You really know a movie is a classic and has become a pop culture touchstone when it is endlessly referenced and quoted and, ultimately, ends up becoming the go-to term for a universally recognized life experience.
And such is the case with the ever-delightful 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as jaded, chauvinist and fairly misanthropic weatherman Phil Connors, who’s forced to relive the same day over and over until he finally gets it right.
The film was a modest success at the box office, earning about $71 million, but the embarrassment of cultural riches came later when people caught on to its rewatchable whimsy and started adopting Phil’s existential conundrum as their own.
Saying something is “like Groundhog Day“—which is today, Feb. 2, cheers!—has become a much-used phrase, used to describe any repetitive experience, whether it bears any resemblance to the goings-on of the film or not.