Editor:
I think you need to find a new movie critic. Doug Cummings is a moron. His review of "Groundhog Day" ("Don't fall for the movie," Oct. 19) must have been about some other movie by Bill Murray with the same name. The movie I saw was in no way similar, except for the groundhog.
The first thing that jumped out at me was his assertion that Bill Murray did all of those things to "loosen up and bed down with someone." Hello! At the end of the movie, Murray and Andie MacDowell do end up in bed together, but it couldn't be more obvious that they did not have sex. Not only are they wearing the same clothes as the previous evening, but when Murray kisses her on the neck, MacDowell clearly states, "Oh, Phil, why weren't you like this last night? You just fell asleep." Duh! Perhaps Mr. Cummings also slept through this part of the movie.
The other thing about Mr. Cummings' "review" that I found ridiculous was his assertion that there was no rhyme or reason to this perpetual Groundhog Day. In the beginning of the movie, Murray's character is an unhappy, sarcastic, rude man who thinks the world owes him a favor because he's such a fantastic weatherman. He is abusive to his co-workers and a major prima donna. When his "temporal misery" begins, he does all the things most people would do, knowing there were no repercussions Ÿ punch out an annoying person, steal from a bank, seduce someone he knows he'll never have to deal with again, eat like a pig, and he even kills himself. But when he realizes there is no escape, his priorities straighten out and he does what he can to improve himself.
Sure, at first he does it to impress MacDowell, but in the end, he is doing it because it makes him feel good. He becomes a better person, and it shows. People like him, and he likes them in return.
The force behind the time warp could be perceived as a groundhog, if you think like one. But the intelligent adult will come to the conclusion that it is Murray himself who caused the aberration, forcing a change in his unsatisfactory life, as well as his unsavory personality. Perhaps Mr. Cummings should try a similar tactic.
Kendall Alexander
Financial Services Office
Office Assistant