"Well, it's Groundhog Day....Again...."
There are two moments in movie history that cause me to fall into uncontrollable fits of laughter EVERY time I see them. They are without a doubt the best examples of comic genius ever caught on film.
The first is in Mel Brooks' classic "Young Frankenstein" when Gene Wilder is doing a vaudeville style song-and-dance number with the Creature, played by Peter Boyle. Wilder is singing "Puttin' on the Ritz" while Boyle clumps his way through a few clumsy tap steps. At the appropriate moment in the song, the Creature gets to sing, and Boyle bellows out, "PU NA RITZ!"
The shouting voice, the ridiculous speech impediment, the hammy dance number...it all combines in that one line to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Just thinking about it makes me giggle. If you haven't seen it, ya gotta.
The other moment, and my admitted favorite, comes from Bill Murray's opus magnum, "Groundhog Day".
When he realizes that he can't escape, he's stuck in Punxatawney, and nothing he can do will ever change it, he tries to commit suicide. The stone faced, deadpan wave he gives the driver when he steps in front of a truck is funny.
But it's the bit with the toaster that kills me every time.
He walks into the dining room of the bed and breakfast and takes the toaster without a word. He ignores the innkeeper when she asks if he'd like some toast, and carries the toaster back to his room. Still dressed in his pajamas, he sits in a tub full of water with the toaster in his lap. He leans over to plug the toaster in, then you see him start to push the mechanism down. The scene cuts back to the dining room, and the lights blink while you can hear the power arcing and circuits popping.
The innkeeper puts her hand to her mouth and calmly says "Oh, dear!"
I hear that he makes a few more attempts which may be funnier, but I've never seen them. As soon as he sits in the tub, I lose it. I've had more than one day that made me want to grab a toaster.
I've seen that movie a thousand times, and it never gets old.
And because it is Groundhog Day today I'm going to drag it off the DVD shelf and watch it again tonight.
Just saw the morning news from Punxatawny. Six more weeks of winter. Uh-hu.
Don't drive angry!
Last night when I told your dad that tomorrow (now today) was Groundhog day, he said and I quote "Anybody up for flapjacks." Seldom does he come up with a movie quote before someone else does as his brain functions on a much higher level than the rest of us but he got me with that one! I will admit, Groundhog Day is truly one of the great movies of my life.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps we will have flapjacks for dinner tonight in remembrance!