You forgot to mention that when Phil ran out of the place he was staying on the 3rd day he came across Ned even though Phil was quicker this time.. Ned knows when to cross the road..

Bill Murray:"The studios want me to do a sequel. I told them that the film is itself a sequel."

As someone who used to sell life insurance as a job, I can tell you that if anybody in the story is the devil, it's definitely the Life Insurance salesman.

Wouldn't Ned actually be God. Once he accepts the life insurance policy he's released from hell or purgatory or whatever it is. All it takes is for him to be a considerate person and he's eventually freed from the prison he finds himself him. I don't see why the Devil would need to get him to sign his soul over considering he already has Phil exactly where he wants him. Seems more like Phil's signature on the life insurance policy grants him his life back as a reward for finally being a good person.

Yes, the devil always wants people to be better and treat people with selflessness. Makes perfect sense.

Actually, i’m pretty sure he was cursed by an ex. This was a scene that was cut out of the script and was suppossed to take place at the beginning of the film. Only being truly in love or having someone truly love him would end the curse. you can even find this info on groundhog’s day’s wikipedia. His ex’s name was Stephanie

Phil is trapped in his own sense of repetitiveness. Only after learning to see the world differently, more pleasantly and an opportinity for growth and experience etc, was he able to leave not only the day and the town, but the obvious boredom he was experiencing at the beginning. The beginning actually gives it away. Hes stuck going to the same small town for the same stupid (as he sees it) ceremony that doesn't even mean anything. He tricks women and finds lovelessness hollow. He steals money and finds no lasting happiness (like being trapped in a bank vault). Everything he's come to value he realizes has no value at all. How does he get out? Finds love in the producer, makes friends with the annoying camera man. He gets out by finding the value in serving something beyond his own needs. Its a well done and entertaining of a teaching tought by many religions... Selfishness begats a personal hell and selflessness begats paradise, enlightenment... Its an escape through perceptual change. Nothing is inherently good or bad or boring or annoying. Its our own personal experience that decides heaven or hell.

He is clearing his karma.

I don’t think Ned is the devil because why would the devil what Phil to learn love and be self less? That kinda sounds like god.

And by getting into the pearly gates of heaven, I'm assuming you mean Andie MacDowell's pants...

Let's go for a lighter interpretation: his life has become a videogame, so he cannot move to the next level/day until he has cleared properly the first one. He has unlocked infinite continues, that's why he spawns constantly in the same place/day.

I once heard a theory that Ned’s a Time Lord. Explains a lot.

Fallen into a mystical cycle, a man karma teaches him to evolve from a self-centered existence to one of service to mankind. "This is worship, to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people.” ~ Baha'i Faith

Also, Phil uses the same sort of "trick" on Nancy Taylor. That he knew her in high school. However, we still don't if Ned was tricking him or not. And of course yeah Phil only gets out of the time loop when he buys Ned's life insurance. Though, the true purpose of this in the actual film is probably to show that Phil truly did learn his lesson and was even nice to the most annoying of people. Also, yeah it's always the person you'd least expect to be the Devil who's the Devil. Ned seems overly friendly and persuasive so yeah he's definitely The Devil if this theory is correct.

Ned is very human. Husseling on Groundhog Day to make ends meet, overkeen and desperate. He is just another soul who Phil must help.

Think of how many years (YEARS) he would have spent learning piano. Now imagine everyday, for years, fixing a flat tire for strangers, saving a man from choking, catching a kid falling from a tree, saving a young couple's marriage. He became a Saint in a way. He only got the woman's love after years of practicing being a good person.

The time trap is a God's present for Phill, so he could finally manage to have a spiritual awakening.

So what if Punxsutawney Phil is technically an old world GOD!?!?

It was a dark and stormy night when the Gopher witnessed the lightning that killed the old man. Yes, Phil was almost killed himself and just assumed it was the weather. But even a simple groundskeeper knew he would see this Gopher again someday.

Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies ... I think this theory is very interesting but at the same time a bit unfounded, because if Ned is the devil why is he too absorbed in the time loop?

This video asks a lot of questions, gives very few answers, and sites even fewer facts. It falls well short of a genuine theory and is more in the realm of a pothead glancing at a movie and saying “what if, like, we’re ALL the devil, man.....whoah....”.

I remember reading a theory about how Phil cheated on his long time ex-girlfriend who turned out to be a witch or gypsy and in a act of vengeance cursed Phil to repeat the same day over and over again

Or maybe he was just trapped in a time-loop, exactly how the movie presented his situation. Saying he was in Purgatory or even Hell is just speculating off of a few very vague similarities. The movie makes it pretty clear what is happening: he is stuck in a simple time loop for no apparent cause, his salvation only occurring when he becomes a better person. In short this experience occurred simply to teach him a moral lesson, not to swindle him of his soul. In this sense it is much more similar to an archetypical “act of god” than it is an act of the devil. That is a much more simpler explanation for why the timeloop occurs, although I simply don’t think that trying to come up with reasons for why all this happened was the intention of the movie. The whole experience was a moral lesson, it’s really that simple.

this movie is all about BREAKING OUT OF YOUR MINDLESS ROUTINES and learning the secret to a blessed life by trying NEW things

It's not about selling your soul. It's about compassion. Ned is the devil alright. When Phil showed love and compassion for Ned at the end he finally left hell and found his heaven. So the moral of the story is if you want to know heaven then you must have compassion for everybody including the devil. The devil is only playing a role after all. But don't let him babysit your kids haha.

This was actually filmed in Woodstock Illinois. During one of the street scenes, you can see a sign on a building that I believe says Woodstock Hardware. My family lives in Pa, and while visiting there soon after the film was released, the missus and I decided to visit Punxatawney. We asked why the film wasn't filmed there. A shopkeeper told us that it was because there wasn't enough hotel space for the cast and crew. Possibly, that that could have been A reason, but I believe the real reason is that it is one of many ugly little towns Eastern Pa is dotted with. We did get to see Punxatawney Phil. He is pretty cute.

Actually, the studio did force them to write a reason for why he was in the Loop. Phil's ex girlfriend puts a Voodoo curse on him and he can only break the curse if he can get another person to truly love him. But Harold Ramis really Didn't like the idea and cleverly scheduled those scenes for the very end of production and then went over schedule, so those scenes were Never shot.. But, there is one tiny little hint to this concept when Phil and Rita kiss at the end. We hear a little sound effect, as if from a fairytale and Phil looks up as if to say: "What's that?"

Is anyone remembering that the original script called for Phil's, dead, ex-girlfriend to be sentencing Phil do relive the same day in order to realize his shortcomings? Those scenes were cut early on with no other explanations to be given.

Would be cool if you'd linked the reddit that originally came up with it. Just for reference and all.

I have an answer for this theory. No

Groundhog Day happens as a result of crossing the streams in ghostbusters.

I like to think the universe works on fate and phil hadn't forfilled his destiny for thats day and has to keep reliving it until he does

There was no reason originally written for the time loop. The studio wouldn't greenlight the film until a scene with one was written. The reason decided on was a Gypsy Curse. That scene was then cut from the script to leave it a mystery. So, according to the drafts it was a Gypsy Curse, not The (or a) Devil.

Watch Happy Death Day. Fun and worth a watch if you like Groundhog day....

There's an excellent analysis explaining how groundhog Day is actually based on tarot cards.

Ground hogs day is actually about what it would take to get the girl of your dreams.

You know what’s interesting is that Groundhog Day i think falls on one of the Pagan holy days. And Puxamany (have no idea how to spell that) Phil is a demon. And I guess that woman could be Beatrice if we’re taking Dante as our imagery. Very very interesting. That’s funny about Ned. Very cool channel, love it

Love this take on Groundhog's Day

Nope don't believe it at all.

