Groundhog Day: The 10 Most Creative Ways That Phil Used The Time Loop, Ranked

Groundhog Day is a classic movie and it contains one of the most unique plots ever seen in a comedy. While other movies and stories have utilized the time loop concept to varying degrees of success, none have done it quite so well, or as charmingly, as Groundhog Day and many comedy movies have emulated it since.

Part of what makes the movie so good and endlessly entertaining is its sense of fun. Yes, Phil occasionally wallows in misery and confusion, but for the most part, he utilizes the time loop to varying degrees of creativity and self-betterment. Some uses are obviously better and more creative than others.

10 Binge Eating

Nutrition is a tricky and fickle beast and the only reason that most humans don’t eat whatever they want is because of dietary restrictions and considerations. Rita herself even comments on this in the diner, flabbergasted that Phil doesn’t worry about things like high cholesterol. He responds, in typical Phil fashion, “I don’t even have to floss.”

Being stuck in a time loop would certainly suck, but the binge eating and not needing to care about future dietary repercussions would certainly be nice for a while.

9 Memorizing Jeopardy!

It’s a simple concept in theory, but the scene in which Phil watches Jeopardy! with the elderly bed and breakfast guests proves one of the movie’s funniest. Having spent countless nights in with the old guests, Phil has completely memorized the answers to that night’s episode of Jeopardy!

The other guests are incredibly impressed with Phil’s knowledge of lakes and rivers, but the bed and breakfast proprietor is a little creeped out – especially after Phil slowly turns to face her and answers the next question before it has even been asked.

8 Phil’s Wild Side

Groundhog Day doesn’t shy away from using the time loop for more immoral purposes. After all, a time loop would afford someone an otherwise impossible opportunity – to do whatever they liked without repercussions. Binge eating is one thing, but many people would take this opportunity to the extreme.

In one of Phil’s wilder nights, he drives drunk with his buddies from the bowling alley and plays chicken with a train before he’s pulled over and thrown in jail. Luckily for him, the experiment paid off, and he woke up the next morning without facing any legal (or mortal) repercussions.

7 Scaring Away Ned

Ned Ryerson is one of the movie’s greatest and most popular characters, played to annoying perfection by character actor, Stephen Tobolowsky. Phil grows increasingly irritated with Ned’s presence, and in one timeline, even punches him directly in the face.

In a later timeline, Phil forgoes the violence and decides to scare Ned instead. He pretends to have missed Ned terribly since high school, hugs him on the street, and asks Ned if he can call in sick so they can hang out. Ned, suitably creeped out, decides to just run away instead.

6 Learning To Play The Piano

After all the debauchery, fun, and novelty of the time loop have worn off, Phil grows increasingly more self-reliant and begins improving his life in various unique ways. One of the things he does is learn to play the piano.

Yes, he still goes about this in a typical Phil fashion (by bribing the teacher with $1,000 and kicking out the other student), but it’s still a relatively harmless way for Phil to better himself. By the end of the film, Phil is a masterful piano player who regales the Groundhog Day dinner guests with his talents.

5 Sculpting Ice

Along with learning to play the piano, Phil also becomes a proficient ice sculptor. Unlike the piano playing, audiences never see Phil picking up ice sculpting and learning the basics. Rather, one scene simply involves Phil sculpting a beautiful ice angel with a chainsaw, and audiences are left to fill in the blanks themselves.

Phil later uses his gift to sculpt Rita’s face – an act that helps Rita fall in love with him (which, in turn, helps him escape the time loop).

4 Pretending To Be An Old Classmate

One of the first things that Phil does is utilize the time loop for his own sexual gratification. And as crude as some of Phil’s actions are, the creativity behind them must be commended. While in the diner, Phil asks various questions to an attractive woman named Nancy Taylor.

Most of the questions revolve around Nancy’s time in high school. He gets the answers and subsequently manipulates Nancy the next morning by pretending to be an old classmate. And yes, it works.

3 Wooing Rita

While Phil’s wooing of Rita never actually works, he certainly puts in a lot of effort. He learns what drink she likes and orders the same thing the next day (vermouth on the rocks with a twist). He learns what she likes to toast to (world peace) and drinks to it.

He learns poetry and a whole new language to impress her. He learns about her past and he learns what type of chocolate and ice cream she does and doesn’t like. In short, he learns a lot about Rita.

2 Robbing An Armored Truck

One of the worst things that Phil does is rob an armored truck. But once again, the creativity here must be commended. The entire sequence preceding the robbery itself is pure brilliance, as it perfectly showcases Phil’s knowledge of the day’s events.

He knows when the wind will blow, when a nearby dog will bark, when a car will speed past and narrowly miss him, and when the armored truck guards will be distracted by a fallen roll of quarters. He simply waltzes over and takes a sack of money with nothing but his encyclopedic knowledge of the day’s events.

1 Helping Others Around Town

All of the above is great, but the most creative thing Phil does whilst stuck in the time loop is to use his knowledge of the day’s events to help people around town. He knows that elderly women will suffer a flat tire, and he’s there to fix it for them. He knows a kid will fall out of a tree and rushes to catch him.

He knows the mayor will choke on a piece of steak and is there to give him the Heimlich maneuver. The list goes on. By learning the routine and helping others, Phil is finally able to break free of the time loop and become a better person in the process.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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