“Groundhog Day’’ director Harold Ramis, who died Monday from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis at the much-too-young age of 69, was just as much a genius as the fellow comedians he helped make movie stars: John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd.
Like Ramis, they emerged from the take-no-prisoners “Saturday Night Live’’/Second City school of improvisational comedy that evolved out of the ’60s counterculture to reinvigorate the genre on TV in the late 1970s before moving en masse into movies.
Ramis made Belushi a major screen presence, co-writing the raunchy, era-defining comedy “Animal House” (1978), in which Belushi played the explosive and nearly wordless Bluto Blutarski. The two unsuccessfully tried to get a film version of John Kennedy Toole’s 1980 novel “A Confederacy of Dunces’’ off the ground — one of the great unrealized film projects of the era.
Ramis also helped develop Murray into an equally distinctive (and unlikely) movie star in his directing debut, “Caddyshack’’ (1980), as well as the war comedy “Stripes’’ (1981) — which Ramis wrote and co-starred in for director Ivan Reitman.
The pair’s biggest hit was the Reitman-directed “Ghostbusters’’ (1984), which starred Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis (as the brainiest of the trio) in an inventively funny script by Ramis and Aykroyd that launched an entire genre of special-effects driven comedies.
But Ramis’ enduring masterpiece is “Groundhog Day,’’ which I’d rate as one of the greatest films of the last 25 years — the top romantic comedy of its era, and near the apex in the fantasy/science fiction genre as well.
The film was treated as nothing special when released in 1993, but has gathered an ardent appreciation through endless TV showings and numerous video releases.
Ramis also helmed the often-erratic Chevy Chase’s best screen vehicle, “National Lampoon’s Vacation’’ (1983).
He brought an unusual combination of heart and smarts to those anarchic comedies — and influenced a generation of filmmakers like Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow.
Indeed, the most poignant moment in the latter’s “Knocked Up’’ came when Ramis turned up for one of his exquisite cameos as Seth Rogen’s wise, but profane, dad.
“For me, it’s the relationship between comedy and life — that’s the edge I live on, and maybe it’s my protection against looking at the tragedy of it all,’’ Ramis once said in an interview.
“It’s seeing life in balance. Comedy and tragedy coexist. You can’t have one without the other. I’m of the school that anything can be funny, if seen from a comedic point of view.’’
Ramis’ undisputed masterpiece is “Groundhog Day,’’ which I’d rate as one of the greatest films of the last 25 years — the top romantic comedy of its era, and near the apex in the fantasy/science fiction genre as well.
The film was treated as nothing special when released in 1993, but has gathered an ardent appreciation through endless TV showings and numerous video releases.
When I spoke with Ramis a few years ago, he was especially surprised and pleased that his film is taught in religion courses because of its spiritual themes, which are so subtly presented that it’s easy to miss them on first viewing.
It’s a hilarious but also extraordinary film about a misanthrope (Murray, never better), whose endless-repeat predicament in Punxsutawney, Pa., eventually turns to self-discovery. And having fallen for his producer (Andie MacDowell), he strives to earn her love by trial-and-error.
“Groundhog Day’’ is a pitch-perfect movie that effectively integrates black comedy (Murray’s character repeatedly tries to kill himself) and a resolute avoidance of sentimentality at the end.
Ramis never approached that peak during the final 20 years of his career, which included directing episodes of TV’s “The Office’’ and the likes of the Robert De Niro mob comedy “Analyze This’’ and its sequel.
But he didn’t need to.
If Ramis had never made anything other than “Groundhog Day,’’ he’d be remembered as one of the greats — which is quite a compliment considering his “Animal House’’ and “Ghostbusters’’ contributions.