The Reel Rejects - GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) Made Us Feel EVERYTHING!! First Time Watching

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

THE QUINTESSENTIAL TIME-LOOP MOVIE!! Groundhog Day Full Movie Reaction Watch Along:   / thereelrejects   Download PrizePicks today at https://www.prizepicks.onelink.me/LME... & use code REJECTS to get $50 instantly when you play $5! Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 With the holiday season in full swing, Tara & Aaron RETURN To give their Groundhog Day Reaction, Recap, Analysis, Breakdown, & Spoiler Review!! Tara Erickson & Aaron Alexander react to Groundhog Day (1993)_, the beloved romantic comedy–fantasy classic directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Ghostbusters) that turned a high-concept time-loop into one of the most thoughtful and endlessly rewatchable films of all time. Set in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the movie follows arrogant TV weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray (Ghostbusters, Lost in Translation), whose routine assignment covering Groundhog Day takes a surreal turn when he finds himself reliving the same day over and over again. As Phil becomes trapped in the time loop, the film charts his journey from sarcasm and self-indulgence to despair, reinvention, and ultimately empathy. Andie MacDowell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sex, Lies, and Videotape) stars as Rita Hanson, Phil’s producer and moral compass, whose kindness and integrity become the measuring stick for Phil’s personal growth. The cast is rounded out by Chris Elliott (Schitt’s Creek, There’s Something About Mary) as the endlessly enthusiastic cameraman Larry, whose optimism contrasts hilariously with Phil’s growing frustration. Iconic moments include Phil’s first realization that time is looping, his repeated wake-up to “I Got You Babe”, the escalating montage of failed escapes and reckless experiments, the poignant piano-and-ice-sculpture redemption arc, and the film’s quietly romantic finale that redefines what it means to truly change. Balancing sharp comedy with existential reflection, Groundhog Day remains a timeless story about second chances, self-improvement, and learning how to live a meaningful life — even if it takes forever. Follow Aaron On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en Follow Tara Erickson: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaraErickson Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/taraerickson/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/thetaraerickson Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's videos are sponsored by price picks, the easy-to-use fantasy sports betting app. More on them in just a bit. Yay, yeah, three, two, one, I click. That was super cute. It was. All right, guys. We just got done watching Ground Talk Day. What am I doing?

If you are listening to us on Apple or Spotify, please give us a five. star rating. If you're on YouTube, like, comment, subscribe when you do. Ring the bell. Ring the bell. You're notified of all the videos that we are dropping.

Also, thanks for helping edit this down. I'm going to go to our patron questiones. And see if you guys asked us stop about this. movie. All right. The retro witch. Taryn, Aaron, love y'all's excellent reactions. I saw

Groundhog Day in theaters and it felt like I saw the same movie 20 times that day. My question is, what do you think about the old man and what the movie is trying to convey about fate? That's a good question. I did like that little segment of the film. It was very short-lived, but I thought it was impactful. The fact that... In some cases, you know, the matter how many times you try to flip it, you can't exactly fight the natural course of things and appreciating the smaller moments in life, appreciating the time you have and developing a sense of gratitude for what's in front of you and being able to accept that even in the face of it, not necessarily being what you desire, but. enjoying the journey as opposed to dreading the destination. Yeah. And I also think that, you know, it's about the small things is what they're trying to highlight

because even if at the end of the day, his fate was that he was going to die of old age. What he could do was go, well, we could at least make the day better about the small things. Like have a full entire meal as much as you want to eat. And probably the fate of it at the end would still be that he would done. but he'd die probably a lot happier and with a full tummy. Like, you know what I mean? So I think the fate thing is, is like, sure, at the end of it, fate remains. But everything that came before, it's about the small stuff.

All right. Awesome. Joe, what do you believe was the cause of Bill Murray's character to be continually going through the day over and over? Was it because of the storm or was it because of another entity causing him to experience this one in particular day? What is the importance you find that makes Groundhog's Day very special for his character to experience with? Huh. I was wondering that as a movie was going on, what was the significant event that caused this to happen? I think that they kind of leave it mysterious. Yeah, they do.

