsvan, but we don’t get to hear that some horse’s ass bought every distributor cap in this town. That detail was in earlier revisions (as early as the Ramis’ second), but this revision adds one more detail; Larry tells Rita, I’m going down the street to try and steal one. Wish me luck. Page 72, Phil recites the French lyrics, but Rita doesn’t suggest he speaks French. Instead, he immediately follows up the French with: It’s Belgian, not French, of course, but I like it. The lines are, of course, French. The author: Belgian. I read tha...

Stand and Deliver is distracting me from ignoring it to write about something else. Police in the office investigating a crime as Escalante (Edward James Olmos) shows up for his first day. Even if that's what really happened, it's one of those details that is too on the nose to be believable. (Like John Dillinger taking seventeen people hostage with a wooden gun--changed to only three people to be more believable in Public Enemies per Cracked 's "5 True Stories Cut from Movies for Being Too Unrealistic.") And, movie classes are way too short. The scene starts like it's the beginning of class, but like a minute later the bell is ringing. A little better writing/editing and we could get into class in media res, or, you know, leave the scene before the bell rings. Just because it's a movie set in a classroom doesn't mean we need to be dismissed by the bell. Timeline is a little odd, too. He's been at the school "for a few months" and we...

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...

Subtitle: notes on a draft, because these things don’t write themselves, part three. Scene 100, Page 75 - this deleted scene (which has very little content; I would rather see something like the room-destruction scene really, since it was apparently actually filmed): Kind of makes Phil seem like a stalker. I like the idea of Scene 102, in which Phil sees Nancy again and speaks to her. It’s like the brief bit in the costumed scene outside the movie theater in which he acknowledges her in the movie, but with a little more dialogue to it. “Hi,” Nancy,” Phil says. “Hi,” Nancy replies. “Do I know you?” The description here is interesting: “Phil can’t manage enough enthusiasm to pursue her yet again.” “No,” Phil says then, “I guess not. I thought you were someone else.” And, he keeps on moving to where Rita and Larry are waiting. In the banquet sequence at the end of the movie, we get to see Nancy again, and she even bids on Phil, but there’s no acknowledgement by Phil of there having...

I cannot decide if it’s weird that the first thing I wanted to check in the third revision of the Groundhog Day screenplay was O’Reilly’s name—the paramedic Bud refers to him as ol’ Reilly (recall, there was a weird typo in the second revision that made the name semi-unreadable). And, in the deleted scene, the paramedic calls him ol’ Jedson . See: I haven’t read the third revision yet. I may do so tomorrow. And, I figure that it will take me at least three entries to pick it apart. As it was with Rubin’s original: Day 49 – it’s groundhog time Day 50 – see, i knew you were gonna say that Day 51 – i really feel weird And, Ramis’ second revision: Day 36 – i’ve already done it… twice Day 37 – watch out for that first step Day 38 – sounds like a lot of fun Or the three days I spent breaking down the structure of the “screenplay” of the final film: Day 114 – catch you tomorrow Day 115 – what if there is no tomorrow? Day 116 – there wasn’t one today For now, having only g...

Larry only says around 330 words in Groundhog Day but I've seen comments from people online who love the character and who hate the character. Not a lot of lines. Not a lot there to go by in trying to figure out who Larry is. Even less to go by to answer a very specific question, one Phil asks Larry late in the film: does Larry have kids? On the morning Phil brings pastries and coffee, he says to Larry, "We never talk. Do you have kids?" Last night my daughter basically challenged me to answer that question. So, the first thing to do is figure out... What do we know about Larry? Larry works as a cameraman for a local station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked, presumably as a cameraman, in San Diego for at least five years--playing on the math, he could have covered "the swallows returning to Capistrano six years in a row" if he lived there for five years if the swallows were the very first and the very last thing he covered. Chris Elliott was born in...

