A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the 'following' day, he discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing every day.—Rob Hartill
Misanthropic TV weatherman/broadcaster, Phil Connors, is annoyed and despondent when he's assigned the job of covering the annual Groundhog festivities in the small "Hick" town of Punxsutawney - making this his fourth in a row. The only noticeable upside is his attractive and good-natured producer. But the real nightmare begins when Phil ends up reliving the same day (Groundhog Day) over, and over again. Unable to leave the town due to a severe blizzard, and with no end in sight, Phil struggles to find a way to escape (and ultimately make the best of) his seemingly hopeless situation.—S. Lagan
TV weatherman Phil Connors is cynical, to say the least, and having to go yet again to Punxsutawney, Pa. on February 2 to see if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow isn't his idea of fun. He is grumpy with his segment producer Rita and downright nasty with cameraman Larry. He doesn't take the shadow business at all seriously but the next morning, awakens to find he is reliving the same day. Initially disbelieving and fighting what is happening to him, Phil eventually accepts that he will relive the same day over and over again. He uses the opportunity to acquire new skills - piano playing and ice carving among them - and soon becomes the most admired man in Punxsutawney. However, just how many times he relives the day is anyone's guess.—garykmcd
Phil Connors is the arrogant and egotistical weatherman for local station WPBH-TV Pittsburgh. He has disdain for those with whom he works as well as for his viewers. But he has the most disdain for Groundhog Day held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which he is to cover for the fourth time in his career, this year with Rita and Larry, the station's new producer and cameraman respectively. Phil wants to get in and out of Punxsutawney as quickly as possible, but a snowstorm forces the threesome to stay an extra night in town after the Groundhog Day festivities. When Phil awakens the next morning, he is experiencing what he thinks is déjà vu. In reality, he is experiencing that Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney all over again. The same happens the following day and the following. As Phil relives that same Groundhog Day over and over again, he goes through a myriad of highs and lows. But as he comes to the realization that Groundhog Day may be his fate for eternity, he also comes to other realizations, such as that his actions have no long term consequences, but that knowledge, especially as it relates to Rita, can be a powerful and dangerous thing. But he is given opportunity after opportunity to get the day "right."—Huggo
On February 1, self-centered and sour TV meteorologist Phil Connors (Bill Murray), news producer Rita Hanson (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott) from fictional Pittsburgh television station WPBH-TV9 travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities with Punxsutawney Phil, the Groundhog. Having grown tired of this assignment, Phil begrudgingly gives his Groundhog Day report the next day (February 2) during the festival and parade.
After the celebration concludes, a blizzard develops that Connors had predicted would miss them, closing the roads and shutting down long-distance phone services, forcing the team to return to Punxsutawney. However, Connors awakens the next morning to find it is February 2 again, and his day unfolds in almost exactly the same way. Connors can change his behavior, but other people do and say the same things they did and said the previous day, unless Connors changes something. He is aware of the repetition, but everyone else seems to be living February 2 for the first time. This recursion repeats the following morning and the one after that, and over and over again. For Connors, Groundhog Day begins each morning at 6:00 A.M., when he wakes up in his room in a Victorian bed and breakfast. His clock radio is always playing the same song, "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher. His memories of the "previous" day are intact, but he is trapped in a seemingly endless time loop, repeating the same day in the same small town.
After briefly trying to rationalize his situation, and then thinking he is insane, Connors takes advantage of learning the day's events and the information he is able to gather about the town's inhabitants, and finds that his actions have no long-term consequences for himself. He revels in this situation for a time: seducing beautiful women, stealing money, even driving drunk and experiencing a police chase. However, his attempts to seduce his producer, Rita, are met with repeated failures. He begins to tire of, and then dread, his existence, starting the day by smashing the alarm clock and professing the inanity of Groundhog Day as a holiday in his newscast. In a vain attempt to break the cycle, he kidnaps Phil the Groundhog. After a police pursuit, Connors drives a stolen truck into a quarry, causing both man and rodent to die in a fiery explosion; but the loop does not stop. He commits suicide several more times. He electrocutes himself, lets a truck hit him on the road, and jumps from a tall building (other attempts are alluded to) but mere death cannot stop the day from repeating. After he dies, he simply wakes up listening to Sonny & Cher in the same bed, on the same day, over and over again.
He initially tries to seduce Rita by learning as much as he can on a daily basis. First he asks what she wants in a man: someone who is humble, kind, generous, courageous and sensitive; someone who likes children; someone who loves his mother and plays a musical instrument. He learns what she likes (rocky road ice cream, sweet vermouth, French poetry) and what she doesn't like (white chocolate) and pretends to share her tastes. This also fails consistently; in scene after scene, Rita slaps him before the night is over. However, he is able to befriend her in a more sincere fashion. He tells her of his circumstances -- how he is reliving the day over and over again -- and manages to convince her of the truth with his extensive knowledge of events to come, the lives of the Punxsutawney townspeople, and Rita herself.
He opens his heart to Rita, and her advice helps him to gradually find a goal for his trapped life: as a benefactor to others. He cannot, in a single day, bring others to fulfill his needs but he can achieve self-improvement by educating himself on a daily basis. After seeing an elderly homeless man die, Connors vows that no one will die on "his" day and performs many heroic services each and every repeating day, including performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man and saving a little boy who falls from a tree. However, he becomes despondent at being unable to save the homeless man, despite trying to get him medical care. When he demands to see the man's medical chart, a nurse tells him "sometimes people just die." Connors replies "Not today," but he never manages to prevent it.
Though the film does not specify the number of repetitions, there is enough time for Connors to learn many complex skills, such as how to play jazz piano, speak French, sculpt ice, and memorize the life story of almost everyone in town. He also masters the art of flipping playing cards into an upturned hat, which he offhandedly suggests takes six months.
(According to Danny Rubin, who shares screenwriting credit with the director, the intent in the original script was for the time-frame of Connors' repeating days to be ambiguous, but longer than a single lifetime. The studio objected to this, asking that it be reduced to two weeks. Director Harold Ramis tried to leave the time-frame loop ambiguous as how many times Connors relives February 2, but it is strongly speculated by Connors (and the viewers) to be at least 10 years.)
Eventually, Phil sees his own shadow, so to speak, and changes from an inconsiderate, callous egocentric into a thoughtful, kindhearted philanthropist, refining his understanding of human decency, which, in return, makes him an appreciated and beloved man in the town. Phil is able to befriend almost everyone he meets during the day, using his experiences to save lives and help the townspeople. In the process, he gets closer to Rita. He crafts a report on the Groundhog Day celebration so eloquent that all the other stations turn their microphones to him. After the big Groundhog Day evening dance, Rita and Phil retire together to Phil's room. They believe that if Rita is there, the cycle may be interrupted. He wakes the next morning in bed with Rita (they are both still fully clothed) and finds the time loop is broken; it is now February 3. Phil is a different person than he was on February 1 and, after going outside, Phil and Rita talk about living in Punxsutawney together. Connors suggests: "We'll rent to start."
The closing song is "Almost Like Being in Love" from Brigadoon, a musical which also dealt with a village trapped in time.
