The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Movie Review: By The Boneman, ZBoneMan.com

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has taken a surprisingly long time making it to the big screen. Based on the wildly popular novel by Douglas Adams -who wrote a draft for the screenplay before his death (subsequently punched-up by Chicken Run scribe Karey Kirkpatrick), THGTTG also enjoyed a long television run on PBS. To be honest it’s been 25 years since I read the book, so it would be hard for me to gauge how faithfully the film sticks to the source material, but as good as a lot of the film is, there’s no doubt that the book is funnier.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide is one of those films that may have trouble connecting with a broad audience. Right away it becomes obvious that the marriage of pithy British humor and modern day Sci-Fi special effects makes for something of a hit and miss affair, and even the zany performances (Sam Rockwell and Mos Def in particular) aren’t enough to cover several awkward moments when the air seems to be sucked from the set. It’s certainly not a film tailor made for your garden variety sci-fi fan, the effects are up to par - but the off-the-wall philosophy that pervades the film are unlikely to find fertile soil with fans who like their sci-fi with plenty of laser-gun and space-battle action. Similarly the frequent breaks that feature lecture-like illustrations from the book as to the true nature of the ways of the universe (voiced by Stephen Fry) might be a bit off-putting to all but those who worship Adam’s book.

There’s little doubt that most fans of the book and the TV series will eat it up - every so often, for example, the smallest little aside from the book would fetch belly laughs from a handful of audience members. I suppose it remains to be seen whether die-hard THGTTG aficionados will cotton to this big screen adaptation. Still, the film is quite good and certainly campy enough to guarantee a significant cult following as time goes by and it makes it’s way into video stores. The film comes well equipped with plenty of memorable catch phrases that are sure to give it a Monty Python kind of longevity.

The film begins just minutes before the earth is destroyed by an intergalactic wrecking crew in the process of making way for an interplanetary super highway of sorts. The film’s hero Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is rescued just before the earth is pulverized by a neighbor who happens to be from another planet - Ford Prefect (played wonderfully by Mos Def) who is a writer doing updates for the book that gives the film it’s title. The two manage to stow away on an enormous square demolition vessel populated by a dour and very unattractive race known as Vogons. Whose poetry, by the way, is said to be the third worst in the universe and is often used for the purposes of torture.

The resourceful Ford Prefect manages to thumb them off the Vogon ship and onto a state-of-the-art spacecraft helmed by the President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (a loopy, go-for-broke Sam Rockwell) who as it turns out has stolen the craft and is being pursued by space-police types - including the Vogons. Rockwell is perfect here, though his performance is a decidedly one-note affair - he brings some much needed goofball energy to the proceedings. On board the ship is a gal he picked up on earth the night before it’s destruction (ironically stealing her away from Arthur - who had fallen in love at first sight). Tricia McMillan (now Trillion) is played by the fetching Zooey Deschanel (Elf) who really isn’t given a great deal to do here, but manages to steal your heart with those sidelong glances from her innocently mischievous eyes.

The last member of the rag-tag crew is Marvin the melancholy robot, on board for more comic relief and wonderfully given voice by Alan Rickman - adding one more element to the Galaxy Quest connection. Though the humor in Galaxy Quest is much more straight forward and Americanized it is a film that THGTTG could be loosely compared to. The chief plot of the film revolves around a super-computer the size of a football stadium built to decipher the meaning of “life, the universe and everything.” After something like 25 thousand years the computer concludes that the answer to this most lofty of all questions is “42.” Thus armed with the answer Beeblebrox sets out to discover the “real” question. Along the way we encounter a wonderfully bizarre creature played by John Malkovich and a number of other daft creations.

Though the film frequently loses it’s way, I would say that I was well entertained at least two thirds of the time, and toward the end there are some seriously funny revelations regarding the origins of the earth, the universe and everything - with the always terrific Bill Nighy as our guide. In the end the film really doesn’t amount to a heck of a lot and will most likely be something of a disappointment to those who have waited so long for this big-budget treatment. The problem with such an undertaking is the same as any film based on a beloved book. So much of what made it so entertaining in print is the writer’s gift for description and smart prose - in movie form much of this is just shown and as such gets lost in translation. I still think, however that the film is worth recommending - it’s well cast and acted and manages to convey enough of the books brilliance to make it a fun watch.

Grade: B-

The Boneman, ZBoneMan.com