31 quotes
The Burden of Repetitive Existence
Phil
What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?
Ralph
That about sums it up for me.
Repetition of Groundhog Day Realization
Phil Connors
Well, it's Groundhog Day...again.
Phil Connors Critiques Groundhog Day Celebrations
Phil Connors
This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off, waiting to worship a rat. What a hype! Groundhog Day used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out and they used to eat it! You're hypocrites! All of you! You got a problem with what I'm saying? Untie your tongue, and you come out here and talk. Am I upsetting you, Princess? You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.
[to the people; to Larry; Larry shakes his head; to Rita]
Reflections on Repetition in Groundhog Day
Quotes about Groundhog Day
* ], in Groundhog Day (1993) in Chicago Sun-Times (30 January 2005)
[[Roger Ebert]
Unexpected Outcomes of a Single Day
Rita
I'm amazed. And I'm not easily amazed.
Phil
About what?
Rita
About how you can start a day with one kind of expectation and end up so completely different.
Phil
Well, do you like how the day is turning out?
Rita
Very much. You couldn't plan a day like this.
Phil
Well, you can. It just takes an awful lot of work.
Transformation Through Repetition in Groundhog Day
Quotes about Groundhog Day
A long article in the British newspaper the Independent says "Groundhog Day" is "hailed by religious leaders as the most spiritual film of all time." Perhaps not all religious leaders have seen anything by Bergman, Bresson, Ozu and Dreyer, but never mind: They have a point, even about a film where the deepest theological observation is, "Maybe God has just been around a long time and knows everything." What amazes me about the movie is that Murray and Ramis get away with it. They never lose their nerve. Phil undergoes his transformation but never loses his edge. He becomes a better Phil, not a different Phil. The movie doesn't get all soppy at the end. There is the dark period when he tries to kill himself, the reckless period when he crashes his car because he knows it doesn't matter, the times of despair. We see that life is like that. Tomorrow will come, and whether or not it is always Feb. 2, all we can do about it is be the best person we know how to be. The good news is that we can learn to be better people. There is a moment when Phil tells Rita, "When you stand in the snow, you look like an angel." The point is not that he has come to love Rita. It is that he has learned to see the ].
[[Angels|angel]
Transformation Through Selflessness and Love
Quotes about Groundhog Day
Phil says, “I’ve killed myself so many times, I don’t even exist anymore.” “Now,” ] comments, “Phil is ready for ].” And, typical of a Ramis film, change means Phil becomes the good guy, the ] who performs selfless acts of kindness, not manipulatively, but for their own sake. This, naturally, wins him the love of the whole town, and, naturally, of Rita. And not surprisingly, he comes to love himself. “No matter what happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life,” Phil tells Rita, “I’m happy now because I love you.” Sure, it's a Hollywood ending. But Ramis would have it no other way. In his commentary on the fifteenth anniversary DVD, he confessed: “I’m such a sap. I actually believe in this stuff. The movie is quite sincere.”
[[w:Harold Ramis|Ramis; [change; [w:bodhisattva|bodhisattva]
Groundhog Day and the Cycle of Rebirth
Quotes about Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is now associated in the minds of many spiritual seekers with ], rebirth and the process of moving to a higher plane. Professor Angela Zito, the co-director of the Centre for ] and Media at New York University, told me that Groundhog Day illustrated the Buddhist notion of ], the continuing cycle of rebirth that individuals try to escape. In the older form of Buddhist belief, she said, no one can escape to ] unless they work hard and lead a very good life. But in the teachings of the slightly more recently established ] ], no one can escape samsara until everyone else does. "That's why you have what are called ] who reach the brink of nirvana and come back for others," she said. "The ] is considered one living bodhisattva, but ] could also be one.
[[redemption; [Religion; [w:samsara|samsara; [nirvana; [w:Mahayana|Mahayana; [Buddhism; [w:bodhisattvas|bodhisattvas; [Dalai Lama; [Bill Murray]
Understanding Personal Connections and Memories
Rita
What about me, Phil? Do you know me too?
Phil
I know all about you. You like producing, but you hope for more than Channel 9 Pittsburgh.
Rita
Well, everyone knows that!
Phil
You like boats, but not the ocean. You go to a lake in summer with your family up in the mountains. There's a long wooden dock and a boathouse with boards missing from the roof, and a place you used to crawl underneath to be alone. You're a sucker for French poetry and rhinestones. You're very generous. You're kind to strangers and children, and when you stand in the snow you look like an angel.
Rita
How are you doing this?
Phil
I told you. I wake up every day, right here, right in Punxsutawney, and it's always February 2nd, and there's nothing I can do about it.
