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Don't panic! After twenty years stuck in development (a mere blink compared to how long it takes to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has finally been turned into a movie. Following the radio play, TV series, commemorative towel, and books, this latest installment in the sci-fi-comedy franchise is based on the screenplay and detailed notes by Douglas Adams.
 Hitching a ride. |
For those unfamiliar with the story, everyman Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up one morning to discover that his house is set to be demolished to make room for a bypass. Little does he know the entire planet Earth is also set to be destroyed for an interplanetary bypass by the Vogons, a hideous and bureaucratic race of aliens realized in the film by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Whisked off the planet by his best friend, alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect (Mos Def), Dent embarks on a goofy jaunt across the galaxy accompanied by his trusty Hitchhiker's Guide, which looks like a really fancy PDA.
 Enduring Vogon poetry. |
The guide itself provides some of the funniest bits of the movie, little animated shorts that explain the ludicrous life forms and extraterrestrial phenomena our heroes encounter. Along the way Arthur meets the two-headed party animal/president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and develops an unrequited crush on fellow earthling Trillian (Zooey Deschanel). The creatures and sets are inspired and answer to the sci-fi fan's primal need to see lots and lots of cool stuff. In particular, there's John Malkovich's creepy, CGI-enhanced Humma Kavula. He's a guru leading a religion that worships the gigantic nose that allegedly sneezed the universe into existence (naturally all their prayers end not with "Amen" but with "Bless you.") The aliens the team encounters are inspired creations, eminently worthy of action figure-ification, and the sets belie an attention to detail worthy of freeze-framing. Fans of the other Hitchhiker manifestations, namely the British TV series, will be amused by a number of in-jokes sprinkled throughout the movie.
 Concept art: The Heart of Gold pod on the planet Vogsphere |
Where the story stumbles is in the telling--as books, the Hitchhiker's Guide was foremost about goofy and brilliant ideas that raised questions about our place in the universe while getting a laugh. The cast seems at times bewildered, at least when Sam Rockwell isn't picking pieces of scenery out of his teeth, perhaps a natural reaction to an adaptation of a book with no traditional plot. The movie has enough trouble figuring out how to get the characters from one fantastical location to the next that Adams's funniest concepts often feel left in the dust. While the reverence the filmmakers felt toward Adams's legacy is apparent, one wonders what we could have expected had the creator of this science fiction universe lived to see it with his own eyes. -- Ryan Boudinot
A Guide to the Guide
 The Soundtrack |  The Radio Play (CD) |  The TV Series |
 The Hitchhiker Trilogy |  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Tertiary Phase (audio recording) |  The Filming of the Douglas Adams Classic (book) |
Special Features
Customer Reviews
Anyways, the books are masterpieces, the tv show is dated, but still great. This movie had perfect casting, but the tone kind of fell short and they left a lot of the source material out. great movie though and worthy of the hitchhikers name. could have been better, but still great.
I found it to be so unlike most run-of-the-mill comedies that are churned by Hollywood year after year. It was totally fresh and original, with a surprising amount of intelligence. The general tone of the humour reminds me slightly of The Monty Pythons, so if you enjoy the group's style, I'm sure you'll like this, too. Also, as a person with a passion for physics, I can't stop laughing at how the laws of physics are totally abused in this film! And the theme song with the dolphins... it's TOO funny!
The cast was absolutely fantastic. I adored Martin Freeman as the sweet but spineless Arthur Dent (yes, I do like my men sweet and spineless! ^_~), Zooey Deschanel is perfect as the bright and assertive Trillian (a great female role model; no doubt one of the very few who isn't turned into a sex object in the realm of sci-fi), Sam Rockwell's Zaphod Beeblebrox is wonderfully over-the-top as the incompetent and dim-witted President of the Galaxy, and Mos Def is fun as the cool, street smart Ford. Marvin (voiced by the legendary Alan Rickman) is the cutest robot I've ever seen and should be the posterboy for unipolar depression! (As a psychology student, I'd like to point out that he does NOT suffer from manic depression, a.k.a bipolar disorder. Douglas Adams and the screenwriters should've researched this a little bit more!)
In terms of extras, the DVD includes deleted scenes, fake deleted scenes (I wish they made more than two; they were REALLY side-splitting!), an additional guide entry, a sing along to "So Long and Thanks For All the Fish", a featurette, 2 audio commentaries and a Marvin's Hangman. I actually got addicted to the last one, and it's quite challenging because the word you have to solve is only 4 letters long.
So, over-all, I give this movie two (or three, if I had enough arms) big thumbs up! b^_^d
Every geek should have seen it, its a legendary plot.
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