The film that ended Bill Murray and Harold Ramis’ friendship
It’s hard to think of Bill Murray in too much unflattering light. While the actor has had a few missteps in his career, the good generally outweighs the bad, and his off-screen antics further buoy his on-screen triumphs. Becoming one of the 21st century’s most beloved clowns by crashing weddings, serving tequila at bars and generally being a lovable goof can feel at odds with our current perspective that Murray has rubbed some people up the wrong way.
Groundhog Day has gone down in history as one of Murray’s most culturally impactful films. Apart from spawning the idiom we now use to describe any repetitive action, the cult comedy has also now been regarded as some of Murray’s best work on screen. However, the movie ended the friendship between Murray and the director of the project Harold Ramis.
With an innovative plot and a convincing performance by Bill Murray, Groundhog Day is another cult classic from the 1990s. The story follows the life of Phil (Murray), a weatherman working for a local station in Pennsylvania, as he relives the same day over and over again.
Initially, He is bitter and treats everyone with contempt, but as he is forced to confront the morality of his own actions, a sense of empathy changes his understanding of the universe. The eternal winter of life teaches us to be kind to each other because it is only what we do to and for each other, that defines the world. “The idea that we just have to try again. We just have to try again,” Murray said. “It’s such a beautiful, powerful idea.”
For his work, he won a Golden Globe and a British Academy Film Award, along with multiple awards from critics’ circles. The film may have been pitched as a simple rom-com, but it became so much more.
It would appear, however, that the beauty captured on screen wasn’t reciprocated on the set. The two juggernauts behind the picture, Murray and director Ramis, continually butted heads during the production. The duo had enjoyed an extremely successful partnership up until this point, with Caddyshack, Stripes and the Ghostbusters movies already in their shared filmography. However, it would seem that this was one movie too far.
Their differences centred on the sentiment of the film. Ramis was reportedly keen on Groundhog Day being a steadfast comedy, while Murray, perhaps with a view to bigger things on the horizon, was keener to make the movie more philosophical, leaning heavily on the redemption of Phil. It wasn’t just their different views on the production but also the difficulties they endured working together.
While Murray may be considered a jovial part of the Hollywood scene today, he has a history of being somewhat difficult on set. Former co-star Anjelica Houston commented: “He was a shit to me on Life Aquatic. The first week I was there, we were all in this little hotel, and he invited the entire cast to go and have dinner, except me. And everyone came down for dinner, a little dog-faced about my not being invited, and they were all like, ‘Oh, you know, we don’t really want to go.’ That was worse than anything…”
It was a similar experience that Ramis faced, telling The New Yorker: “At times, Bill was just really irrationally mean and unavailable; he was constantly late on set. What I’d want to say to him is just what we tell our children: ‘You don’t have to throw tantrums to get what you want. Just say what you want.'” The combination of issues would see Ramis and Murray end their friendship after production and never work together again.
