‘Groundhog Day’ at 25: How a Minor Holiday Gave Birth to an All-Time Comedy Classic…

Some films have become so much a part of our culture that they almost seem like they’re playing on a continuous loop in our minds.

Kind of like the loop Bill Murray finds himself stuck repeating in “Groundhog Day.” One of the most-beloved comedies of all time. The 1993 film celebrated its 25th anniversary on 12th February.

Groundhog Day is widely considered one of Murray’s best performances. It follows the story of an egotistical TV weatherman who finds himself reliving the same day over and over again, causing him to re-evaluate his priorities in life.

“Groundhog Day” stars comedy-genius, Bill Murray as the thoroughly obnoxious Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil Connors, who is less than thrilled that he has to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Penn., only to find himself in a time loop in which he lives the same day over and over again.

Besides Murray and Tobolowsky, the Harold Ramis-directed comedy also stars, likeable, Andie McDowell as Rita, Phil’s producer whom he pursues day after day after day.

And just like any great comedy, “Groundhog Day” covers some extremely serious subjects. Phil (Murray), goes through every emotion during his time in the loop, from hedonism to depression — he tries to commit suicide countless times — to acceptance to service.

Apparently, The remarkable, Harold Ramis said, “that the film actually takes place over 10,000 years, based on the Buddhist principle that it takes 10,000 years for the human soul to be perfect! (And Harold Ramis was a Buddhist).

Originally, Phil was already trapped in the loop at the beginning of the film. “There was a voiceover that kind of helped the audience along, so they wouldn’t get too disoriented.

Writer Danny Rubin was on-board from the off. But, once Ramis wanted to do the film, the script went through many revisions. “The collaboration was fun, very friendly but it was difficult for Ramis and Rubin.

So, the two talked and collected notes from the studio and Rubin did a rewrite which moved some things in the right direction.

“Then Harold took it and did a draft and got a greenlight from the studio and cast Bill Murray,” said Rubin. He and Bill were trying to work in on it and having some difficulties and they called me back to work on it some more.

“Groundhog Day” wasn’t shot in Punxsutawney, but in Woodstock, Illinois, a town of about 25,000.

They were looking for a timeless place that didn’t feel like it was too set in any time — sort of a quintessential American town. Punxsutawney was the original model, but the town itself didn’t quite look like the town they had imagined.

One problem was that Punxsutawney didn’t have a town square. Gobbler’s Knob, where Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, is nearly two miles out of town in the woods.

Katie Donald, executive director of the Groundhog Club in Punxsutawney, said townspeople probably were confused as to why the town wasn’t used for the film. “But when they heard the reasoning, they understood. Punxsutawney is depicted as a cute, quaint, clean small town and that’s what we think we are.”

Because Ramis loved shooting in Illinois, they began driving through the state looking for the perfect Punxsutawney. But after searching three days, they thought they would never find the right town. Then they pulled into downtown Woodstock and got out of the car. I think it’s a little like love at first sight. And that’ how a small town in Illinois became Punxsutawney. (And Woodstock also had the perfect corner for Phil to encounter Ned and then step into the large pothole of cold water).

The shooting conditions in Woodstock were like Siberia, so it was particularly nasty for Murray to step into the pothole. To prepare for the scene, Murray wrapped his foot in Saran wrap, then neoprene, then two pairs of socks, and then put on his shoe.

“As soon as the shot was finished, Bill walked off and then came the torque of expletives from Bill until he was rushed into the building where there were three of the women with costumes [department] with blow dryers. They ripped off his socks and ripped off the neoprene. They ripped off the Saran wrap and started blow drying his foot with hot air, so he wouldn’t get frostbite and lose his foot.”

A lot has been written about “Groundhog Day” being a difficult shoot. In fact, good friends Murray and Ramis stopped talking.

It was bitterly cold and there was a high degree of difficulty as far as a movie. Murray was also going through a divorce during production. There were definitely tensions on the set, and between Ramis and Murray. The two finally reunited during the last few months of Ramis’ life in 2014.

Since the release of the movie, Groundhog Day activities both in Punxsutawney and Woodstock have blossomed.

Punxsutawney, which only has about 5,500 residents, has seen an uptick in visitors with tourism numbers ranging from 15-30,000 depending on what day of the week Feb. 2 falls on. The year after the film was released, 35,000 people descended upon the village.

Woodstock usually attracts about 1,000 guests for its Groundhog Day celebration, hailing from all over the country and even as far as Australia.

There are also tours during the year where fans see the various locations from the movie.

Revisiting the film, one realizes just how brilliant Bill Murray’s performance is as Phil.

Culturedemandsgeeks thinks Bill Murray’s performance in ‘Groundhog Day’ will stand as one of the greatest comedic performances of all time. He is able to be both antagonist and protagonist at the same time in the same film. The man portrays everything that’s horrible and everything that’s wonderful.

GROUNDHOG DAY – THE BROADWAY SHOW

When the Broadway show opened for it’s first week, there was a special guest in the audience. The star of the 1993 classic movie went to see the Broadway musical version when it first opened, and then returned Wednesday for another show.

Tuesday: Bill Murray, star of , a film famously about reliving the same day over and over, is spotted at the Broadway show based on that film.

Wednesday: Bill Murray, star of Groundhog Day, a film famously about reliving the same day over and over, is spotted at the Broadway show based on that film.

So far he’s seen it twice. It is not known if he will see it again on Thursday.

Andy Karl as Phil Connors reporting from Gobbler’s Knob in the stage adaptation of Groundhog Day Credit: Manuel Harlan

Director Matthew Warchus, choreographer Peter Darling and Tim Minchin, the Australian comedian turned musical maestro, enjoyed a runaway success with Matilda: the Musical. But their latest venture is in a different league: sophisticated, smart and more adult in theme.