GROUNDHOG DAY

Like all ironclad classics of the 7th art Groundhog Day is a richly rewarding pleasure to watch over and over and over again.

Watching Groundhog Day on the 2nd of February has been a tradition of mine for over two decades, but now that all of us have lived through a 'groundhog year' of sorts, I was curious whether the film would have a different effect on me this time around.

It did, to some extent, as the philosophical questions the picture so poignantly raises take on even more meaning now. Weatherman Phil Connors' plight resonated more profoundly than it did before, while the darker turns in the story gained in realism.

But as with all ironclad classics of the seventh art - a category Groundhog Day most certainly belongs to - in whatever circumstances you watch the picture you'll be delighted by the narrative ambition, impressed by the comic timing and you'll fall in love with the lead performances, including an uproarious Stephen Tobolowsky, an effortlessly charming Andie MacDowell and of course a never- better Bill Murray proving exactly why he is a national treasure.

With a climax that that is marvellously redemptive and uplifting, today there is no better film to watch (again) than Groundhog Day.

release: 1993

director: Harold Ramis

starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky