Groundhog Day is one of the greatest comedies ever made, and its legacy has long-been established. The movie has earned consistent and endless praise for its performances, cozy small-town atmosphere, unique time loop concept, and near pitch-perfect screenplay.
However, it is not perfect. As with any movie concerning time travel or time loops (or time anything, really), Groundhog Day is peppered with a few plot issues - some of which are more serious and eye-crossing than others. These certainly aren't major, and they by no means ruin the movie. Rather, this list is simply meant as a bit of fun.
10 How Did Phil Not Go Crazy?
The length of Phil Connors' time loop is never officially established, and it remains a contentious and divisive topic to this day. Depending on who is asked, the answer ranges from five years to eight years to ten years to ten thousand years. If it's the latter (heck, even if it's ten years), then how was Phil not a babbling lunatic by the end? Yes, Phil attempts suicide on numerous occasions to stop the loop, but that's out of pure desperation rather than raving insanity. He always keeps his wits about him - even after being stuck in a time loop for (potentially) ten thousand years. There's just no way.
9 What If He Stayed Awake?
It's clearly established that Phil's day restarts at 6:00 AM. He wakes up in the bed and breakfast to Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," and the day begins the same way every single time (the weather discussion with the proprietor, meeting Ned, etc.). But what would happen if Phil just stayed awake? Would he carry into February 3 and the day would subsequently restart when he fell asleep again? Would he just be snap-transported to his bed in the bed and breakfast at 6 AM? If that happened, would he be tired? Does Phil even need to sleep? The questions are endless!
8 "He's My Student!"
By the end of the film, Phil is a virtuoso on the piano and he regales the Groundhog Day dinner guests with his brilliant piano skills. While everyone is clapping, the piano teacher turns to Rita and proudly declares "He's my student!" If the day restarts, how does the piano teacher even know Phil? It's possible that he showed up for a lesson that day, but he was already an accomplished player at that point, so that seems unlikely. But even if he did, the teacher probably wouldn't call Phil her "student" after one lesson. And for that matter, wouldn't she question why this masterful player was asking for lessons in the first place?
7 Rita's Perspective
Groundhog Day from Rita's perspective would make for a fascinating, and somewhat confusing, movie. She knows Phil as a grumpy curmudgeon who hates everyone, doesn't respect his own job, and does everything in his power to avoid socializing with the "hicks" (as he calls them).
He's like that on the way out to Punxsutawney. The next day, he's a popular figure around town who literally knows everyone and who is consistently praised for his friendliness and selflessness. He can also play a mean piano. How does Rita not question this massive shift in character?
6 No One Questioned Phil's Omniscense?
Speaking of knowing everyone, how is it that no one questioned Phil's omniscense? Throughout the course of a single day, Phil saves children, helps elderly women with a flat tire, and saves the mayor from choking on a piece of steak, among others. When it comes time for the charity auction, most of the town is praising Phil for his help. Surely this stranger walking around town and saving numerous people would draw attention and raise questions. Yet no one questions Phil when he waltzes into the restaurant, saves the mayor, and then just walks back out again.
5 Steal The Van And Get Out Of Town
The blizzard plays a major role in the events of Groundhog Day, as it's the one major thing that prevents Phil from leaving town. But what if he woke up, stole the news van, and just peeled out of town before the blizzard even hit? Maybe the day wouldn't restart if he was outside the town's bubble. It's entirely possible that Phil did try this and that audiences simply didn't see it. But it's also possible that he didn't. And if he didn't - why not?
4 Why Was There No Hot Water?
When Phil tries taking a shower in the bed and breakfast, he makes the horrifying realization that there is no hot water. When he asks the proprietor about it, she laughs and tells him that there wouldn't be any hot water that day - as if that fact should have been obvious.
But why? This isn't really important, but the lack of hot water, the proprietor's reaction, and the implication that the lack of hot water should have been obvious certainly raises some questions.
3 6:00 AM And Bright
If there's one glaring issue in this otherwise perfect film, it's the sunlight at 6:00 AM. Every single time Phil wakes up at 6:00 AM, the sun is already up and shining, and the room is bathed in a nice natural light. In reality, Phil would be waking up in utter darkness. Pennsylvania suffers some brutal winters, and the sun doesn't rise until well after 7 AM in February. In fact, it typically doesn't rise until 7:30-8:00. The fact that Phil is waking up to glorious sunshine at 6 AM is utter nonsense.
2 Meeting Ned At The Same Time Every Day
One of the greatest recurring jokes throughout the film sees Phil running into the annoying Ned Ryerson. It's interesting to note that Phil always meets Ned on the same specific street corner at the same time every morning. However, each of his mornings are spent differently. Sometimes he speeds past the proprietor and rushes out the bed and breakfast, other times he lingers and talks to her about the weather. But no matter what he does, he always meets Ned. If he rushed out the door, shouldn't he have missed Ned by a few key seconds?
1 What Happens To Everyone Else?
One burning question remains - what happens to everyone else throughout Phil's time loop? It's made explicitly clear during the suicide sequences that the day doesn't restart upon Phil's death, as the movie shows Rita and Larry identifying Phil's body at the morgue. This would imply that the time loop isn't necessarily experienced by Phil, but is happening to Phil (if that makes sense). If it was intrinsically linked to Phil and his experiences, then the day would have restarted upon his death. But it didn't. So is the time loop an outside force? If so, how does this affect everyone else?
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