Quentin Tarantino talks a lot about movies, and sometimes movies take stray bullets. Today, it is the case of a comedy much loved by the public, worn by Bill Murray.
Quentin Tarantino is insatiable when it comes to talking about movies. And sometimes, his opinions are a little against the grain. In his book Cinema Speculation released on November 1, 2022, the director of Pulp Fiction criticizes an aspect of a film adored by spectators, Groundhog Day.
This comedy signed by Harold Ramis released in the summer of 1993 in France tells how a jaded and execrable journalist (Bill Murray) inexplicably relives the same day, Groundhog Day, which is according to him, the worst of the year. . Here’s what Tarantino says:
I admit that when you don’t give a damn about what other people think, it’s perfect for developing a caustic spirit. But I’ve always dismissed the idea that Bill Murray’s characters needed redemption. Okay, he seduced Andie MacDowell [dans Un jour sans fin]but does anyone really think that a less sarcastic Bill Murray is a better Bill Murray?
This criticism is directed at the end of the film, in which
Phil (Bill Murray’s character), who hated the town and its people, redeems himself by saving some of them from death, and seduces Rita (McDowell) in the most romantic way he can. This complete change of personality earned him to pass – finally! – the next day.
The reproach of the author of Reservoir Dogs is addressed to several other films carried by Bill Murray, Les Bleus and Fantômes en fête:
Columbia Pictures Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”
“How does the Murray of the Blues go from an insufferable iconoclast deserving to be beaten by the drill sergeant played by Warren Oates to a leader of soldiers (…) who succeeds in a secret mission in foreign land?”
And to drive the point home, by looping on Endless Day:
“Critics have always preferred Bill Murray to Chevy Chase. But more often than not, Chase remained the same sarcastic asshole from start to finish. Or at least his conversion wasn’t the point of the movie like in Ghosts celebrating and Groundhog Day.”
Do you agree with Quentin Tarantino on the timeless classic Groundhog Day? Should Bill Murray’s character have remained unbearable throughout the film, even if it meant never getting out of his time loop? Should the role have gone to another actor? Your keyboards !