Rev. Danny Fisher

I’m kind of an ignoramus when it comes to Groundhog Day. I know that if the groundhog comes out of its hole and sees its shadows then that means we get six more weeks of winter. (Apparently there’s some disagreement between the Canadian and American rodents this year.) That’s really the extent of my knowledge on the subject. Why we have historically made some kind of meteorological prediction based on a groundhog’s self-awareness or lack thereof, I have no earthly idea.

For the last fifteen years, though, I’ve celebrated Groundhog Day as an occasion to revisit my favorite “Buddhist film”: the Harold Ramis-directed Groundhog Day. Yes, the deceptively “light” comedy about a weatherman doomed to repeat the same February 2nd over and over and over again.

Perhaps it’s a bold thing to call Groundhog Day a “Buddhist film” outright–it is what it is for the viewer. I could certainly drum up some strong support for this assessement, though. For example, in an interview for Ryan Gilbey’s wonderful book on the film for the British Film Institute, screenwriter Danny Rubin talks explicitly about the way Buddhist ideas influenced the film (and it’s mentioned that he’s done Zen practice). Additionally, in his commentary track for the last DVD printing of the film, Ramis talks about the faith’s tenets at a few points. And enough people seem to recognize Buddhist themes in the film that last year the Philadelphia Inquirer devoted a feature story to exploring this.

[SPOILERS AHEAD!] The Buddha once said, “I teach only suffering and its end.” To my thinking, if ever there was a film that taught that same material exactly, it’s Groundhog Day. Phil Connors, the sour protagonist portrayed by Bill Murray (in what Time Magazine‘s Richard Corliss very rightly calls one of the great screen performances of all time), slowly comes to grips with the reality of suffering and discovers a way to relate to it that leads to an unexpected peace. The climactic moment comes when he is standing in the snow with Rita (Andie MacDowell), the woman he loves: thinking that he will wake up and start from scratch the “next” day, he tells her honestly, “Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I’m happy now.”

Anyway, Buddhist or not, it’s a great film. If you’ve not seen it, run–do not walk–to your local video rental place and pick it up.

Happy Groundhog Day to you! And happy fifteenth anniversary Groundhog Day!