But I think the importance of the day was him learning to develop a sense of gratitude. and learning to accept the small things. You know, he definitely went through a full course journey, one that was entertaining and yet plausible that this would happen. You know, you would spend the first half or the first portion, good amount of number of days, sort of indulging in whatever thing you wanted to, whether it be, you know, financial gain, sexual gain, gluttony, or, you know, any sort of depravity crime at one point.

And then once that stuff starts to become, you know, numbing or, you know, greater sense of apathy, then you start to try to end it. And then once that doesn't work, you move to another stage of acceptance and then kind of really learning to accept the small things. And I feel like Bill Murray did a great job of showcasing that transition over the course of Phil's life

in this day. imagine he spent months if not years in Groundhog's Day. Yeah, wild. Um, you know, in the movie, they don't really highlight like what the antecedent would be, but I'm just assuming, you know, what they're trying to show us is that, you know, the bitterness and the lack of empathy and the miserable nature of who he was was probably, it was like sort of a cause and effect. Like, it's we can't let it maybe get that bad so it's like well how do we teach him to like switch it up because like you don't really like it's a good question awesome joe but the film doesn't tell us it doesn't show us i don't think it's anything that we missed of like oh my god it's the weather um you know what i

mean because they didn't highlight that like at at all um so i obviously the importance is just like like is learning and becoming a better human being more selfless, right? Putting others first before yourself, remembering to help others. Remember to communicate, be grateful, stuff like that, which is what he was so far from doing in the first place. Nikki Sunriza, hey, Taryn, Aaron. I can't count how many times I've seen this movie, almost like I was in my own Groundhog Day.

If you could choose a day to live over and over again, what day would it be and why? that is a great question what day would I choose to live over and over again wild there's so many days oh there's so many days lived probably just me go to Disneyland okay but how long would it take you to get tired of Disneyland oh I mean I'm sure I'd get tired of it pretty quick but there is like endless food options there's drinks there's rides there's music there's bathrooms it's a plus uh there's it's like a cool place right yeah i get i don't know because like other days i'm like i don't know i think the first thing that comes in my mind would probably be when i went to hawaii yeah i've only been once it's like a little over 10 years ago, but I think getting to experience all the different varieties of things you can do in Hawaii.

I can't remember what I think I was in Honolulu. But yeah, getting to go to the mountains, getting to watch on the beach, getting to walk up and down everything it had to offer in that period of time. And it's, because the movie never directly tells you how much time is being spent here. So I think that's up to you. because I think what I'm taking into consideration is how long I would, how many times I'd have to relive that and how much variety I have within that same day that I could experience. Yeah, I totally get that. Because I feel like Disney, yeah, Disneyland would be cool, but I feel like, you know, you'd be a little limited because it is like a space rather than the entire island.

Yeah, like a whole space where you could like, yeah, spread out more, do different things. I may have limited myself, but maybe it still would be a good time. I think so. I don't know. This episode is brought to you by prize picks, the app that finally let me crash my wife's fantasy sports click. Yes, I used to overhear her and her friends bonding while I sat in the corner where my arms folded. I come to my home and I can't be included, trying to pretend like, yeah, I know what yards after catch means. It's fell left out, man.

And then I discovered prize picks. So here's the deal. It's daily fantasy sports, not gambling. No playing against sharks or betting against the house. It's just you versus your own sports brain. You pick more or less on two or more player's stats. Like, will Luca Donchich score more than 30 points tonight? Will Christian McCaffrey rush for less than 85 yards?

Sports things. And if you're right, you win. Another thing, too, it's fast. You can make a lineup in under a minute, playing 30-plus states. And you're not stuck to just NFL or NBA. You've got MLB, NHL, college football, even e-sports. Basically, if it has stats, you can play. And basically, I now can hang out with my wife and her friends.

