I may have already mentioned the movie, “Groundhog Day” before on my blog. It was on TV last night and I liked it just as much as the first time I watched it several years ago. I love watching the change in Bill Murray’s character, Phil, as he dealt with having to go through the same day over and over again. There was something true to life in it that struck me when I first watched it. I remember being at home alone and watching the video three times in a row and crying while I watched it. I don’t recall what crisis I might have been going through at the time.
As I watched last night, I noted the moment in the story when Phil realized that he can approach the dreaded repetition of days with a change of attitude. Since he came to anticipate what was going to happen to people, he decided he could be of great help by helping them before tragedy got them. He saved a man from choking, a little boy from hitting ground when he fell from a tree, and a young couple from a disasterous relationship. He was unable to save an old man from death, but that failure only made the story richer. In the end an egotistical boob was transformed into a man of compassion and humility.
If you’ve never seen the movie I hope you will and I hope I haven’t ruined it for you. Murray’s reactions to the people around him, his efforts at manipulation, and his bumbling misteps are hilarious.