Groundhog Day/Fridge


 * At the end of Groundhog Day, absolutely everyone in Punxsutawney adores Phil Connors and treats him almost as the town's favorite son... despite the fact that his recent outbursts of philanthropy and goodwill aside, from their perspective he should still be a relative stranger who has been in town one day tops. At first, it seems that this is a reflection of his new likeable nature requiring Willing Suspension of Disbelief... until you remember that earlier in the movie, one of the selfish things that Phil did with the Groundhog Day Loop was use the information he gleamed about the various townspeople he met in order to manipulate them to do what he wanted them to do, often by pretending that he was someone that they knew in their past but had now forgotten. By the end of the movie, he's learned so much about them and the town that it's not inconceivable that he could easily integrate himself into the fabric of the town even over one day by 'reintroducing' himself to a few select people and claiming to be someone who used to live there a long time ago and has now returned, hence their shaky recollection of him -- only now, he's doing so in order to enrich their lives rather than merely enriching himself.~ Doctor Nemesis
 * It was cut from the movie, but he had been in the loop for several years by the time he escaped, so the above is even more likely.
 * There's some deeper stuff going on in this movie. Punxsatawney Phil, the groundhog, is a little rodent hiding in the winter and refusing to come out until he can't see his shadow -- his "dark side", if you will. Phil Connors is a metaphor for the groundhog (or the other way round) since he, too, is isolated in Punxsatawney -- his knowledge of the town's inhabitants in a way makes him Punxsatawney Phil. He, too, is refusing to come out from hiding in the town's winter until he can't see his dark side -- i.e. that his dark side has been eliminated. More to the point, there's also a strong Messiah thing going on. Phil Connors, half-mad, says that's he's God -- not the God, but a God. And yet... by the end of the film, he has almost omniscient knowledge of how events will go. He's become tremendously compassionate, running from one place to another to make people's lives better, being in the right place at the right time. He even tries to save a dying man's life... and yet he can't stop any of these events because they're pre-ordained or because people retain free will and can refuse his actions. He's part of the system, he can influence it, but he ultimately cannot change it. Phil might not be The God, but he probably knows how God feels.
 * Having just saw this movie again the other day, I noticed that at the end Phil Connors makes a suggestion about moving into town with his new girlfriend. The part that caught this trooper's attention was him suggesting that they start out renting. It then occurred to me that the reason he wants to start out renting is that he's not fully sure he's out of the loop. He knows he has managed to get to the next day, but what if he has to relive this day over and over again. Until he knows that he is actually done looping days, he really isn't ready to commit to change.
 * No, he suggested renting because he remembered that as far as Rita's concerned, they've only been together one day (and she's only known him for two). Did you miss that part? Suggesting that they buy a house implies a marriage proposal, which would spook her.
 * This is Fridge Brilliance, dude -- there's room for both.
 * Of course, he might not have the money to make a down payment on a home anymore: he did just buy A LOT of insurance!
 * However, if he robbed the armored truck like he always did, then he would have tons of money. I initially thought that new Phil probably wouldn't continue to rob the truck, but then we hear from the piano teacher that even on that final day, he had taken lessons from her, and if you recall correctly, she already had another student that day, and only worked with Phil because of the money, so he had to have done it again on the final day.
 * If he robbed the armored truck the final day, then there would have been an investigation which could implicate him - he doesn't get the reset to avoid it.
 * His piano lessons were costing $1000 each iteration (but he got that money back at 6 AM anyway). In the end, he's down $1000 which he might have had on him before the time loops started. He is a celebrity in an emergancy, after all.