Avis des critiques

What's so satisfying about Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis' script – besides the sheer plethora of gags – is the way it rigorously covers every last nuance of Connors' nightmarish predicament... But [Groundhog Day] is first and foremost a comedy of ideas, on which score it never falters.

Much like the paradoxical mess that the central character of Phil finds himself in, Groundhog Day exists in a void of genre, inspired by clear guidelines of comedy and romance films before discarding their influence and crafting something entirely new.

Not every film can withstand repeat viewings, but this one seems self-consciously created for multiple viewings... This time, I was struck by the brilliance of the editing and its perfect comedic timing.

“Groundhog Day” is an irrepressibly entertaining movie that just happens to also be truly about something. It’s effortlessly intellectual, hilariously profound. That’s why it sticks, and why Ramis will be so badly missed.

If one of the marks of a great film is that we can barely remember a time when it wasn't in our lives, then Groundhog Day passes that test with ease. It seems to have been with us for ever.

The brilliant insight that GROUNDHOG DAY shares with its audience is that watching the same movie again is inevitably to watch a different movie. "Okay campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cold out there today." The banal banter of a radio DJ unexpectedly becomes a sobering existential pronouncement.

Never preachy or moralising, Ramis lets rip with his shtick to carry this surprisingly weighty criticism off with wit and panache. For comedy value, Groundhog Day possesses a brilliant, often subtle, one-liner almost every minute.

[A] subtle, thoughtful film... The script by Ramis and Danny Rubin is endlessly inventive, and Ramis handles the movie with a lighter touch than he has shown before or since. It's one of those films that rewards regular visits and in which you see different things according to your age and your mood.

Groundhog Day is not only a lively and surprising comic vehicle for the great Bill Murray, but also one of the best and most satisfying pop films of the '90s. Few comedies are as cleverly and intricately scripted as this.

All of the characters are equally unfresh and uninteresting. What keeps it entertaining, apart from a few brief slapstick interludes, is the unorthodox narrative construction — and stock characters may serve this cause better than interesting characters would because they distract less from the narrative mechanisms.

Murray’s gift is to make the appalling appealing... He carries Groundhog Day with his uniquely frittery nonchalance and makes the movie a comic time warp anyone should be happy to get stuck in.

Formula comedies are a dime a dozen. Those based on an original idea are more rare, and “Groundhog Day,” apart from everything else, is a demonstration of the way time can sometimes give us a break.