I mean the loop started when phill didn't buy all those insurance lol

He's in the multiverse.

The problem with that theory is the fact that the last encounter that Phil and Ned have is when Phil gives Ned a very intimate hug creeping him out and Ned runs away, no signing of an insurance policy, therefore that theory falls apart completely.

Watch the movie again he never accepts the insurance, he scares him away by hitting on him.

Great video, Ash! You and Jules are AWESOME!

Groundhog Day was the first topic WhatCulture every covered on KZfaq.

The point of the story is that life is better if you behave like a decent human being. Phil is freaked out by the time loop at first, but quickly realizes that he can have all the food, sex, booze, and money a person could ask for in one day. After enjoying the good life for the equivalent of several years, he slowly starts to realize that he can help people, not just use them. He discovers that he enjoys helping people. His transition from a guy who habitually uses other people, to someone who serves other people, takes many years of repeated days. The story provides no evidence that there is a supernatural agent at work. Many would claim it is obvious by the fact that Phil repeats the same day, and eventually it stops repeating apparently in synch with his arrival at maturity as a human. But correlation is not causation. Morality and religion are often linked together by people, and it makes them feel good to believe this story has a supernatural element to it, but it's just not there. BTW, I'm a fundamentalist Christian and it would support my beliefs if there was a supernatural agent was at work in this story. Because of that, I would say so, but no supernatural element exists in this film other than the appearance of a very non-natural, reoccurring phenomenon. The writer was just telling a morality tale similar to one of Aesop's fables. So, even without a religious, or theistic, bent, the movie shows how humans are happier when they stop trying to be happy, and they embrace the idea that helping others brings joy. I think most people understand that from personal experience. At this point I would like to take a different direction and point out from my personal experience, and the experience of many other people, that joy is also found in being grateful for the many, many, blessings that we have. The concept of gratitude for having loads of great things, including decent health, clean water to drink, a bed to sleep on and not the sidewalk, etc., requires looking outside of yourself. You have to believe that you did not earn everything you have even though you worked for many of them. It really does make a person happier to thank a higher power even if it sounds daft. I am not saying that the joy brought by being grateful to a higher power is proof that a higher power exists, I'm merely pointing out that many people are much happier when they believe that a moral, benevolent, and intelligent, power invisibly effects the visible world.

Phil Connors eventually learning to abandon everything that made him famous and instead learning to love everything the he previously hated is not Hell, it is Transcendent.

The whole world is Phil’s own dream. It reflects his own mind and he can only become free by service and loving all including his enemies. Hell/this world/time/purgatory/devil’s domain is all the same, it is a place of correction of the mind/soul to purify itself to go back to God

This makes more sense when you realize that, after Phil pinched Ned that one time, he absolutely flunked with Reida that same night. Things only got better for Phil when he started being nicer to everyone, which included Ned

Just finished this great movie but I was spoiled by this video years ago haha

THE BEST decode!

TIL Michael Shannon is the guy who gets the Wrestlemania Tickets in Groundhog Day... 2:10

I left a like... and watched till the end, do I get a light saber?

It sounds like you described marriage.

Ash... your hair is magnificent.

That's a dark take, but I think the purgatory theory is closer to the truth. Part of the beauty of the story is its endless interpretations. Re Ned, he tells Phil that the first step is a doozy. That is the first step toward self-realization (i.e. a doozy of a step).

Phil is stuck in a time loop.

I think it's passed on to one and another, like from Ned to Phil, Phil to someone else.

He ends up with the girl in the end thats a happy ending! He has to do good to get the good ending in the end he wins the girl

So the theory is that it is “The Good Place”.

Never put much thought in to the movie I've always just enjoyed it. But I like the theory about the devil and purgatory. It puts a interesting spin on the story.

