Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I went and saw the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie last night with my son, my ex-girlfriend (read: my son's mother), and her other son. I read the book series sometime between sixth and eighth grades, which was about twenty years ago. I still fondly remember some things from the books, but I'm not a rabid expert at this point so I won't concentrate on what was/wasn't left out of the books in the making of the movie.

I've read other reviews that painted a less-than-enthusiastic picture, anything from the sets being "elaborately absurd" to the film being overly "uneven". For the most part, I liked it. We went to the 7:30 pm show and, despite the movie being nearly two hours in length and not a cartoon, my four-year-old son stayed awake and interested throughout the entire thing. He was cracking up laughing during some scenes.

I was surprised at how much I remembered. When the Vogon poetry was being read, I actually still knew the words-- "O freddled gruntbuggly...". Back in school, we used to recite this little passage to each other on a daily basis and I had completely forgotten about it. So there were some nostalgic moments for me to which most others in the crowd were probably indifferent. I thought the whole "Always carry a towel" concept was vastly underdone in the movie, though.

Ford Prefect was-- well-- perfect; he was precisely what I had imagined when I read the books. Zaphod Beeblebrox was obviously doing a George Bush impression throughout, and it fit quite well. Arthur Dent seemed kinda flat to me, but not in the intentional way you might be imagining-- maybe just underdeveloped. The Vogons were rendered very well. Probably just me, but I couldn't stand Marvin's voice and I am definitely not a Zooey Deschanel fan, who played Trillian.

For those who aren't familiar, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an improbable romp through the universe, which began with the demolition of Earth. Arthur Dent was plucked from the doomed planet by his best friend and alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect, whose life he had himself saved years earlier. They hitch a ride on a hostile spaceship, are ejected into space, and then saved by another friendlier, stolen one operated by Arthur's girlfriend and the President of the Galaxy. The President, Zaphod Beeblebrox, is in search of The Ultimate Question and takes them on a journey to get it.

In the end, I thought the movie was very entertaining but probably should've been longer to fit everything in appropriately. My ex-girlfriend said it was "OK", but she liked the book series much better. Her nine-year-old son was inspired enough to say he's going to get the first book at the library this week. Our four-year-old son liked it a lot, and was full of questions both throughout the movie and afterwards.

Recommended?: YES

Score: 7 Oxes.

-Ox.