As you may or may not know, today is Groundhog Day and it's as good a time as any to revisit what many call Bill Murray's finest on-screen comedic performance to date.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the premise, it's pretty simple - Bill Murray is a television weatherman who's sent to Puxsatawney to witness the annual Groundhog Day celebration, in which Puxsatawanye Phil - the name of the groundhog - will forecast the weather for the next six weeks. However, Bill Murray's character suddenly finds himself trapped in a time-loop and repeating the same day over and over again until he eventually realises that he has to grow as a person and win the heart of Andie MacDowell.
While many people have done the math on how long Bill Murray's character was trapped in the same day - various estimates range from about 500 years up to 10,000 years - the exact reason as to why he was stuck in the time-loop was never really explained.
As it turns out, there was an explanation for it, but it was cut out of the film.
According to an early draft of the film's script, Bill Murray's character was supposed to have an ex-girlfriend who placed a curse on him after he told her their relationship was a waste of his time. This tracks with the early drafts of the script, which made Groundhog Day much, much more darker than the final product.
There still are some holdovers from the earlier, darker draft of the screenplay - such as Bill Murray repeatedly killing himself and the like - but, for whatever reason, this particular part was left out.
Would it have made more sense if it was left in? Let us know in the comments!
