I'm trying to think of a more annoying song to wake up to every morning. Given the details of our plot, maybe "The Beat Goes On" would be twisting the knife a little deeper. I don't know. Thoughts? Anyway, in spite of the general consensus (in this case, the general consensus being whoever writes the blurbs for the iTunes rentals) that this is Bill Murray's best movie (not true: see Rushmore) and everyone telling me how great it is, I'd avoided Groundhog Day, figuring that since I already knew the premise and it seemed a bit too precious, I was bound to be underwhelmed. Absolutely 100 percent wrong. This movie's completely charming, genuinely funny, and I watched it approximately three-and-a-half times during my 24-hour rental period.

Rushmore aside, Groundhog Day really is the perfect vehicle for Murray. We get to see is goofball wiseass side, the kind of elegantly woebegone and mournful side, and the awkwardly gallant romantic lead. It's one of the few movies of its kind where a character grow to become worthy of his romantic interest and the transition's actually believable.

The central conceit is used in so many different inventive ways that it never really loses its legs, or enough momentum to make you stop and think that romancing a woman by finding out everything about her is actually pretty darn creepy. I kind of have a problem with Andie MacDowell (mostly because I hated her character in Four Weddings and a Funeral) but she's really good here: her perkiness grates at the beginning (just like it does for Bill Murray) and then we're slowly charmed by her as he is. An appearance by Chris Elliot is generally a good thing, though he's not given a whole lot to do here. But attention should be paid to the great ensemble cast of characters, who play the kooky townies very well and I'm sure had a hell of a time filming the same scenes over and over again.

BONUS FEATURES:

Why is Bill Murray finally having sex with Andie MacDowell the catalyst hat breaks the Groundhog Day curse? Why couldn't he have slept with her before? Then in addition to knowing all her favorite poems and stuff, he'd have a head start on knowing what she liked in bed. This is equally valuable information, people.

Groundhog Day is directed and co-written by Harold Ramis, also known as the co-writer of and Other White Dude in Ghostbusters. He makes a brief cameo here as the neurologist Bill Murray consults.

The second time Andie tells Bill she studied 19th century French poetry, he recites a line of French to her. This is not actually a fragment of 19th century poetry, but rather a line from the song "La bourrée du célibataire" (Bachelor's Dance) by famed Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. The line is:

La fille que j'aimera

Sera comme bon vin

Qui se bonifiera

Un peu chaque matin

Which loosely translates to:

The girl that I will love

Will be like good wine

Which improves

a bit each morning



It's a very apt quote, considering that's exactly what Bill Murray's doing through the entire movie.

Anyway, it's one of my favorite songs in the world, and you can find it below for your listening pleasure.

Download 05_la_bourre_du_clibataire.m4a