Movie Review On Paper Assignment #1: Groundhog Day I

A. Phil tries to kill himself because he is bored.1. Why does Phil become bored? He was enjoying his life of pleasure for quite awhile. Why does it stop being pleasurable? (20%)
In the movie Groundhog Day, Phil was in a situation where his day was repeated over and over. He was very confused and missed up because he didn’t actually know what to do. Phil though he was sick or that he was dreaming. Unfortunately it was real, so he decided to take advantage of it by doing everything he wanted - sleeping with girls, disobeying rules, buying anything he wants and doing whatever he wants. As the days went on, he got bored of being pleasured and doing everything he wants; he doesn’t find true happiness in doing all of these things. At first he liked what he was doing and had full satisfaction of himself; afterwards, it turned out that he is not actually happy with himself. His desires dimension and wanted something to challenge him, because he kept doing the same things day after day and it became boring for him. For example, when he saw Rita and wanted to sleep with her, he tried very hard and did everything he could but he couldn’t actually do it.
In my opinion, he got bored of everything coming easily to him and wanted something more challenging. The other reason why Phil got bored of enjoying life is that he didn’t do things for the sake of it. Doing things for the sake of it is true happiness, but Phil didn’t recognize that till he starting doing it. For example, when he passed by the derelict and gave him money and found out that he is going to die today. So, he felt ashamed of himself and tried to help him live. Another reason Phil was bored of his life was because he never tried to show moderation. At the start, when he knew that his day was going to be the same as tomorrow, he surrendered to hedonism, as shown when he slept with a lot of girls and when he bought a very luxurious car. In this example I tried to clarify that his actions were excessive and this is why he got bored. On the other hand, when he didn’t do anything - just watched television and sat with old people watching Jeopardy - he felt bored also. He wasn't doing anything with his life at all; all of these reasons led him to have a boring life this is because he didn't do things for the sake of them, and was not moderate in things that he did.
2. Why is Phil not bored with his life after his suicide attempts? Don't just say what Phil does or say that he is virtuous and so forth, but explain what specific features in his life keep boredom from ever being a possibility. (20%)
Phil attempted many suicide attempts to stop his miserable life but he ended up failing every time. After committing many suicide attempts, Phil releases that he needs to change his life by being virtuous and doing things for its own sake. He tells Rita that he is "a god," for lack of a better word for it - over the course of the film, he learns so much about the town and its people that he knows exactly what he needs to do to be happy. Understanding that he has all the time in the world, he decides to use that time wisely and build his skills. For example, learning how to play piano to pleasure others and helping people to make them happy. He knew that when making others happy around him, he would get the same feeling. When Phil brought some coffee to his coworkers, he knew that they will forget about it tomorrow, but he did it for the sake of it. Doing things just for the sake of it and not taking advantage of the pleasure that he will get from it made Phil much happier person than before. The other thing that helped him avoid being bored would be finding pleasure in the good character in other people.
One thing in particular that keeps him going after his suicide attempts is the idea of building a relationship with Rita. By learning everything that she knows and likes - rhinestones, 'boats but not the ocean' - he starts to change himself to fit the kind of person she would want to be in love with. By learning the piano, getting to know her better, improving himself through ascetic pursuits like reading and hobbies, he learns to turn his 'curse' into an opportunity to better himself. After he understands that he can never really escape Groundhog Day, he decides to turn his energy to more active and productive pursuits.
B. Aristotle says wit is a moral virtue, but humor doesn't seem very important to being a good person. Explain how Phil's actions show the moral value of humor, often in connection with other virtues. Give examples of Phil using humor in morally beneficial ways, explain how it works, and contrast the humor of the new Phil with his earlier use of humor. (30%)
Phil's humor is very self-effacing; he is very much focused on the self at the beginning of the film. This is one of his flaws; he is very acerbic and snarky, and he uses that to cut down other people. Despite his outwardly friendly appearance and demeanor, he actually uses sarcasm to undercut others and make them feel bad. He calls his other anchor "hairdo," using humor to make fun of the other anchor. He talks about people as "morons," quipping that they like "blood sausage," thus showing their apparent lack of taste. He treats the people of Punxsutawney with contempt masked through pleasantly-delivered humor, so that they don't really notice. This is not a morally beneficial way to use humor, and part of Phil's character arc to get rid of this toxic part of himself.
However, once Phil starts accepting his fate, and growing sick of his old personality, he starts to turn the humor into something productive. Humor is used to humble himself; instead of tearing down others, he mildly pokes fun at himself. When he finally talks to Rita about his godlike omniscience, he notes that it must be real since "I'm not very smart." By saying this, Phil uses humor to undercut his ego, and opens himself up more to other people. His humor is then used to make other people happy, and to compliment them, particularly Rita.
C. Kupfer's chapter ignores or treats only briefly some of Phil's and Rita's virtues. Pick one such virtue of either Phil or Rita:
1. State the virtue clearly, including the vicious extremes relevant to it. (10%)
Generosity is one of the important virtues that played a big role in the film. Its extremes would be if there is an excess in generosity then person will be called extravagant. On the other hand, if the person is not generous, he will be called stingy. These extremes in generosity are explored in the film, with an emphasis on Phil's gradual growth and increase in generosity.
2. Analyze the virtue in detail, giving good examples from the movie. (20%)
Generosity, as it pertains to Phil, is one major hallmark of his character transformation over the course of the film. In the beginning, he is not generous with his time or his energy, focusing it all on himself - instead of wanting to contribute to his local news station, he wants to use it as a stepping stone to a better career as soon as he can. he is extremely unhelpful to Larry, stingy to the bum, and uncharitable to Ned Ryerson, who merely wants to have a conversation with him. However, as he learns to be more generous over the course of the film, through much self-reflection, he starts giving more to the people around him. He stops by the groundhog ceremony with coffee and pastries, and offers helpful suggestions for better shots. He gives the bum a large amount of money to make him happy, and starts to gradually welcome Ned Ryerson's company. By being so generous to the people around him, Phil is shown in the film to be a better person, and more attractive to Rita as well. The fact that he receives no intrinsic reward for his generosity, at least for longer than a 24-hour period, makes the change even more significant and meaningful.