"Don't Panic"

So I went and saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy this afternoon. It was...better than I thought it'd be. They didn't excise all the humor out of it (as I'd heard and thus feared they might), but they did alter the story in significant and sometimes head-scratching ways.

One of the key differences--and Ev was the first to mention it, and I have to agree with his assessment--is that they altered the focus of the humor. Part of the joke in Hitchhiker's, whether it was the book, radio play, or old BBC TV show, was that it made fun of the British for being so...well, British, really. Everyone was always so serious about everything--Arthur was unnecessarily serious about anything and everything he encountered, Ford was ridiculously serious about his research for the Guide (well, sort of), and Zaphod was serious about never being serious and having a wild time. These characters were typical Brits--stoic and impassive. Sure, Arthur got upset by every single thing that happened to him, but the thing that most upset him about his entire ordeal was that he couldn't get a decent cup of tea.

The movie shifts this focus--it's about Americans now. Well, except Arthur--he's still very much British (in fact, one of my favorite lines in the movie was when he said, "Leave this to me. I'm British--we know how to queue"). But Ford, Zaphod, Trillian--all Americans, really. Ford is like that friend you have who would be an excellent middle manager--he attempts to be accomodating and friendly to everyone in a vague, naive sort of way. He keeps offering to give people hugs, because that's what you do when people are having a bad day. Zaphod is...well, he's what we'll end up electing as our next president, if the current one is any indication. And Trillian falls into the almost cliched strong-woman-on-the-outside-type that we seem to favor in heroines these days.

So, was the movie itself good? Well, it was okay. It was pleasant. It had funny moments, especially the opener (where the dolphins sing "So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish"). But the ending annoyed the hell out of me (it's not supposed to have a happy ending--that runs contrary to being British! But then again, this isn't British. A pity, too). It was too contrived, and it really didn't jive with the rest of the movie, I didn't think. Neither did the scene where they met Humma, the religious leader and former campaign opponent of Zaphod. That whole scene really existed just to set up the ending, and neither was really necessary. But not everything they inserted into this version was bad--the stuff on Vogsphere was excellent and really fit the tone of the previous Hitchhiker's stuff.

The movie was neither an excellent adaptation nor a totally crappy one. It fell somewhere in the middle--bits were good, other bits weren't so good. I'm sorta ambivalent about it. I'm sure I'll end up purchasing the DVD when it comes out, and maybe they'll include some bits (such as the "the Babel fish is proof of God's non-existence" bit in the Guide, which they lead you up to but never actually give you) that should've been in the theatrical release. I really think this is one of those movies that would benefit from a "Director's Cut" DVD, assuming they even bothered to create some of the scenes I'm thinking of. So if you've got seven bucks and a couple of hours to kill, go check it out--it's at least worth seeing, I think.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Ryan Adams, "This Is It"