VIDEO GOING WHOLE 'GROUNDHOG' ON A SPECIAL-EDITION DVD, ACCLAIMED COMEDY PROVIDES UNENDING PLEASURE.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

The tagline for the 1993 film ``Groundhog Day'' was: ``He's having the worst day of his life ... over, and over ....''

Tell me about it.

Of course, we all feel like that some days. But Harold Ramis' ``Groundhog Day,'' which is coming out today on a special-edition DVD, is more than a one-note joke. The Washington Post called it ``brilliantly imaginative,'' and I would agree. The Post goes on to say that the comedy, starring Bill Murray, ``demonstrates that there is something even more horrible (than not knowing what's going to happen next) - knowing exactly what's going to happen next.''

Watching it again recently, I was struck by how cleverly this theme was brought home - again and again - helped by Murray's wonderfully loopy performance as vain Pittsburgh weatherman Phil Connors.

The rather unlikable Phil has been sent along with his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), and his cameraman (Chris Elliot) on the annual February visit to Punxsutawney, Pa., where Phil the Groundhog is brought out in order to forecast when winter will end. It's a trip that Phil the human abhors, but instead of escaping after the event, the weatherman and his crew are trapped in Punxsutawney by a snowstorm, which Phil had forecast would miss the area.

Forced to stay another day, Phil awakes to what he thinks is the same song - Sonny and Cher singing ``I Got You, Babe'' - and the same stupid banter on the radio. Instead he has fallen into some sort of time loop. Every day for him is Groundhog Day with the same people doing the same things. The only variations are Phil's different reactions as people approach him.

After a while Phil grows resigned to his fate.

``What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?'' Phil asks a drunk as they sit in a bar tossing back a few. ``That about sums it up for me,'' the drunk replies.

This premise could have run out of steam quickly, but Ramis, who co- wrote the script with Danny Rubin, makes ``Groundhog Day'' a story of redemption - but not before he wonderfully mixes in laughs and pathos.

After realizing he's trapped, Phil's baser instincts take over and he decides to take advantage of the situation. In one case, he learns enough about a woman's background so he can impress her and bed her. Another time he steals money from an armored car. But this, too, becomes a trap and his life becomes despair. He tries to commit suicide - in some gruesome and crazy ways (such as kidnapping the groundhog and driving off a cliff) - only to wake up to the sounds of Sonny and Cher.

Eventually, Phil begins to fill in the emptiness of his life. At first he learns piano and reads French poetry to impress Rita, but those aspects of his life - along with beginning to care about the ``hicks'' of Punxsutawney - become important to him.

``Groundhog Day'' is billed as a romantic comedy, but there's little schmaltz and plenty of smarts. Underneath its humorous exterior is an existential story that deals with moral consequences. Phil, the weatherman, was wrong about the storm that was supposed to bypass Punxsutawney, and he's wrong about life, which, like the weather, is not easily predicted.

Even if you saw it the first time around, ``Groundhog Day'' is one of those films worth repeating.

HOT 'DAWG': Grateful Dead fans probably lapped up the release of ``Grateful Dawg,'' a documentary about the late rock legend Jerry Garcia and mandolin virtuoso David ``Dawg'' Grisman. Made by Grisman's daughter, Gillian Grisman, the film looks at the long musical - and nonmusical - relationship between Garcia, longtime leader of the Dead, and the mandolin player.

The two men shared an affinity for bluegrass and over the years collaborated on records exploring the genre. They also expanded to other types of music - from Latin to jazz to reggae. Even if you're not a Deadhead, it's hard not to enjoy the infectious music as well as the camaraderie of Gracia and Grisman, who clearly thrived on each other's creativity.

``Groundhog Day: Special Edition'' (Columbia) lists at $24.95 on DVD. It includes commentary by Ramis and the documentary ``The Weight of Time.'' ``Grateful Dawg'' (Columbia) lists for $24.95 on DVD, which includes bonus performances of ``I'm Troubled'' and ``God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,'' the unreleased music video ``The Thrill Is Gone,'' outtakes and discographies. It's $54.95 on VHS.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Punxsutawney Phil takes the wheel from Bill Murray, a man at the end of his rope, in ``Groundhog Day,'' now available on a special-edition DVD.

(2) Murray tries to win Andie MacDowell's love but he only has one day to do it.