Groundhog Day

I'm convinced that this film is based on a short story that I read in high school. (I don't know the name of it, and if this rings a bell, let me know as it has both me and the entire reference staff stumped.) In the story, a man is promised a whole lotta money to be locked up in a house for 5 years. He accepts and you see him go through certain stages -- the enjoy-life-to-the-fullest stage (going on benders, eating tons of food, etc.), depression (having become fed up with his situation), weary acceptance, and ultimately the realization that he has a chance to become a better person. He reads books he's never read before, and learns to play music and compose his own music. When the five years are up, his phone rings and he's shocked. He'd forgotten that he was a prisoner. Bill Murray goes through very similar, albeit much more funny, circumstances trying to get past February 2nd in Punxatawny, Pennsylvania. In the process he becomes a well-rounded, un-selfish, nice guy instead of the boor he was. And then the girl falls for him. This is one of my fave Murray portrayals (Ghostbusters and Lost in Translation are also at the top of the list, with The Royal Tenenbaums ever so close behind). He gets it all right -- the humor and the pathos. On top of it all, we also get some insight into what it must be like to do take after take after take...

year: 1993
length: 101 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/combined