The Life Manual In "Groundhog Day" (1993)
How To Live The Good Life According To This Philosophical Movie
Image by L.E. Wilson from RedBubble based on work by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
If you’ve ever wondered how we are supposed to live or what we should do to have a happy, fulfilling life, the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day has the answers. Sure, on the surface it may seem like a silly movie about a weatherman named Phil who covers Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog at the center of the February 2 Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania who according to tradition can predict whether there will be six more weeks of winter or not. But if you think juxtaposing two weathermen, one animal and one human, is a silly premise for a movie, well, isn’t life equally as silly? And that turns out to be one of the lessons demonstrated in what is a deeply meaningful movie with real affection for the audience, a true love of humanity, and a wish to deliver joy to others, which happens to be another of the great lessons found in this amazing movie about redemption.
Groundhog Day (1993) is a comedic fantasy co-written and directed by Harold Ramis about Phil Connors (Bill Murray), a self-centered grouch who repeatedly wakes up on the same day, February 2, until he learns to care about others.
Life Lesson: You will be a happier person if you take joy in the simple pleasures of life: books, music, learning, being kind to others.
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
First, we are shown how NOT to be happy—being elitist, looking down on people, not joining in celebration with others, being egotistical, aloof, arrogant, snobbish, rude, condescending, self-centered, self-indulgent, and self-pitying are all the ingredients needed for a miserable life. In the movie we know that Phil Connors (Bill Murray), the weatherman, is unhappy because he embodies all the above qualities, which lead him to be unreasonably angry, always grouchy, mean to others, standoffish, antisocial, resentful, pessimistic, and a jerk full of disdain for everyone and everything.
We are also shown what things will not work to make us happy: being reckless, not thinking or being concerned about consequences, being gluttonous, egocentric, selfish or suicidal. All of these actually increase pain and suffering, not just for ourselves but for others, strangers and loved ones alike, and have a long tail of negative effects that compounds the unhappiness.
The real way to happiness according to Groundhog Day is found by embracing sincerity. Being honest with yourself allows you to see the genuineness in others, which allows you to learn to care about others, to have compassion, which leads to being able to show kindness and love to someone, which induces a feeling of wanting to help make others happy, including yourself, which leads to an appreciation for learning, for literature, for music, and the urge to make the most out of life, to take responsibility for yourself, which includes learning new skills, enjoying the present moment for what it is, and realizing that today is tomorrow.
Or, as Phil Connors puts it in the movie,
When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark, bereft of hope. Yet, we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people to Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn’t imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.
In other words, Groundhog Day teaches us that life is not a curse. It all depends on how you look at it, and you can have a fulfilling life full of meaning and purpose by being a better person who is a net positive force in your and others’ lives.
But, didn’t you always know that?
Visit the moviewise catalogue—a searchable database of one sentence movie summaries, movie quotes, and movie wisdom—for movie recommendations.
Also visit the moviewise store. Get a t-shirt, bag, or pillow with your favorite #LifeLesson from a movie. Reply to this or leave a comment below to make a request.
Groundhog Day is one of my all-time favorite movies. Also recommend "About Time" with Bill Nighy