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Video Trivia: 'Groundhog Day'

Posted Monday, August 24, 2009 at 3:00 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

The response to my first Video Trivia feature was pretty positive so I guess we'll do it again. The subject of this installment is the beloved 1993 comedy Groundhog Day.

Surely you've watched this Bill Murray classic. He stars as Phil Connors, a TV meteorologist trapped in Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania to cover the famed groundhog's forecast for more winter. Try as he might, Phil awakes each morning to the same scenario, the same circumstances. It's Feb. 2 over and over and over.

The film performed well during its box office release but has developed a stronger following since. The American Film Institute picked it as part of its Top 10 Fantasy films of all-time (#8). The Writers Guild of America included it in its 101 Greatest Screenplays (#27). It was added to the National Film Registry in 2006.

It's such an ingenious movie with a great message of self-improvement. In fact, many theologians have referred to it as the most spiritual film of all time. Phil Connors' eventual struggle for the perfect day and ascension to Feb. 3 is in line with numerous religions' teachings of redemption.

And now, the trailer for Groundhog Day.

Trivia Questions

  1. Briefly seen in the trailer, what is that station number for which Phil Connors works as a weatherman?
  2. What is the occupation of Phil's high school "buddy" Ned Ryerson?
  3. Although set in Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day was actually shot in Murray's home state of _______.
  4. Shown briefly in this video, what's the name of the diner in which Phil eats breakfast?
  5. In the trailer, Phil wakes each morning to his alarm clock's buzzer. In the film, the alarm clock actually turns on each morning at 6:00 playing what pop song?
  6. Not seen in the trailer, what is the name of Bill Murray's actor brother who plays one of Punxsatawney Phil's handlers in the movie?
  7. Impossible-to-answer Bonus Question: How long is Phil believed to be stuck in Groundhog Day?

Trivia Answers (Rollover your mouse to view)

  1. Phil and coworkers Rita (Andie MacDowell) and Larry (Chris Elliott) all work for Channel 9 Pittsburgh.
  2. "Needle-nose" Ned Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky) is an insurance salesman. According to ol' Ned the Head, they went to Case Western High. Ned even dated Phil's sister until Phil told him not to anymore.
  3. The movie was shot almost entirely in Woodstock, Illinois. Woodstock is about an hour's drive northwest from Murray's hometown of Wilmette. In this trailer, when they first show Ned, you can see a storefront with the "Woodstock" town name.
  4. The restaurant was named the Tip-Top Cafe. The building was built in Woodstock solely for the film. Locals eventually turned it into a working restaurant but it eventually closed. The location changed functions many times since but a new "Tip Top Bistro" has taken its place. You can virtually tour the Woodstock town square via Google Street View.
  5. "Then put your little hand in mine/There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb/Babe..." Yeah, it's the Sonny & Cher hit "I Got You, Babe." (There's also a scene where he wakes to "Pennsylvania Polka" minus "Babe" playing first.)
  6. Bill's big brother is Brian Doyle-Murray. His character in Groundhog Day is named Buster. The two have also appeared together in the films The Razor's Edge, Scrooged, Ghostbusters 2, and Caddyshack.
  7. Again, there is no real correct answer to this question. Many people have estimated the time Phil is stuck repeating the day in Punxsatawney. The film's original screenplay mentions 10,000 days (27 years) as occurring. Counting the various scenes, fans have marked 38 separate days as being depicted in the film. Director Harold Ramis indicated in a DVD commentary that 10 years pass by. Web site Wolf Gnards thoroughly dissected the movie to show 3,176 repeated days or almost nine years. They even supported their claims with charts. Ramis responded to this calculation with a new number -- 30 or 40 years!

So, how did you do? I'll admit that several of these questions were pretty tough. Perhaps I'll go easier on you in the next installment.

Nah, I couldn't do that.