Groundhog Day

What appears at first glance to be another high concept Bill Murray comedy turns out to be one of the most affirming -- and funny -- films ever made about personal awakening. Murray is a smug, self-centered weatherman doomed to relive the same day over and over and over again. Director/co-writer Harold Ramis takes a clever idea, pushes it to the ultimate reaches of madness (Murray's character quite literally goes through the seven stages of dying as he tries to cope) and emerges on the other side with a rare comedy that is both hilarious and heartfelt, an almost spiritual story of rebirth refreshingly free of preachy moralizing and mawkish sentimentality. Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky and Brian Doyle-Murray co-star. Along with the commentary by Ramis and the documentary featurette "The Weight of Time" featured in the previous DVD release are a new interview with Ramis, a featurette about groundhogs, and newly discovered deleted scenes.