Gilbey on Groundhog Day

	Ryan Gilbey, Groundhog Day review notes Note: Like the movie, Gilbey's analysis is not organized by logical progression. Rather, it discusses issues and motifs as they come up through the film's structure. As a result, topics (such as the motif of imprisonment) accumulate through repetition.
		1. A Funny Film (pp. 7-13) Possible religious significance of Groundhog Day, connection to Candlemas Intertextual references: - It’s A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra) - A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) “appeals at once to absolute idealism and absolute cynicism” (p. 11) “a film that dares to withhold” (p. 11) Other intertextual connections: - parallel reality movies - psychological mystery movies 2. In the Loop (pp. 13-23) Danny Rubin, screenwriter Harold Ramis, director Rubin's original conception: issue of immortality Original script began inside the time loop experimented with form Changes in revision involving: - bachelor auction - explanations for the time loop - length of time in the loop - bookcase motif - ribald elements - references to 1990s 3 1 February (pp. 24-33). Opening: - blue sky-clouds (conventional meaning) - blue screen TV - punitive images in the studio Bill Murray’s persona: "sour charisma" reference to W. C. Fields Rita character - childlike - professional status - not divoerced from her environment Phil & Rita - parallels to screwball comedy 4. Groundhog Days (pp. 34-58) “I Got You Babe” song: repetition imagery of entrapment the bedroom (mirror & striped wallpaper) the video frame the café (clocks & venetian blinds) the jail Ned Ryerson “unspoken” life insurance joke “something unbearable” in the community lack of “eye of God” shots in the film Why is Phil imprisoned? scene on snowy highway complacency / arrogance? Repetition and regression “a complex philosophical conundrum is addressed using only those analytical tools available to a mainstream Hollywood comedy” (p.47) Gus & Ralph: entrapment of the economically disenfranchised wiping the slate clean: - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of dealing with death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance Pauline Kael’s critique of Groundhog Day & Gilbey’s response Narrative structure & compression - 5 specific days + many unspecific (chart p. 56) Relationship of Groundhog Day to philosophical cinema (pp. 57-58) - endless loop movie - protagonist creates movie (protagonist as director) - movie investigates “sanctuary from life” represented by filmgoing - lives freed from daily existence 5. Days Without End (pp. 59-79) Montages summarizing Phil’s mood changes Expression of futility: scenes which have no effect on what follows Phil and his feminine side Groundhog Day and the “yuppie” movie: encounter with the Other The bachelor auction (vs. traditional wedding) Phil’s death & what lies beyond Excluded scene with teenager on basketball court Scene with homeless man (“father”) 6. 3 February (pp. 80-88) Religious interpretations of Groundhog Day Groundhog Day as “avant-garde lite”