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Groundhog Day

Now, I know what you're thinking. Obviously, Back to the Future and 12 Monkeys are time travel movies. Sure, Frequency has the element of time travel, even if it's not always physical. Field of Dreams - sure, you'll buy there being time travel. But Groundhog Day? Here's a classic modern comedy about a man who's not unstuck in time, but the opposite. He continues to live in the same day, over and over: Groundhog Day. True, this may not be time travel in a literal sense, but within the context of the movie, there's no question that Phil Connors, snarky weatherman from Pittsburgh on a business trip to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, actually stays put during February 2nd for hundreds, if not thousands, of times. There's never any explanation given, and Phil never tries to figure anything out.

After a little bit of doubting, Phil just accepts his plight; eventually, he decides to do whatever he can in each day and, once that gets too boring for him, tries to off himself, if only to see if it's possible for him to stop living the same day over and over again. Bill Murray stars here, of course, in one of his best performances, alongside his lead performance in Ghostbusters and his supporting role in Rushmore. Phil is the iconic Bill Murray character, but by the time Groundhog Day is over, and we've seen Phil genuinely change into a good person, we want the time loop to stop. This man may have deserved to be taught a lesson when the movie begins, but there's no reason for him not to re-live the rest of his days in peace with the love of his life. Anyway, this choice might be a bit unconventional for the list, but there's no question that Groundhog Day is one of the best comedies of the past 25 years, and a great movie in general.

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