This is gonna’ be beyond bizarre (or maybe a good OWC theme), because it deals (potentially) with alternative time-loops surrounding a movie that deals with infinite time-loops – an explanation is definitely required.

So, not to completely alienate myself from this board (err… more), and may just be the final nail in the coffin re: my sanity, but, are there 2 separate versions of Groundhog Day (Bill Murray) floating around? Just asking, because I emphatically remember a different version (having watched it about a 100 times since its release; being one of my all-time fav movies), than the one I just watched.

Right, just seeing its release (on Canada Netflix) decided to watch it a few nights ago, and, as watching, came to a stern realization that things were a little, um… off, actually, really off.

First and foremost, the scene with Phil Connor’s scorned ex-girlfriend (Stephanie), when she performs a voodoo or witchcraft type spell to lock him into his time loop… that’s gone, and apparently never existed via this movie version. It just goes right into the time loop with no logical explanation - which is the basis of the movie; Stephanie stating Phil only has time for himself and (her) performing this elaborate voodoo ritual forces him to relive the same day over and over again, never being able to create memories or an existence with anyone except within his own reality.

I thought: what the hell is Netflix doing cutting movie scenes? For time constraints? There are no commercials…? Makes no sense.

So, I go back to the beginning of the movie to see what else I missed. There’s no indication of a character named Stephanie, or any other ex girlfriend for that matter at the beginning like I remember either. But I do remember a scorned woman ripping him a new asshole regarding how self centered he was at the beginning.

Then there’s a scene where they drive to Punxsutawney to cover the Groundhog Day festival, and I also remember Phil driving there in an expensive black sedan, talking on his car phone, etc. This is simply because he didn’t want to ride in the news van with the cameraman, Rita, etc. Again, this is a character trait embedded in the movie showing how self-centered Phil was, in fact, the whole beginning of the movie capitalizes on how self-centered Phil is and only looking out for his own best interest. That’s what makes the locked in a time-loop thing plausible… he has to learn how to be more appreciative of others to break the loop, or something in that sense. But now, in the movie version I just watched, he rides in the van to Punxsutawney, not his own car. But that’s not the only difference, there’s many.

So, I do a search for the script online, find it, read it, and… voilà, there are the missing scenes I remember… phew, must be a weird cut version I never saw before… strange. But, as I do an IMDB search to ease my anxiety, I find there’s still no character (ex-girlfriend) called Stephanie in the credits, nor is there any indication that they used this script for shooting the final movie.

The script online (at Simply Scripts) is what they termed a second draft, but was never used, based on this blurb from https://scifi.stackexchange.com/

According to the film's writer, Danny Rubin, the original idea was to leave it completely unresolved.

“Even thinking about these things it was obvious that they were interchangeable, uninteresting, and completely unrelated to what was exciting to me about the premise. So I decided not to have any explanation at all. What I liked most about this totally logical but somehow heretical idea was its existential flavor. The movie became so much more human and relatable since none of us knows exactly how we got stuck here either.”

“At the insistence of the studio, he then created a second draft of the script (the one available online) in which Phil was cursed by his ex-girlfriend as an explanation for the time loop.”

    CUT TO:

    INSERT : A THICK BOOK The cover reads "101 Curses, Spells and Enchantments You Can Do at Home." A well-manicured feminine hand opens the book to a marked page .
    INT. CHERRY STREET INN - NIGHT - SAME TIME : Phil enters his room and drunkenly tosses his overcoat, scarf and gloves on the floor in a heap.

    INT. STEPHANIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT : Stephanie Decastro, Phil ' s disaffected ex-lover, is sitting cross-legged on the floor with the book of curses open in front of her. Her hair is down, she's wearing a caftan with a Zodiac print, there are candles everywhere and other vaguely occult decorating touches.

    INSERT : Phil's business card is dropped into a dish. Then the Tarot card of the Hanged Man, a chicken bone, and a feather are placed on top of it .

    PHIL : He stands at the sink, looking at himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles.

    STEPHANIE : Reading from the book she mutters incantations in a secret language, then she sprinkles some powder on the plate, then a few drops of oil. Then she makes a few passes over it with her hands and, much to her surprise, the contents of the plate spontaneously combust.

