“Don’t Drive Angry!”
Like most evolved creatures, I cannot help but stop to admire the movie “Groundhog Day” whenever it plays on television, regardless of the planned activities of the day. It’s on all day today, so whatever might have seemed like a good activity is now off the schedule. And through the magic of DVR technology, I can stop, rewind, and fast-forward any part that I wish. (Mostly fast-forward through commercials, anyway)
Anyway, I noticed one thing that was probably not an intentional plot device, but it’s an idea that should be announced.
**MINOR SPOILER ALERT**
Near the end of the movie, Phil Connors takes an unusual interest in the plight of a homeless man, offering to assist him at several intervals (even though, previously in the story, he had callously ignored him). I noticed that he keeps calling the man “Dad” and “Pop”, even though it’s not established in the movie that the man is in any way related to Phil. And then, at a key point, when Phil realizes that he is powerless to help the homeless man live a comfortable life, he looks up, in frustration, and seems to realize fully the fragility of life. At which point he begins his final trek through Groundhog Day.
Coincidence? Is this man really his father? Can he only solve the problems of his life by resolving things with his father, or with a father-like figure? Was that the cause of his bitter outlook on life from the very beginning?
Anyway, this is a movie that everyone should own. It’s fairly cheap to buy, too. It is certainly one of Bill Murray’s masterpieces.