10 years in the making. And when I get one right, it does feel good. So, fellow reject, what you can do today is you can download the Price Picks app. Use code Rejects to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code Rejects to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. It's good to be right. Resident C. One of my favorite movies of all time. Hope you guys enjoyed it. If you were stuck in a loop, what skills would you try and pick up? Also, sorry to the poor piano teacher, you've taught him for years and we'll never get paid for it. I mean, he did, he did pay up front $1,000.

He did. He's out of $1,000 and all that life insurance that he bought. Totally. Well, maybe not anymore. Not as a... No, because... The end of the movie? No, because the last day experience happened. So, the old of that dude, all that money. Oh, right. You're saying owed him for all the life insurance.

I thought I was like, well, no, he has the life insurance now. So I guess that's a plus because he's with her. I guess, yeah. At the end, long, long term. What skills would you try and pick up? Oh, skill, skills. I would probably do piano. I already really like playing the guitar

and I can fool around on the piano and know like basic chords and like kind of make up chords to like sing along because I like doing that a lot so and that may just be like a steal because you did piano but like that would be dope

if I could play piano. Yeah maybe like learn how to sing. I learned recently apparently it takes like four years to to like really develop the skill of singing if you've never trained before so that would possibly be one That could be fun.

Yeah. Maybe painting. You do in the... Like, yeah, like the raspberries, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's a possibility. I was... I want to say skating, but, like, I don't find that appealing.

I don't want to skate. Yeah, I don't know why you would pick that and then say you don't like it. Weird. I changed my mind. Yeah, I hope that you would. You don't like it. Hey, I mean, he learned some pretty cool schools here. Yeah.

I want to learn my way around a car. Maybe in another language, too. That would be cool. Yeah, learn my way around a car. I learn another language. Learn how to ice scoped. I probably do, like, ride a motorcycle, too. Would be a master chef.

I know how to cook every dish. That's good. That's good. I love that. Yeah. Chef is good. That's good stuff. I want a restaurant. Roby Boapart Pirate.

Hey, Terran. This movie is a staple for the sci-fi genre. Every time a new loop movie comes out, it's always compared to this movie. Which other time loop movies are your favorites and why? I keep up the good work. Edge of Tomorrow. That was a really good one with Com Cruise.

Yeah. We watched it together, didn't we? We did. We did. That is a good one. Isn't Hot Tub Time Machine a A loop movie? Yeah, I haven't seen it in a long time. Me neither.

I remember that. I know, I literally know nothing about that. I've seen it one time. I know the title and I know that it is a time loop. And that's all. all I remember. Yeah, I'll be down to watch it again. I don't really, literally don't remember.

I don't remember it either. Not the second one. Yeah, I went with that one because I was like, I don't actually can't remember right now. Oh, but that's also, I always give this note. Like, when you guys ask questions, it's always good to give us multiple choice if you can. Yeah, let's look up time loop movies. Oh. Okay.

Wait, now where you go the next one? You can look up time loop movies. Yeah, let's see what we got. Time loop in. There's one I watched. Oh, I would say happy death day. Palm Springs was a great. Oh, Palm Springs was really good.

Yeah, I've never seen Happy Death Day. It's great. I watch out with Roxy on the channel. You guys can go check that out. Check that out. We covered all of them. And it is, it's a good one. Yeah, I would say Palm Springs.