Von Franz (1980) states that redemption in fairy tales should not be viewed as having "religious" connotations, but has to do with becoming "restored" after having been cursed" (p. 7). Such fairy tales do not dwell on the problem, but on the redemption process, making them relevant in therapy and healing (p. 8). The process is reminiscent of Phil Connors' situation, which is never overtly explained, his story focusing on his process of recovering his humanness and fellow-feeling which appears to lead his "curse" being lifted. (Benesh, 2011, p. 33) This is why I put a pink tab labeled "self-cursed"--just in case you're paying attention, I think I said the tab was on page 34, so I'll explain: I printed Benesh's dissertation two pages per sheet. I mean, the things 131 pages long. If I could cut the paper count in half, I would. Similarly, the second revision of the screenplay is printed two pages per sheet... I mention this no...

Benesh (2011) is open to page 34, where there's a pink tab labeled "self-cursed." I'm on the floor by the coffee table as usual. Phil just showed up at Gobbler's Knob for the third time. Life on repeat. I had a thought today... but let me set it up. So, in my car, I listen to my iPod by way of a cigarette lighter adapter that broadcasts a weak radio signal. The frequency I use most often happens to be, when I don't have the iPod playing over it, a Christian station. Sometimes, I'll hold off turning on my iPod for a moment or two, listen to what the Christians are saying. I grew up going to church regularly, so it's not like they'll say anything particularly new or insightful. But, it occurred to me that my response to the question, why are you doing this? (this being the Groundhog Day Project ), if the person asking is a regular church attendee is why do you go to church? I've written before about how Groundhog Day and I are in a relationsh...

The description for the book Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight on Amazon has this to say about its advice: Old standards like keeping a food diary and finding simple ways to burn calories (like gardening or taking the stairs at work) are mixed with creative ideas like becoming your own advice columnist for a day and watching specific comedy movies that also offer encouragement for change (think Groundhog's Day ). Aside from getting the title of the film wrong, it's a nice positive reference to Groundhog Day . But, Groundhog Day is not just a nice encouraging film for folks trying to lose weight. It's also occasionally a metaphor for the way people struggle with weight loss. For example, Certified Personal Trainer John Kent mentions the film in an interview with PanacheVue' . He says: The combination of the habit-based nutrition coaching and our science based exercise program, is our recipe for your long-term success. This way your weight...

I like that Gregory Solman, writing for Film Comment in November 1993, agrees with me that Phil Connors merely “memorize[s] French poetry” rather than the usual interpretation people make—that Phil actually learned French. I, of course, also contend that Phil didn’t necessarily master the piano either—we only see him play two songs... but there’s a problem with cynicism on that second bit. See, presuming the Phil doesn’t learn French but merely memorizes enough to impress Rita fits with the flow of the story; at that particular point in the time loop and in the filmic representation of Phil’s journey through the loop, it makes sense that Phil would take the shortcut. But, later, on the final day of the time loop, it doesn’t make as much sense to assume Phil isn’t really making the effort. But, that’s just the obvious take—that Phil improves himself in act three and that’s a bit of the lesson he learns: bettering himself makes him worthy of release from the time loop. Of course, there...

I wouldn’t say I make a habit of attacking people in this blog. I mean, yeah, I spent a few days on how bad Rubin’s use of voiceover was in the original script. But, mostly, I say positive things. But, I was looking at some of the links I haven’t used yet for this blog, happened upon a couple about the town of Woodstock, Illinois—the filming location for Groundhog Day . And, I just have to say that Maggie Crane of Woodstock is a liar. Ok, some context: A.V. Club did a piece about Woodstock this past July. At one point, the author points out that “the people of Woodstock are still every bit as excited about their claim to fame, many of them having witnessed firsthand its production—which was, like Punxsutawney, inescapable—and appearing as extras.” One of those people they mention specifically is Maggie Crane, “who missed much of the filming due to her job at the library, fondly recalled fetching the French poetry that Murray’s character quotes to impress Andie MacDowell.” The thing ...