Brookfield Basics

This Friday is Goundhog Day so I thought this would be a topical column.

I am a bit of an insomniac at times. While this condition has its obvious drawbacks it is not without some benefits. Some of these are that I get caught up on all kinds of work, or occasionally find something good to watch on cable TV at odd hours of the night/morning.

This happened recently as I spent an enjoyable two hours watching Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. If you want to know the acid test of whether something is funny, here it is: If you are watching or reading something while all alone in the middle of the night and you laugh out loud – it’s funny. This movie passed that test for me.

For those who don’t know the story, it is the tale of a charmingly rougish and utterly self-involved Pittsburgh TV weatherman (Murray), and his beautiful, cerebral, and just as utterly out of reach producer (Andie MacDowell). The two of them are dispatched to Punxsutawney to cover the annual happening there known as Groundhog Day, an assignment Murray views with about as much anticipation as a colonoscopy. The basis of the story is that the same day keeps repeating itself, initiated by the radio-alarm clock in Murray’s room which greets him each morning with the song “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher, as the rolodex-like numerals on the radio dial flip over to 6 AM.

The movie progresses from Murray being utterly lost and befuddled, believing he is caught in some strange, time-warped fugue state, to shrewdly exploiting his situation by accumulating knowledge about his producer, so as to better woo and ultimately seduce her. The situations the script puts him in, and the banter he engages in with various local residents are superb. And Murray matches this with his unparalleled combination of facial expressions and world-weary bemusement. No one can raise an eyebrow in mocking protestation, feign hurtful indignation, or display such contemptuous, mocking disdain in a mere glance like Murray. He is more than a comedian; he is an actor with range and ability.

But about halfway through the movie the story transitions from a playful, urbane comedy to a mini-morality play along the lines of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Murray is cast as the modern-day Scrooge, hopelessly lost in a world of self-absorption, ego, and the endless search for advantage gained at the expense of others. But as he spends more and more time in the company of the beautiful and virtuous MacDowell, her inner light begins to banish his darkness, and a metamorphosis takes place in his soul and his character. The key scene in the movie is when he successfully gets her to come up to his room (UREKA!), but then instead of taking undue advantage, he just lies on the bed with her and engages in conversation. Ultimately he covers her with a quilt and bares his soul in an outpouring of honest and pure sentiment, only to discover she had fallen asleep, leaving his soliloquy unheard and known only to himself.

Despite this transition to more serious fare the movie never loses its light, whimsical touch. The story line is masterfully conceived, the dialogue artfully written, the casting is inspired, and the acting is the equal of them all. This happy convergence results in a humorous romantic comedy, with some excellent lessons for us along the way. Now how many movies have you seen in the last ten years you can say that about?

Groundhog Day was conceived and produced by Harold Ramis, without question one of the least known and under-appreciated writer-producers of the last 25 years. His talent is proof that movies can be made without great gratuitous gobs of gore, violence or sex, and still hold our attention and enlarge our souls. His raw materials are ideas, scripts, actors, and his masterful directing touch, all employed to create outcomes that so few in Hollywood can now achieve, the ability to ENTERTAIN us, as opposed to shocking and numbing us.

If you haven’t seen Groundhog Day – rent it. If you have but it’s been a long time, rent it again. You won’t regret it.

And please - don't drive angry!!