rdewald's Journal: Hitchhiker's Guide is the suck.

I made a rare visit to a movie theater this evening to see HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I regret it.

I loved the books. I can quote long passages by heart. My only complaint about the books is that there are so few of them and they are so short. Adams was a brilliant satirist, a true comedic artist, but his Art was prose, not dialog, and those who made this movie just threw up their hands at this problem.

The result is like Saturday Night Live was after the 70's cast left. It should be funny. People are saying funny things....

The books would have me doubled over in pain in laughter, the movie just made me nostalgic for reading the books. Other people in this upper west side Manhattan movie theater were laughing, but I don't think I ever did.

If this movie can make someone who has not read the books interested in reading them, then it has redeeming qualities. Apart from this potential evangelic function, I have to say there's little to recommend to a *real* fan of the books. The guy that does Ford is pretty good, Arthur is a bit too Tom Hanks-ish for my taste, but they turned Zaphod into a lead singer for a hair band. Trillian is again too Angelina Joile for the role.

That's really the problem, they took a film that clearly wasn't working and pimped it up for today's movie market. They tilt the casting and performance toward an audience: there's a bit of romance here, a bit of male-bonding there, a bit of Oprah-esque feminine empowerment around this corner, a bit of Dilbert-esque salve for the cube-rat around that corner.

So, people will see this film. It will probably make some money because so much of it was CGI. The Vogons, by the way, were probably the most surprisingly excelllent rendering of Adams' work in the film. They were excellent. The visual protrayal actually deepened my contact with those characters, so it wasn't all bad. This was the subversive Adams, his spiritual kinship with Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, the comedic social comment. That was very well done, but it doesn't carry the flick.

It's sad, but not that sad. Take the money you would spend on a couple of tickets to this movie and go buy the trilogy. Read it. It's hilarious and brilliant. Skip the movie.

but adams liked this script

[NeMon'ess]

or what was close to it before he died. do you think it's just not possible to make a two hour movie out of the books? the BBC did a good job of it, but it was a mini-series.

Re:but adams liked this script

[gmhowell]

And Adams had a rather heavy hand in the BBC version, IIRC.

RD:

his Art was prose, not dialog,

This may be the most insightful element I've seen in a criticism of the movie. Haven't yet pondered it, but it may be a clue, and certainly something to reflect upon.

another opinion

[naoursla]

I really liked the movie. Purportedly, Adams liked to reimagine HG2G for each medium. I tried to approach holding nothing sacred.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Never read it.

[Some Woman]

That movie was the best one I've seen in years. And it's not just that I've seen bad movies.

Perhaps I'll have to read THHGTTG.

Thanks

[YTYTYTYTYTY]

For saving me a trip and eight bucks.

PS, I delivered your message to G.

C.