Groundhog Day - ep 98

Well it’s Groundhog Day… again.

The Old Millennials tackle a genuine classic. The quintessential time loop movie features a never better Bill Murray as arrogant jerkstore weatherman Phil Connors, a man forced to relive the same day in Punxsutawney, Penn. He also becomes smitten with co-worker Andie MacDowell and… oh, what are we doing? Everybody knows the plot of “Groundhog Day,” and everybody knows “Groundhog Day” is great.

It’s the first “Tyler all-timer” tackled on Old Millennials Remember Movies. Look, we’re pretty good about explaining why certain movies don’t work in a modern context, but what happens if you’re discussing a movie that’s damn near perfect?

Tyler and Angela square up the challenge though, discussing how the creative clash between Murray and director Harold Ramis inexplicably managed to make the movie better. And there’s some disagreement about the “level up” scene that (often) culminates with Phil and Rita building a snowma…

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?!?

Sorry, our five-year-old daughter just hijacked the post for a second.

Anyway, we discuss the genius of Murray’s performance and the tricky nature of playing an asshole you still want to root for. And we dive deep into how “Groundhog Day” knows exactly when to ponder big, sometimes very dark ideas and when to let Murray riff with a rodent. We even squeeze out a couple nice things to say about Chris Elliott (ir was hard!).

Oh, and just how long is Phil Connors trapped in the time loop? Tyler and Angela have a significant difference of opinion on that one.

Also, fair warning, there’s some conversation about circle jer… DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN!?

Also discussed on this episode:

Malcolm & Marie (2021)
The Little Things (2021)
Enemy of the State (1998)
America’s Sweethearts (2001)
Upside-Down Magic (2020)
Rob Riggle: Global Investigator (2020)
Palm Springs (2020)

Check out related past episodes of Old Millennials Remember Movies

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