Friday, April 29, 2005

DON'T FORGET YOUR TOWEL: So, is the long-awaited movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy any good? Yeah. There are moments of both wonder (a fly-by sequence over "Earth Mark II"), Adams' droll humor (most of the "Guide" segments, which are animated in "international symbol" style), and reckless surrealism (an opening Broadway-esque number titled "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!"). But there are two big problems--both of which stem from the source material. First, there's really no conflict in the movie. Yes, there's an evil galactic leader (John Malkovich, in a performance that could easily be an unbilled cameo), and galactic president Zaphod Beeblebrox comes off as, well, kind of a dick, but neither are present enough as villains to drive the movie forward. Things happen, but they don't move a plot forward--they just meander. Second is where the humor comes from. Sure, the characters are ridiculous, but most of the humor in the book and in the movie stems from exposition. And most of that, by nature of the movie, has to go. Things are abridged (the "Deep Thought" storyline) only vaguely hinted at (the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster), or even deleted all together (the lengthy digital watches monologue, how the Babel Fish disproves the existence of God).

That said, the movie's still funny, and I'm interested in seeing how the movie's received by those who weren't fans of the various Hitchhiker mythos before the movie. However, for me, I think the radio and book versions have this one beat, despite some wonderful visual moments.

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