Familiarity in Repeated Conversations
Rita
There is something so familiar about this. Do you ever have ]?
[[déjà vu]
Phil
Didn't you just ask me that?
Phil Connors' Determination to End Winter
Phil Connors
Once again, the eyes of the nation have turned here to this...tiny village in western Pennsylvania. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. There is no way this winter is ever going to end, as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don't see any other way out. He's got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.
Phil Connors on Television and Weather Predictions
Phil Connors
This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather. I'm Phil Connors, so long.
[sarcastically]
Unspoken Feelings and Kindness in Relationships
Phil
I think you're the kindest, sweetest, prettiest person I've ever met in my life. I've never seen anyone that's nicer to people than you are. The first time I saw you...something happened to me. I never told you but...I knew that I wanted to hold you as hard as I could. I don't deserve someone like you. But if I ever could, I swear I would love you for the rest of my life.
[talking to a sleeping Rita; kisses her cheek]
Rita
Did you say something?
[waking up a bit]
Phil
Good night.
Rita
Good night.
[going back to sleep]
The Value of Original Ideas in Comedy
Quotes about Groundhog Day
Formula comedies are a dime a dozen. Those based on an original idea are more rare, and "Groundhog Day," apart from everything else, is a demonstration of the way ] can sometimes give us a break. Just because we're born as SOBs doesn't mean we have to live that way.
[[time]
Value and Perception in Relationships
Rita
Why can't I see it?
Phil
I just want to give you your money's worth. You paid top dollar for me.
Rita
Well...I think you were a bargain.
Phil
It's sweet of you to say. You're probably right.
Taking Chances in Life's Routine
Phil
It's the same thing your whole life. "Clean up your room! Stand up straight! Pick up your feet! Take it like a man! Be nice to your sister! Don't mix beer and wine, ever! Oh yeah, don't drive on the railway tracks!
Gus
Well, Phil, that's one I happen to agree with.
[sobering up]
Phil
I don't know, Gus...Sometimes, you just have to take the big chances. I'm betting he's going to swerve first...
[driving into the rail tracks; a train approaches]
Longing for a Perfect Day Repeatedly
Phil Connors
I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. That was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over?
Uncertainty in Repeated Days
Phil Connors
Yeah, sport, I know there's a blizzard. When are the long-distance lines gonna be repaired? Well, what if there is no tomorrow?! There wasn't one today! Hello? Hello?!
[dial tone; hangs up the phone. He breaks a pencil and places one half in front of the clock and the other on top]
Ownership and Perception of Change
Phil
Something is...different.
Rita
Good or bad?
Phil
Anything different is good. But this could be real good. Why are you here?
[kisses Rita]
Rita
I bought you. I own you.
Phil
But why are you still here?
Rita
You said, "Stay," so I stayed.
Phil
I said, "Stay," so you stayed? I can't even make a collie stay.
Embracing Winter's Beauty and Hope
Phil Connors
When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. This is Phil Connors. So long.
Reflections on Repetition and Change
Quotes about Groundhog Day
* ], as quoted in
[[w:Peter Baynham|Peter Baynham; http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/07/groundhog-day-perfect-comedy-for-ever "Groundhog Day: the perfect comedy, for ever" in ''The Guardian'' (7 February 2013)]
Unexpected Musical Talent Emerges in First Lesson
Piano teacher
Not bad, Mr. Connors! You say this is your first lesson?
Phil
Yes, but my father was a piano mover, so...
A New Day of Possibilities Unfolds
Phil
Do you know what today is?
Rita
No, what?
Phil
Today is tomorrow! It happened! You're here!
Rita
I'm here. Oh Phil, why weren't you like this last night? You just fell asleep.
[Phil kisses her over and over, realizing that he has finally passed Groundhog Day]
Phil
It was the end of a very long day.
Weather Report Humor in Groundhog Day
D.J. 1
Okay, campers, rise and shine and don't forget your booties, cause it's cold out there today!
D.J. 2
It's cold out there every day! What is this, Miami Beach?
D.J. 1
Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that blizzard thing.
D.J. 2
That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing"!
D.J. 1
Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting.
D.J. 2
Especially cold!
D.J. 1
Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips...
D.J. 2
On their chapped lips...
D.J. 1
On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think Phil is gonna come out and see his shadow?
D.J. 2
]!
[[w:Punxsutawney Phil|Punxsutawney Phil]
D.J. 1
That's right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's...
D.J. 1 and D.J. 2
GROUNDHOG DAY!
[in unison]
D.J. 1
Get up and pull that hog out!
