"Groundhog Day" and deep thought.

The unfortunate, untimely, and frankly disheartening passing of Harold Ramis this week led me to finally watch one of the Internet's most beloved films for the first time. I'd heard tons of great things about it, but 21 years of hype made me wary. I finally settled into my inaugural viewing because of the knowledge that Ramis (from Animal House to Year One) was an outstanding writer, filmmaker, and comedian, and I really owed it to myself and his legacy to give this movie a chance.

After two decades of avoidance, I can honestly say now that I've been missing out. Not only is the film enjoyable, but it offers many interesting topics to be discussed. There are many different interpretations of Groundhog Day, ranging from religious ( Buddhist to Catholic to Judaic) to psychological (including a self-help book), and many different counts on how long Bill Murray's character was trapped in this torment before becoming a better person.

This being a group of spiritually and mentally aware people, as well as hip pop-culture gurus, I'm curious to hear what you lot think can be taken from the film, outside the given plot elements. Did it speak to you in some way? Was it simply fun? Could you use it as an object lesson for some greater truth?

What struck me most about this movie was the numerous attempts to do everything "right". No matter how hard he tried, there was always something he would miss. Or by fixing everything, he was actually creating new dilemmas that he would have to fix the next day. What this says to me is that while we should always strive to make the world a better place, we can't fix everything. Sometimes it is better to let the little things go on being broken and concentrate on the important stuff.

I also believe it was a very accurate statement about human nature. As soon as he discovered the phenomenon, his first instinct was to do a bunch of crazy stuff and then purposely cause calamity with numerous attempts at suicide. He had a selfish view of the situation. It wasn't until later that he realized that each repeating day was an opportunity to recognize good things he could accomplish for other people.

There was a week when i was more or less forced to watch that movie every day. After the fifth time, it was almost like being in the movie myself.
I love the movie, btw. And yeah. Bummer that Harold Ramis is gone, now. He provided me with some solid amount of laughter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcyktkVGUBM

One of my all time favorites....

Absolutely love it...

My son, of course does too... My wife, however, is not a fan...

There are are a ton of lessons...

Oh, soooo many...

The old man, and like the nurse said, "He was just wore out"...

So many people are living for the instant gratification, and, really, doesnt every day feel the same when this is the case?

It did for me...

Then we we grow up a bit, and realize that it isnt about us, that it shouldnt be about us, the days sem to begin to move....

When I lived for others, for my wife, kids, friends, strangers, even when I was a bit selfish, it didnt feel 'ssdd'...

Just my thinking...