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181. Groundhog Day

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Release Date: 01/30/2026

181. Groundhog Day show art 181. Groundhog Day

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

We often say it's a miracle any movie gets made, but some movies are actual miracles. Groundhog Day (1993) is a perfect example of this, because its three primary creative voices (director Harold Ramis, writer Danny Rubin, and star Bill Murray) were each pulling in different, conflicting directions throughout the movie's production. Somehow, all that dissension led to a perfect object of a film, a hilarious comedy that gets at huge philosophical questions, but not in an annoying way. And it's also a sweet and lovely little romantic comedy... so why did it ruin the decades-long...

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We often say it's a miracle any movie gets made, but some movies are actual miracles. Groundhog Day (1993) is a perfect example of this, because its three primary creative voices (director Harold Ramis, writer Danny Rubin, and star Bill Murray) were each pulling in different, conflicting directions throughout the movie's production. Somehow, all that dissension led to a perfect object of a film, a hilarious comedy that gets at huge philosophical questions, but not in an annoying way. And it's also a sweet and lovely little romantic comedy... so why did it ruin the decades-long friendship between Ramis and Murray?

Plus: Learn all about actual Groundhog Day! 

 

Time stamps:

  • 00:02:40 — History segment: The actual Groundhog Day holiday; screenwriter Danny Rubin writes Groundhog Day on spec and then re-lives his movie for the rest of his life; the intertwining careers of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, as well as their falling out and eventual reconciliation
  • 00:56:06 — Movie discussion
  • 01:50:00 — Final thoughts & star ratings

 

Sources:

 

Artwork by Laci Roth. 

Check out Laci's coloring videos on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-kKLhWb2g0bKA-RrvvLh0Q/ 

 

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

 

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

 

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1-Week Rental used to be Load Bearing Beams.