Palm Springs is great. Looper is a fun one. Oh, freak. I remember seeing Source Code and theaters. I would love to rewatch that. That was my first thing I saw Jeffrey Riden. I would love to watch that movie again. I don't remember anything about it,

but Jake Jennel Hall is really good. good in it love it tj so you think bill murray's character would fall back in his old ways or be less pessimistic would he maybe temporarily revisit his old traits thanks i feel like he's learned too much i feel like he's garnered an appreciation for life that can't unlearn or unexperience even though because it's weird because it's technically the next day but he has lived like a whole lifetime in that day so he's older he's more mature even though time itself didn't change or move he himself has changed and moved because he spent so much time in that he learned an entire town of their names and their backstories like the man has changed

yeah um i don't think he would fall back i mean he's found love and he's become a different person i think he's realized that being sort of this altruistic person has all these payoffs like him helping others makes him feel better, makes him happier, also allows him to be a good partner to, what was her name? Not Andy McDowell, but Rita, for Rita, right? That I feel like you can't, you just can't really go back. You can go back to being funny, but you can't go back back. Maybe write a book about it.

I know, right? Angela Vance, Bill Murray, guys, you should watch his Saturday Night Live. skits they're awesome my question how would you handle um going about your day normal knowing the shit ain't right or would you lose control on every grounds day hmm how would you handle going like how would you handle this going like I guess over and over and I we kind of already discussed that during the review like I said before he got there I was like oh I don't know what I would do and then I was like oh now I do like let's go ham on it like let's you know eat all the things like drive a car really fast uh i don't you know stuff that you stay up really late like

i do a lot of different stuff yeah right like i take advantage of the fact that i have variety and i have free will totally i agree okay randy cruz probably saddest thing about groundhog day is how things got so contentious between harold remis and bill murray while filming is that it ended their friendship for nearly 20 years they didn't reconcile until she Shortly before Ramney's death in 2014, late 70s, early 90s comedy was practically shaped by their collaborations. Grandhouse is the day after the Ghostbusters movies? So we have to look this up because this is Wackadoo Wild. Uh-huh.

So let's see. Let's see. What happened on Groundhog's Day? Okay. During the filming of Groundhog Day, there was a significant feud between Harold and Bell, driven by Murray's difficult behavior such as being late and irrationally mean due to his personal issues at the time. He did seem very genuine, very grounded when he was being mean in the beginning of the movie. Conflict led to a period where they stopped speaking. It was resolved before his death. On the lighter side, Marie was bitten by the Groundhog actor during a scene. Wow.

Okay. Yeah, long period of contact. He was just mean and unavailable. He was constantly late. Oh, in one scene, Mary, he improvised lines while a Groundhog was on the steering wheel and that agitated the Groundhog

and the Groundhog bit him. filming had to be stopped so he could get medical attention despite the tension Ramis noted that once Murray was on set he was full of energy and contributed significantly to the film often improvising memorable scenes

that were not in the original script it is a little disappointing to hear that a movie about a guy with an ego kind of becoming more altruistic and kind but then he just was that guy he was that guy did you learn anything we'll film in the movie

he learned it years later right before Ramos died, which is really too bad. When did Groundhogs Day come out? Groundhogs Day. 193, I think it said. 93? Okay. Wow. I don't know what was that recent. Okay. And Ghostbusters movies from the 80s. Ghostbusters.

89 and 84. Okay. All right. Dang. That blows, dude. Yeah, so that's, like, unfortunate to hear about, like, that Bill Murray was just kind of a dick on set. That's no good. I wonder if that probably has happened before, if there was more complaints. You guys can tell us if we watch more at Bill Murray movies.

Do you want to do a quick ride tomatoes before we get out of here? Yeah, let's do it. What do you think it is? Okay. I'm going to say critics, 78 and audits. Audience, 84. Critics, 94. Audiences, 88.

So I was really close with the audience. You were really close with the audience. That's good. Hell yeah, dude. That was fun. Well, I love that the critics really liked it. I love that you guys joined us. Thank you so much for the questions.

Again, if you ask us stuff about, like, movies or actors or whatever, I always say, like, if you can give us multiple choice, because sometimes we need to, like, rack our brains or look stuff up, that's always, like, easier. But we love that you send us questions. We appreciate you. Leave all the likes, leave all the comments, tells how cool we are. You know how we roll.

Okay. And we will see you on the next one.