Phil Connors, an arrogant Pittsburgh weatherman, is dreading his upcoming assignment — his yearly journey to the quaint Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney to report on the "Groundhog Day" celebrations on February 2, when groundhog "meteorologist" Punxsutawney Phil will attempt to predict the coming of spring. Considering the assignment beneath him, Phil travels to Punxsutawney with his sarcastic cameraman Larry, and cheerful but savvy new producer Rita to record the festivities. Phil tries to flirt with Rita, but she is rather taken aback by his boorish and grouchy attitude and turns his offer of a date down.
The next day, Phil is woken by the sound of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on his room's clock radio, and subsequently goes on to have a rather bad morning. After rather uninspiring conversation with his landlady, he runs into Ned, an old acquaintance whom he finds annoying and steps in a puddle of slush due to his hurry to get away from him. He finally shows up to deliver a cynical and unenthusiastic report on the ceremony, during which Punxsutawney Phil is reported to have seen a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter. Eager to leave once the report is done, Phil's journey back to Pittsburgh is delayed when a snowstorm unexpectedly changes direction and covers the town, forcing him and his crew to remain in Punxsutawney. Phil reluctantly returns to his lodgings at a local bed and breakfast and retires for the night...
... And wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. But something strange is happening; the ensuing radio show is exactly the same as the previous morning's, the people around Phil seem to be performing the same actions and initiating the same conversations they did the previous day without realizing, and when Phil steps outside there is no sign of the major snowstorm that arrived the previous night. Furthermore, everyone seems convinced that it's still February 2. Much to Phil's confusion, it rapidly becomes clear that he's reliving the events of Groundhog Day once again. Once again, he films his report, once again the snowstorm prevents him and his crew from leaving town, and once again he retires in his room...
... And wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. Phil is still reliving February 2. Several repetitions later, it becomes clear that Phil is trapped in this loop, prompting Phil to panic and despair, until a chance remark from a local drunk inspires him. He realizes that, if there is no tomorrow, then there are no consequences to his actions, and he can do whatever he wants. Testing his theory, he initiates a destructive car chase with the local police through the streets which results in him driving recklessly on nearby train tracks, narrowly avoiding a collision. After crashing the car, Phil is taken into custody in the local jail...
... And wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. As it has become clear that no matter what Phil does he will start the day at the same point once again, Phil begins to take advantage of his situation. He learns secrets about the local women which he uses to seduce them without fear of commitment, he commits crimes without fear of arrest by observing the events of the day and memorising them, he over-indulges in food and alcohol, and generally enjoys himself with hedonistic glee. But while everything initially seem to be going pretty good for Phil, things hit a snag when he decides to seduce Rita. No matter what he does, Rita seems to remain immune to his charms, and the more he tries to manipulate the situation in order to win her, the more skeptical and distrustful of him she becomes...
... And as Phil keeps waking up to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio, his failures with Rita begin to coincide with an increasing depression. The allure of using the day to have and do everything he wants has gradually begun to wear off — although he can have anything, the endless resetting of the day means that anything he acquires is meaningless as it ultimately will always come to nothing. Phil begins to succumb to despair, and finally snaps. During yet another of his reports, he begins to blame Punxsutawney Phil for his situation, ranting that he will never be free as long as the groundhog lives. This drives him to kidnap the groundhog and, after a lengthy car chase, drive it into a quarry. The resulting explosion kills both Phils...
... But Phil wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. Deeply depressed, Phil repeatedly commits suicide, using any method he can think of, but no matter what he does, it fails to break the loop. No matter how grisly his chosen ways of killing himself are, he always wakes up the next/same morning alive and well. Eventually, Phil even comes to believe he is some kind of immortal god-figure; when he informs Rita of this, she is understandably skeptical, but in desperation Phil finally reveals what is happening to him and proves it to Rita by demonstrating knowledge of people and events that he cannot have otherwise obtained. Once convinced, Rita decides to accompany Phil throughout the day as an 'experiment'. The two begin to bond, and she advises him to rethink how he looks at the day, viewing it as an opportunity for growth rather than a curse. That night, before falling asleep, Phil admits that he's fallen in love with Rita...
... And Phil wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. This time, however, Phil begins to take advantage of the day to improve himself. He tries to show a more friendly and good-natured side to his surprised coworkers, buying them coffee and inquiring after their personal lives. He takes up the piano, gradually going from a novice to an expert, and takes up ice-sculpting among other hobbies. He begins to broaden his mind by reading, and starts to take more enthusiasm in delivering his reports. His encounters with a local homeless man prove inspirational in a different way, however — no matter what Phil does, he cannot prevent the homeless man from dying at the end of the day. Thus humbled and rid of any godlike delusions he may have continued to have, Phil nevertheless continues to find meaning and satisfaction in spending the day helping others as well as himself...
... And so while Phil continues to wake up again and again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio, he starts to find peace. He quickly becomes a local philanthropist, using his knowledge of the events of the day and the locals to ingratiate himself into the fabric of the town, but this time doing so to help the local townsfolk with their various issues both big and small. He changes tires for stranded motorists, prevents a local dignitary from choking on his food, and volunteers to play piano at the Groundhog Day dance. His complete change in personality intrigues Rita, who begins to wonder what has caused it; after 'winning' Phil when he is nominated for a bachelor auction, Phil admits what has been happening and that he is in love with Rita, carving an ice sculpture of her face from memory. The two embrace and kiss, then retire to his room...
... And Phil wakes up once again to the sound of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" on the clock radio. But this time, things are different; the radio DJs begin to squabble about playing the song again before, much to Phil's surprise, Rita reaches over him in the bed to switch the radio off. And when Phil looks out the window, the streets are blanketed with snow. Overjoyed, Phil realises that the loop has finally broken; it is finally February 3, and Rita has remained with him. The two walk outside to greet a new day full of hope and promise, and Phil proposes that they live in Punxsutawney — but they should rent first.