    PHIL : As he crosses to the bed, he accidentally knocks over the suitcase stand, spilling his clothes out onto the floor.-25- He contemplates picking them up for a moment, decides to leave them there, and flops down on the bed. He lies there looking u up at the ceiling until the room starts to spin around, then he closes his eyes and quickly drops off to sleep, still fully clothed.

    STEPHANIE : To complete the spell, she picks up a broken wristwatch and drops it into the fire.

    INSERT : Phil's business card, the Hanged Man and the broken watch in flames. The watch crystal is cracked and the hands are frozen at 5:59

“But after they trimmed her character from later versions of the script (finally removing her entirely for the film), that plotline made no sense so they seem to have decided to return to leaving it as an un-resolved question.”

OK, anyone else remember those scenes in the movie? Please, tell me someone remembers. Because not only have I seen this movie many times before, I also remember all those scenes from the second draft that (today) apparently ‘NEVER’ made it into the original movie. In fact, the whole beginning of the movie (on Netflix) is so mutated, illogical, and pedestrian from what I remember it being, that I couldn’t even get into watching the rest of it, it was senseless in a way.

I’m not crying conspiracy, or that weird Mandela Effect thing… all I’m saying is... just me? Alternative time-loop anyone? I just can’t make this shit up… go watch the movie… something’s off… way off.

Does this reassure you you're not going barmy?

https://www.slashfilm.com/bill-murray-repeating-groundhog-day/

I don't think I've ever seen that original version.
I don't recall Stephanie at all.

Edit: My comment didn't really help much, did it?
It seems you're one of the few who saw the uncut version. Be interesting to see if anyone else did too.

I have an odd sensation that I've read this post before.....

I saw this flick during its theatrical run; rented it many times on VHS before finally buying my own copy (which I eventually wore out); later I bought the DVD, which I still have, and have watched a couple dozen times (at least); and I can say with absolute certainty that the stuff you say is missing was never in the movie, at least the US version. In fact, having not read the script, I never knew there was an ex-girlfriend/voodoo/whammy sub-plot until reading about it in your post just now. That's crazy! It's like finding out your wife of 26 years has a secret third nipple.

So you're saying that you've actually seen a cut with those extra scenes?  Because if that's out there somewhere, I've got to see it.

Quoted from Lon I saw this flick during its theatrical run; rented it many times on VHS before finally buying my own copy (which I eventually wore out); later I bought the DVD, which I still have, and have watched a couple dozen times (at least); and I can say with absolute certainty that the stuff you say is missing was never in the movie, at least the US version. In fact, having not read the script, I never knew there was an ex-girlfriend/voodoo/whammy sub-plot until reading about it in your post just now. That's crazy! So you're saying that you've actually seen a cut with those extra scenes?  Because if that's out there somewhere, I've got to see it.

Bummer, lol… I truly wanted some form of validation as to why I’m harboring these vivid memories of something that apparently never existed, at least… not in this timeline. I actually sat on this post for a few days before hitting send for fear of humiliation blow-back, but it would appear in today’s day and age - and all the weird shit happening in real time - that these type of anomalies garner nothing more than a sideways glance, if that; but I will hold conviction of my skewed memory for now, that is, until it’s replaced with something more intriguing.

But, to answer your question… yes! Not only have I seen the movie with those scenes, it is the only version of the movie that I’ve EVER seen, and now it’s gone… vanished! The version I watched on Netflix the other night was the first time I’ve ever seen it, in my life. Alas, this is probably not the best platform to hash out all the logistics of why something like this has transpired, in fact David Icke probably wouldn’t even touch this voodoo heresy.

Anyhow, for now I’ll file it under a strange phantasmagorical phenomena, betwixt occurrence, or starstruck wonderance (‘cause it really does trip out the mind when shit like this happens) and never speak of this madness again, err… unless somebody comes out of the woodwork or an Astrolab? We’ll see. Thank you kindly for your feedback!

Is the scorned lady not in there at all or just not doing the curse thing?

I could've sworn I remember her having one scene with him early on. She asks why he won't return her calls, he shuts her down, she storms off. But maybe I'm remembering the script version I always read. Pretty sure her name is Stephanie in that draft version.

