I've always enjoyed the movie Groundhog Day, so on Feb 2 I decided to watch it for obvious reasons. While watching it, I realized what I like about the movie so much. It is more than just a romantic comedy about someone changing for love. It is about the stages of development he went through. I think it is the skill with which they navigate these stages that gives the film its value.
The character at the beginning of the story is self-absorbed, manipulative and immature. All he is aware of is what he wants, with absolutely no concern for anyone else. Phil expects the whole world to serve him, and he is oblivious to those in real need. His character hides behind sarcasm instead of engaging the world around him honestly.
When things start to repeat, he first reacts with denial. Obviously this would be the most normal reaction to one's days repeating. He is both surprised and suspicious. It is only after overcoming denial and facing the dilemma that we are able to progress. In this case, recognizing the problem led him to displaying the baser parts of his nature. Although this may seem bad, this step is required before any real growth can take place.
Upon embracing the situation, the character takes selfish advantage of the situation. As I would expect most people would he began to behave hedonistically. When one does not have to face consequences, the first thing people think of is what one can get away with. He robbed an armored truck, went on a police chase, punched the annoying guy, and took advantage of the pretty girl. It is a laundry list of things people wish they could do. After a time though, this grows old for him. He has done everything that seemed exciting, and found it unfulfilling. This helped him realize what he did want, and that was Rita. Unfortunately, being self-absorbed, he thought he could trick her into loving him or at least sleeping with him. All of his attempts to objectify her failed, and eventually after many many attempts, he gave up. This leads to the next step, depression.
Here he is stuck in a time loop, he knows what he wants, and he can't have it. Not knowing why, and frustrated, he becomes depressed and gives up. For an undefined period of time, he walks around like a shell of a man and loathes each repeating day. Seeing no way out, he attempts to kill himself multiple times and fails. This is a turning point for Phil, his ego is broken, and he has lost self-worth, but this step leads him to later re-examine his life. At the end of this stage, he tells Rita what has been happening. Although she doesn't entirely believe him, she finds the coincidences too many to deny. She decides to spend the day with him to see what happens. This is the first real day they spend together, and when he is not trying to take advantage of her, she actually likes him. When she falls asleep, he confesses that he doesn't feel worthy of her. This leads to the next step, self improvement.
Phil knows that he loves Rita, and this makes him want to be a better man. He sees what a kind and generous person she is and it leads to his improvement. First, we see altruism. He takes in a homeless man and tries to save him. When the man dies at the end of the night, he desperately tries to save him. He learns multiple skills, including ice sculpting and piano. He also spends a great deal of time reading and expanding his mind. This is a sincere change, he is longer thinking of himself and truly cares about other people. He is enjoying learning and wants to be a better person. Although Rita may have triggered this change, I believe that he truly wants to be a better man. He no longer acts like he is entitled and he no longer tries to prove anything to anyone. He has become someone worthy of Rita, which leads to the final repeat.
The last day is kind of a compilation of all the ways he has improved himself. He saves a kid falling from a tree, saves a man from choking, changes a flat tire for some elderly ladies, encourages a bride to go through with a wedding, and plays piano at the evening gala. He is suddenly the most popular person in town. This is very confusing for Rita, but Phil downplays all the attention. When they do a bachelor auction, Rita empties her purse to win him. He carves a statue of her in ice, and she is both stunned and flattered. Phil's statement is very important, he says, "Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I'm happy now... because I love you." He is ready to embrace life in the now, and let life be. He is beyond trying to control it, and just accepts the happiness that is. The next day, the unthinkable happens, Feb 3 comes. He leaves his room hopeful about the future with Rita.
There can be many critiques of this film. Some would simplify it by calling it a comedy or romance. Some would critique Bill Murray as an actor. Although, I'm not typically a fan of his movies, I love this one. And although it is definitely a comedic romance, I think the psychological aspect is much more important. In real life, we can't see this kind of character development. Only through the constantly repeating day, do we see his progression. He is unable to continue gliding through life, and is forced to face himself. When considering all of his experiences, he must have spent multiple years in this repeating day. This providing a lot of time for introspection. Facing himself was not easy, he had to go through his own "dark night of the soul", but the process eventually transformed his life.
There is much we can learn from this film. First of all, leading a self-absorbed hedonistic life is not fulfilling. Also, often growth requires pain. You must first break down the old, before you can create the new. He could not become a better person while remaining self-absorbed. The loss of self-worth allowed him to rethink the kind of man he wanted to be. As the movie points out, when he was self absorbed, nobody cared, he was a nobody. When he actually cared about people and helped them, he became the most beloved person in town. Also, self-improvement creates a real sense of self-worth, one that does not require outside recognition. Lastly, love or admiration can often lead to self-improvement. It was recognizing how much he loved Rita, and why, that led to his improvement. Seeing a role model for what kind of person he wanted to be, gave him something to aspire to. Often love is dismissed as a meaningful means of growth, but this is unfair. In truth all great things come from love, be it love of knowledge, love of freedom, love of science, or love of another person or people. Love is a catalyst that can undo much of the damage that accumulates from insecurity, anger and fear.
If you haven't seen this film, I'd recommend it. Hopefully you will find it as inspiring as I did.
Hopefully you like Sonny and Cher, cause "I've Got You Babe"!
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