in this good natured , pleasent and easy going comedy , bill murray ( ghostbusters , 1984 ) plays grumpy weatherman phil conners , who , every year , is sent to punxsutawney , p . a , to report on groundhog day . 
the groundhog day ceremony involves a groundhog being lifted out of a box , and if he dosen't see a shadow , it will be an early spring . 
phil really hates the ceremony , and not even his producer rita ( macdowell ) can change his mind . 
however , fate has a cruel trick for phil , and he starts re-living groundhog day over , and over , and over , until he gradually likes it , and rita falls in love with him . 
groundhog day is a well written , totatly unoffensive and funny comedy . 
the screenwriters , director ramis and danny rubin , have written a funny , warm , but never overly senitmental comedy . 
although the idea of a day repeating over and over may sound tedious , there are enough good jokes to hold the audiences attention throughout the whole film . 
ramis's direction also helps , and although he dosen't try any flash director tricks , the film is directed well enough , and the jokes are set up well . 
and the editing is also good , especially when it shows one part of the day over , and over again , such as when phil tries to have the perfect night with rita . 
the performances are also excellent . 
bill murray is great fun , and his transistion from cynical to happy is smooth , and delivers his lines in his usual smary style . 
andie macdowell is good as rita , although sometimes she is just a little bit too sweet in some parts of the film . 
there is chemistry between the two leads , thankfully , otherwise the whole film would probably fall part . 
chris elliot , as the cameraman larry , is also funny , although you have to like his goofy style , otherwise you are really going to hate him throughout this film , and it will lower your enjoyment of the film overall . 
the supporting cast aren't bad either , with stephen tobolowsky hillarous as phils old school mate ned ryanson , and even director ramis popping up as a neurologist . 
in fact , there is not one dud performance in this film , and even the groundhog gets a funny scene involving a car chase . 
overall , there is really nothing wrong with groundhog day at all . 
it almost seems perfect . 
however , the film can get a bit soppy sometimes , and some people may get irritated by the day repeating over , and over , and over , and over . 
also , there's not much of an music score , and the music there is is pretty bad . 
but these criticisms hardly affect the audiences enjoyment at all . 
overall , then , groundhog day is a funny , smart , and also has some room in there for some heart . 
an excellent comedy . 
overall rating= (