Favorite scene? Where Bill Murray tries to re-create the magical original moment when he and Andie MacDowell kissed in the snow … and yet … because he is so eager, so frenzied to get to the kiss, (and she, of course, has no idea that he is caught in some time-warp, and that this moment had happened before) he freaks her out completely, and she has no idea why he is flailing around like an idiot, before LUNGING at her randomly.
Humorous side note:
One of my long-term old flames (yes, indeed, a member of the famous triumvirate) was an extra on that movie. He was excited because Bill Murray is one of his idols. And he and Bill Murray had studied at the same improv place in Chicago. So he went up to Mr. Murray in between takes (something they tell extras to NEVER do. They will throw you off the set if they catch you babbling at the star) and made some rambling inarticulate comment (I am sure, knowing this guy, that it was so awkward that your toes would curl watching him) about how much they had in common … and Mr. Murray smiled and nodded, but obviously couldn’t wait to get away. Like: “Uhm, why is this extra babbling at me, and scuffing his feet, and trying – and FAILING – to complete a full sentence …” (Believe me. This guy was so awkward socially that you almost couldn’t believe he could make it through the day. On the flipside, his gift as an improv comedian is up there with the best. The guy was fearless on stage. But social situations? You ACHED for him, as you watched him try to get through normal stuff. As my good friend Ann Marie once said, when I told her he was going on a trip that required him to fly, “I have a hard time imagining him boarding a plane.” That’s pretty much the size of it.)
Second of all:
This guy had a huge crush on Andie MacDowell. And he told me, completely convinced, that during the shoot she had glanced at him once, in between scenes, and then … (drumroll, please) looked over at him again. I laughed in his face when he told me that, because he made such a big deal out of it. He sounded like a lunatic, like: “No, Andie MacDowell likes me … I swear …” which then became the huge joke. He was shouting, “She KNOWS who I am, I am TELLING you. She TOOK A SECOND LOOK.”
Meanwhile, his dreams of getting on screen were dashed. They asked him to hold a piece of cardboard in front of a huge light … to dim the harshness of the glow.
He said to me, knowing the humor of it, “I wasn’t even in the movie. They used my body to block the light. I was basically a prop, okay?” But then he had to reiterate, “But still – Andie MacDowell looked at me, man. She looked TWICE.”
“Okay, buddy, okay. I’m sure she’s totally in love with you. Okay.”
Toaster scene. Because everyone’s had a day like that.
The scene where he was watching Jeopardy, blurting out the answers, and started saying them before the clues were even given. The look of absolute horror on the Elderly folks’ faces. I was expecting there to be a witch hunt by the end of the film when I saw that scene.
I love this movie, too, and can’t pick a favorite scene. But just for laughs, how about when he catches the kid who falls out of the tree. “You never thank me!”
I have a friend who works in Hollywood writing for the Oscars; this friend, I should say, has always had a major crush on Bill Murray.
Well, she was in the green room while the Oscars were going on, and Bill Murray was in there before he made a presentation. He came over to her at the craft table and actually flirted with her.
I don’t blame him, my friend is a babe. But it absolutely MADE HER LIFE.
I had SUCH a crush on Bill Murray, as a young man on SNL. He made me laugh. LOVE that guy.
Jealous of your babealicious friend!
I dearly love Groundhog Day. The thing that makes it work so well is that the movie really takes its time unfolding. Nothing is artificially hurried or forced. I can’t imagine that it was an easy sell to a major studio, even with all the star-power attached.
It’s one of my all-time favorites…
Definitely one of my favorite movies, though almost everything Bill Murray’s been in is great. I also have this vague memory of briefly meeting him when I was in grade school and my aunt worked at William Morris.
No favorite scene; the movie is evenly very good throughout; and the overall effect is excellent.
On the DVD special features, it is mentioned that the scripts original author’s idea was that the man in the time loop had been living in the same day for THOUSANDS OF YEARS, and had thus become a sort of god of the town. (Some of this comes through in the movie’s last day of the time loop).
I’ jealous of your friend who Andie MacDowell looked at twice. Be still my heart.
He was conVINCED that it was flirtatious, and that she thought he was handsome, and needed to take a second look.
And ahem. Yes, he was handsome.
I am proud to own this film.
My favorite line comes within my favorite scene. At the end, when Phil has come around, everyone comes up to him at once while they’re dancing.
After the old ladies compliment him on being the “fastest jack in town,” he replies to Rita “I don’t know who they are. They’ve been hitting on me all night.”
Also any scene with Ned “the Head.” Am I right, or am I right? Right? Right? Right?
That first step’s a doozy.
Bing again! One of my favorite bits was with the little thing about the playing cards. “6 months”.
Everytime I see the movie, I get another insight into it. It’s the perfect metaphor of how people grow up, from the infantile self-centered jerk, to the kid who sees other people only as the vehicle to his desires, to the angst-ridden adolescent who is borderline suicidal, and, finally, to a whole, adult human being.