If you have seen the show Lucifer, Spoiler Alert. There is an episode where Linda's husband Reese tries to kill Lucifer, but he fails in doing so, short story. Lucifer does the exact thing to Reese, Reese's punishment is Groundhog Day. So maybe Phil Conners was in Hell the whole time and the only thing that he needed to do was to become a good person and do the right thing to escape it.

It actually does make sense. What reason is Phil reliving Ground Hog day over and over in the first place? That part is never explained.

So hellish..🤣 i need a feel Good explanation🤗

Yes! I thought the same thing! I checked the director script and he was stuck 10 thousands years because of a curse from his ex but idk the way need says good to see you again everyday and he seems to ignore need for the most part until the end he says he signed his papers and he's free. Idk how I'm just seeing this movie after all these years but damn I missed out on a sleeper! Def one of my favorites now!

There's a deleted scene of a bitter ex placing a curse on him. I'm not sure if it was removed just because its an unnecessary bit of exposition that elongates the first act, or because the movie's better with a hint of mystery.

Interesting point of view. Welll done

had a day watching the movie and channel which options about the movie in question

Um. Did you WATCH the film, or simply happen upon someone's post on Reddit, run with it, make a video, yay done publish time for boozles? Watch Phil's behavior and demeanor in the opening of the film. He's cynical, dark, resentful of others. He has to clear his karma through the phenomenon to start to appreciate others and himself ... THAT'S how he breaks the loop.

I'm sure I can find ways to keep me busy if that ever happen to me.

Once again I have made the mistake of confusing "Film Theory" with "That Film Theory." Oopsie. I have seen less of "That Film Theory" but it generally seems to be more of the "Here's an interesting idea" with little to back it up than "Let me show you some serious evidence of why this theory would actually be the case."

You guys are great, you really are. But can Ash just do all the vids??

Who else came here thinking it was MatPat's film theory?

The real reason he gets out is because he bought the life insurance lol

Alright, never trust anyone named Ned. Got it.

Hmm, way to turn an inspiring movie into a bummer!

I wouldn’t mind stuck in Groundhog Day with the hostess here ;)

I haven’t read the comments so I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this. “Ned” is an old euphemism for the devil. If you’ve heard the exclamation “golly Ned” that’s a transformation of the old idiom “god and the devil”. While I don’t like this interpretation, that information adds to the theory in the video.

I think the bar tender knew what was going on

Every time it cuts back to the women the background is the alarm clock going from 5:59 to 6 o'clock. Appropriate for a video on Groundhogs Day.

i love this movie. thanks for the added insight.

Except he doesn’t actually buy anything from Ned. He gives Ned a creepy, sexual hug and Ned runs away. So, that completely destroys this whole theory.

Well Ned IS a an insurance salesman, so…

What if he is not stuck in hell, but lucid dreaming?

Groundhog Day reimaged as a horror movie could work, with this theory & the tag line would be "There are worst things than death".

Interesting how video is exactly 5:55

crazy nutty theory but not a bad one

This video wins twice.

Right then that’s it as soon as I get paid for the job I’m doing I’m going to quit and I’m going to decide to leave on my own terms. Thank you

I needed to watch your video in 1.25x speed

Well the original ending had Rita waking up stuck it her own Groundhog day following Phil's release so perhaps you are correct Phil has signed his life away and now it's Rita's turn

In the script..... Some girl placed a spell on him.

I like how empty the video's description is!

Always fun to see my home town on vids!

I sure as heckfire don't remember Ned being the devil

She is stunning

Of course they reference their shitty It's a Wonderful Life theory.

I'm not usually that interested in fan theories about films but this one actually isn't bad and could work within the logic of the film and actually give a proper reason for exactly what is happening to Phil, Life on Mars takes this approach too where the lead character is stuck in a purgatory that is the 1970's after being hit by a car and stuck in a coma.

He was in the loop for 35 years. Do you *really* think he never agreed to take the life insurance a single time during that? The man learned every event in the whole town down to the second.

This movie is so great. You could analyze it till the cows come home.