Groundhog Day

Thought-proving nugget for today of all days, Groundhog Day.

How long did it take Bill Murray to get it right in Groundhog Day?

This is a question that has crossed my mind more than once. I had assumed months, but when you really consider it, it had to have taken years. Apparently the question has been making its round in the blogosphere with writer/director Harold Ramis starting the bidding at 10 years. Wolf Gnards responded with the precision only borne of a degree in Engineering or severe OCD, concluding that it took 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days until Phil became a decent guy and won the girl. Unconvinced? You might change your mind once you check out the nifty pie chart.

When faced with this estimate, apparently Ramis revised his initial 10 year ballpark, figuring that someone as pig-headed as Phil would probably need the better part of adulthood to transform. Anybody can learn to read French poetry in 3 years. It probably takes a lot longer to learn how to be decent.

My opinion? It took a cool 101 minutes, the convenient length of time for any Hollywood transformation.