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I believe the greatest martial arts movie ever made
is Groundhog Day (1993), starring Bill Murray and Andie
MacDowell.
In it, full-of-himself Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil
Connors (Murray) is sent with a producer Rita (MacDowell)
and cameraman Larry to Punxsutawney, Penn., to cover
its Groundhog Day festivities, on February 2.
Phil talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk
in his training.
It's Phil's fourth time to record whether or not the
rodent sees its shadow, dooming us to another six weeks
of winter, and he is sick of it. He knows he is destined
for bigger things and this assignment is an embarrassment,
as he likes to remind his two work associates,
whom he treats with disdain. In fact, he condescends
to everyone he meets in Punxsutawney.
With the shoot done, Phil is anxious to escape the
small town and return to civilization. But a snowstorm
forces the WPBH-TV9 crew to spend one more night in
Punxsutawney. The next morning, Phil wakes up in his
bed and breakfast to find that it is not "tomorrow." He
has to relive Groundhog Day again.
Phil soon discovers that he has to keep on reliving
Groundhog Day until he gets it right, waking each morning
at 6 a.m. to the clock-radio music of Sonny & Cher's "I've
Got You, Babe" (truly hell).
When it comes to fighting action, Groundhog
Day isn't
up there with The Big Brawl or Enter
the Dragon. Phil
does take a weak, playful punch from an obnoxious insurance
salesman, Ned Ryerson, that he doesn't try to block.
He later decks Ned with an unprovoked haymaker – something that would get him expelled
from most dojo. He fails to block a bunch of slaps
in the face he gets from Rita for being a cad. He does
hold his own in a snowball fight, but his opponents
are just kids.
The closest we get to real violence are Phil's repeated
attempts at suicide. But more on that later. |