I know for a fact Netflix cuts weird stuff. I'm probably the only person in the world that noticed this, but they cut about five seconds of singing from the Buffy episode "Once More, With Feeling".

She does a little solo thing ending with the line "Hey, I've died twice" then it goes back to the chorus. One day, it was just gone. I had to buy the iTunes version it was bothering me so much. Sure enough, there it was.

That was before Netflix got rid of Buffy altogether. And Firefly. And Angel.

All I know is Netflix is evil.

Gum, do you remember who the actress who played Stephanie was?

I'm darned curious. And yes, I know there was no credit listed.

Not related to the subject but kind of related in a subjective manner - there’s a Netflix show Russian Dolls that’s essentially another GD story. Check it out, it’s not great imo but it’s something and actually not bad at all.

Quoted from MarkItZero Is the scorned lady not in there at all or just not doing the curse thing?

No, she’s gone from the movie completely, in fact, (almost) the entire first act is strange and new to me. Actually, in the Netflix version, the story breaks into the second act around the 18 minute mark (Phil being in the first day of the time-loop). This seems like a strange time to break out of the first act don’t you think? At least, to me it is. Like they had a previous working screenplay with all the scenes that coincide with the Harold Ramis second draft version, but then decided to send it back to the cutting room, where someone took upon themselves to trim it with a freakin’ chainsaw.

The second act is tragically skewed as well to fit the newfound first act backstory, or callback sequences; it hasn’t changed nearly as bad as the first act, but, still enough to warrant attention. Not sure what to say at this point except… wtf?

Quoted from MarkItZero All I know is Netflix is evil.

Agreed. Have you seen ‘Bigmout’?

Log: “Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty in this edgy comedy from real-life pals Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg.”

Wonders and horrors? That’s an understatement. This thing is full-blown fucktard. After catching a few episodes, I told my kids never to watch it… they’re 14 and 18… never watch it.

Quoted from LC Gum, do you remember who the actress who played Stephanie was? I'm darned curious. And yes, I know there was no credit listed.

Unfortunately, no. She had a small part, and I don’t remember after seeing her in this character role if I recognized her from any other projects either. I know it doesn’t lend credence to my story, but I’m not very good with names anyway. There’s a shit-ton of actors I’ve seen over the years in various movies that to this day I don’t remember their names, if I ever bothered to know the names at all. Just one of those things, like: “Hey, there’s that dude from that movie, y’know, the one with the guy with the weird face… and, and… y’know, that guy.”

Quoted from khamanna Not related to the subject but kind of related in a subjective manner - there’s a Netflix show Russian Dolls that’s essentially another GD story. Check it out, it’s not great imo but it’s something and actually not bad at all.

Haven’t seen that one, but I’ll definitely check it out. I saw ‘Happy Death Day’ just recently and enjoyed that strange little gem; being similar to Groundhog Day and a  time-loop repeating scenario. One of the main characters even made a reference to the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ in that movie, lol.

Anyway, thank you kindly all for the feedback. I’ve found a bit of chatter online regarding the Groundhog Day movie being somewhat of a codeword, or colloquial when referencing dimensional shifts in our own time frames (most likely caused by CERN and the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, and these people who like to play God with our reality), but nothing truly mind-bending in terms of others stepping out and saying: “What up with Groundhog Day?!” At least, not yet…

Quoted from Gum Agreed. Have you seen ‘Bigmout’? Log: “Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty in this edgy comedy from real-life pals Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg.” Wonders and horrors? That’s an understatement. This thing is full-blown fucktard. After catching a few episodes, I told my kids never to watch it… they’re 14 and 18… never watch it.

Never heard of it. There's so many shows I can't keep track. I liked The League, I think that's Nick Kroll. Sounds like this one is something to avoid though lol.

Quoted from Gum Haven’t seen that one, but I’ll definitely check it out. I saw ‘Happy Death Day’ just recently and enjoyed that strange little gem; being similar to Groundhog Day and a  time-loop repeating scenario. One of the main characters even made a reference to the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ in that movie, lol.

Yeah Russian Doll is pretty decent. I watched Happy Death Day recently too and was surprised by how good it was. There wasn't a huge hype for that movie, or maybe I missed it. One of the more entertaining movies I've seen in a awhile even though they basically did the same arc as Groundhog Day. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.