Today’s quick review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), an awkward, normal British man, narrowly escapes the demolition of Earth by galactic bureaucrats when his friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def), an alien hitchhiker with a zen outlook on life, whisks him away. Their flight takes them to The Heart of Gold, an improbable spaceship piloted by Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), the vain, erratic president of the galaxy, and Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), a daring Earth woman who has a history with Arthur. Zaphod, pursued by the government for stealing The Heart of Gold and kidnapping himself, leads them on a galaxy-spanning quest to find the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Along the way, they meet a host of colorful robots and aliens, including Marvin, a depressed android (Warwick Davis, voiced by Alan Rickman); Humma Kavula (John Malkovich), Zaphod’s eerie political rival; Deep Thought (Helen Mirren), an enormous supercomputer; and Questular Rontok (Anna Chancellor), Zaphod’s enamored vice-president.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a delightfully surreal science fiction comedy about the destruction of Earth, the banality of life, and the secrets at the heart of the universe. Adapted from the best-selling book by Douglas Adams, the movie shuffles the plot and characters quite a bit from the source material while preserving the spirit of the work and many of its jokes. Martin Freeman plays Arthur Dent, a British everyman who is baffled by the illogic of the world around him. His fear of the unknown keeps him from having a successful relationship with Trillian despite their chemistry, and overcoming this fear is a major theme throughout the movie. Mos Def nails the offbeat character of Ford Prefect, a friendly man who is out of place on Earth but right at home in the weirdness of outer space. Sam Rockwell cuts loose as Zaphod Beeblebrox, bringing all the energy and egotism that the fugitive president deserves. Zooey Deschanel rounds out the main cast as Trillian, the sanest member of the crew, whose thirst for adventure takes her out of England and into space. The main story is periodically interrupted by animated excerpts from the eponymous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, comedic facts about the universe that are narrated by Stephen Fry.
Fans of science fiction and wacky British humor should give The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a watch. Its jokes capture an absurd outlook on life, where the universe is a fundamentally petty place full of bureaucrats, snafus, and the idiosyncrasies of human life writ large. At the same time, The Hitchhiker’s Guide affirms the science fiction spirit of wonder and adventure. Not every joke lands, but great source material, coupled with enthusiastic actors and unfettered creativity, leads to plenty of silly fun. Douglas Adams fans looking for a direct adaptation of the book may be disappointed. The changes are disorienting, but they do help the movie stand on its own, especially the parts that can be done on the silver screen that cannot be done in the pages of a book. While not as good as the original, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a funny, enjoyable watch with a great cast and a slew of good jokes.
6.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for quality and a 7.5 for charm.