REVIEW: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Those who have been reading Mod-Blog for a while know I am a big Douglas Adam's fan. I have read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books many times. I own the TV series on VHS and DVD. I own all of the Hitchhikers Guide radio series on CD that you can get in this country. I have even read his Dirk Gently and "Last Chance to See" books, which were of decidedly less quality. So, I was quite excited by the movie, and somewhat disconcerted by persistent negative reviews. Well, CRChair and I saw the movie this Saturday.

I'll first give the bottom line for those without time to read the rest. If you have never read the books, seen ther TV series, or heard H2G2 on TV, it is a pleasant but not especially funny movie. If you know H2G2 in any of its incarnations, you will enjoy it a lot more and it is probably a must-see. But the movie has one major weakness that not even the video game had - there are NO laugh-out-loud moments for the audience. It is not a waste of your time, but not a film to drop everything to see.

And now for those with more patience. The movie generally follows the plot from the other versions - Arthur Dent, a relentlessly average Briton, is shocked to learn his best friend is in fact an alien and that the Earth is about to be destroyed. The friend, Ford Prefect, saved Arthur from certain death only to introduce him to several less-certain-but-still-very-likely deaths at the hands of Vogons, intergalactic popes, planet-designers, and others. And, as the man says, "Hilarity ensues." But, as mentioned earlier, not nearly enough hilarity in this case.

The director did make some interesting choices in casting. Remembering that H2G2 is a completely British creation, it is strange to think that except for Martin Freeman playing Arthur Dent, not one main actor is British. But it works well for Mos Def playing Ford Prefect (though a Ford Prefect almost unrecognizable compared to the others) and Zooey Dechanel playing Trillian (a normal girl with a thirst for the extraordinary). Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebroz - president of the Galaxy - is unfortunate giving a horrible parody of George W. Bush that completely misses the point of the character. Oh, and choosing Jim Henson's creature shop for most of the aliens in the movie - over CGI shops like ILM - was inspired. The Vogons have never looked worse - in the best possible way.

So, to sum up, this is not a must-see movie, but it is a relentlessly pleasant one. If you find yourself searching for a movie, go for it. But if you are wondering whether to take time of out of your busy life, wait for the release of Star Wars, Episode 3.