Perspective on Life's Possibilities
Rita Hanson
Sometimes I wish I had a thousand lifetimes. I don't know, Phil. Maybe it's not a curse. Just depends on how you look at it.
The Lasting Impact of Groundhog Day
Quotes about Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a film that finds its note and purpose so precisely that its ] may not be immediately noticeable. It unfolds so inevitably, is so entertaining, so apparently effortless, that you have to stand back and slap yourself before you see how good it really is. Certainly I underrated it in my original review; I enjoyed it so easily that I was seduced into cheerful moderation. But there are a few films, and this is one of them, that burrow into our memories and become reference points. When you find yourself needing the phrase This is like "Groundhog Day" to explain how you feel, a movie has accomplished something.
[[genius]
Unexpected Reunion in Groundhog Day
Ned
Phil?! Hey! Phil? Phil? Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you!
[runs up to him]
Phil
Hi, how are you doing? Thanks for watching.
Ned
Hey, hey! Now don't you tell me you don't remember me cause I sure as heckfire remember you!
Phil
Not a chance.
Ned
Ned! Ryerson! "Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? Come on, buddy, Case Western High! Ned Ryerson - I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing! Ned Ryerson - got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing again! Ned Ryerson - I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?
Phil
Ned Ryerson?
Ned
Bing!
Phil
Bing. So did you turn pro with that whole belly-button thing Ned or-?
Ned
No, Phil, I sell insurance.
Phil
What a shock.
Ned
Do you have life insurance? Because if you do you could always use a little more. Am I right or am I right or am I right? Right? Right? Right?
Phil
Ned, I'd love to stand here and talk with you...but I'm not going to. See you.
[walks off]
Ned
That's okay! I'll walk with you! See, whenever I see an opportunity, I charge it like a bull. "Ned the Bull", that's me now. You know, I have friends who live and die by the actuarial tables and I say, "Hey! It's all one big crap-shoot anywho!" Tell me, have you ever heard of single premium life because I think that could really be the ticket for you. Oh, God! It is so good to see you! Tell me, what are you doing for dinner?
[laughs; stops walking]
Phil
Something else. It's been great seeing you, "Needlehead". Take care.
[steps off the curb into a deep, watery puddle]
Ned
Whoa-ho-ho! Watch out for that first step! It's a doozy!
[laughs obnoxiously]
Exploring Buddhism Through Groundhog Day's Humor
Quotes about Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day, the 1993 film ] directed and co-wrote with ], became an underground ] classic, despite the fact that the words “Buddhist” or “]” never appear in the script, or that neither Ramis nor Rubin intended it to be Buddhist or ] or ] or any of the other denominations that say it speaks to them and for them. And despite the fact that the film is, after all, a comedy. A comedic take on Buddhism? That alone could earn merit points these days when many Buddhist meditators and scholars seem to have forgotten the light touch of numerous teachers over the centuries.
[[w:Harold Ramis|Ramis; [w:Danny Rubin|Danny Rubin; [Buddhism|Buddhist; [Buddha; [Christianity|Christian; [Judaism|Jewish]
The Cleverness of Groundhog Day's Comedy
Quotes about Groundhog Day
With so many movies, especially ], you can see the bones sticking out – you can see what they're trying to do. But Groundhog Day is such a clever, wonderful ride that you don't notice the joins. It's rare for a comedy to be funny and profound but also popular. Films such as Groundhog Day and ] sold a lot of popcorn, but they were insanely smart too. That's very inspiring when you're sitting there trying to write a comedy screenplay. Groundhog Day is living proof that it's possible to create intelligent comedy that still has a broad appeal.
[[Comedy|comedies; [Back to the Future]
Philosophical Reflection on Identity and Existence
Rita
I'm sorry? What was that again?
Phil
I'm ].
[[Deity|a god]
Rita
You're ].
[[God]
Phil
I'm a god - I'm not the God, I don't think.
Rita
Because you survived a car wreck?
Phil
I didn't just survive a wreck; I wasn't just blown up yesterday. I have been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted and burned.
Rita
Oh, really?
Phil
Every morning I wake up without a scratch on me, not a dent in the fender: I am an immortal.
[nods]
Doris
Special today is blueberry waffles—
Rita
Why are you telling me this?
Phil
Because I want you to believe in me.
Rita
You're not a god. You can take my word for it; this is 12 years of Catholic school talkin'.
Phil
How do you know I'm not a god? How do you know?
Rita
Because it's not possible!
The Freedom of No Consequences
Phil
What if there were no tomorrow?
Gus
No tomorrow? That would mean there would be no consequences. There would be no hangovers. We could do whatever we wanted!
Phil
That's true. We could do whatever we want.