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.