Kim, Lucy, Lucy’s best friend and I attended the movie “Groundhog Day” at the Dartmouth Alderney Gate Theatre tonight. What fun! There we were with 280 other fans of this classic and iconic film made 25 years ago. Lucy and her friend had seen the film before but not in the company of 280 rabid fans. As expected certain scenes generated the largest laughs, perhaps the darkest of all featured Bill Murray’s character driving an old truck off a cliff while the groundhog steered. The film largely stands up over these 25 years with only a few scenes that might be problematic in this “me-too” era.
The larger question that the film does address well is the matter of living each day like the day before and so on. That kind of rut or dismal redundancy is a scenario we know all too well. How many of us have woken up one morning and felt like we have been living our days in a kind of mindless repetition? It usually takes some unexpected event, positive or negative, to shake us out of this. But by then it is often too late, we have lost a lot of time that we cannot get back.
In the film Murray’s character, Phil, eventually understands that being a good person, being kind and thoughtful and stretching his mind and heart, not to mention his artistic abilities, is the best use of one’s time. At the beginning of Phil’s day lived over and over again he uses his time to manipulate and twist others to his will. Later the lead character despairs of the repetition and kills himself over and over and over. Finally there is a spark, a moment when his openness to the “good” allows him to feel something new and life-giving. We see Bill Murray’s character develop a caring heart and move out toward others with a desire to grow and be helpful.
It’s sad that it takes an unexpected event to pull our life out of the mundane, but it is often someone we witness being kind that draws us in this new direction. The event opens us to the change and the person makes the change possible with her/his modelling of generous love. It’s appropriate that Groundhog Day happens so early in the year, an opportunity to consider a change. Exercise equipment or a gym membership are wonderful steps to get one’s life back on track but a shift toward a new pattern, new acts of compassion, new involvement in community can be even more profound.
Imagine a daily or weekly or monthly visit to an agency where you volunteer, a gathering where you are a contributing member, or an activity where join in the adventure, these experiences have the power to pull out of our malaise and into a more fruitful engagement. You don’t need to learn to play the piano, recite French poetry or hone your skills as an ice sculptor, like Phil does in Groundhog Day, to get your life back on track. One small change, one new thing, one new adventure, can make all the difference.
I was looking around the theatre and wondering if anyone in the audience was using this outing as the beginning of more social activities, more connections with the community. Dartmouth is going through a kind of renaissance and there are people eager to be part of that. Hats off to the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission for making this film an event, an outing, a chance to be part of something reflective and fun.