Posted on 04/28/2005 10:44:46 AM PDT by js1138
Starring: Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, John Malkovich, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman (voice), Stephen Fry (voice)
It opens with a perfectly choreographed dolphin musical number, and ends with the disembodied head of deceased author Douglas Adams. This is the long awaited adaptation of his novel, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” and as the dolphins flawlessly perform their rendition of “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” you’ll realize you’re in for one hell of a ride. Don’t panic. It only gets a little weirder.
(Excerpt) Read more at cinemablend.com ...
Great review! I can't wait to see it.
I took my 5yob and 9yob yesterday and saw it.
The short version is that I (who read the book and saw the TV show, and who wanted to like the movie) was quite disappointed, but the boys enjoyed it. Eye-candy, action, and some things that made them laugh.
Do you know the premise? Bit of a spoiler warning: read at your own risk. In 3, 2, 1....
I prepared them beforehand by telling them it would be a bit like Men in Black in that it would be funny, kind of scary here and there, and nobody you really cared about would get hurt. (It was less so, in that regard, than MiB.) I said it had one disastrous event that could never really happen, which we'd discuss afterwards.
They were fine. Your milage may vary.
Dan
Saw it last night with my daughter & her 6-year old son. My daughter had never read the book (I had). I enjoyed it, daughter thought it was funny although inscrutable (no surprise!). Grandson liked Marvin (robot), but was little bit bored at times.
Saw it Friday with a bunch of people. The consensus was that it was in the running for "Worst Film of the Year"
What did you think of it? I'd be hard-pressed to say why I was so disappointed, except to say that it just wasn't funny. I chuckled once or twice, smiled a very little, and most thought "Dang, why isn't this being more fun?"
As some professional reviewer said, the elements are there, it was fairly true to the sources... but it just lacked the fun of the original. I remember how funny "Why, is that the sort of thing you're likely to say?" was in the series. Here, it just seems dutiful, blows away in the wind.
Somehow, the crackle, the tickle, the spark of the original just isn't there, in spite of Sam Rockwell being great, Slartibartfast being really great, and the others being... adequate, at least. Effects good.
Just not very funny, and not very fun. But it's hard to say why.
And again I say not funny or fun *to me.* The single-digits liked it.
Dan
So you're gonna take your pain out on everyone else?
Let it go, man.
2J... I don't think there's anything that's inappropriate, it isn't scary, there's no bad language or sex. I think they may not get all the jokes, but they'll be entertained. It's fast moving. IMHO, even when the earth blows up. I can't imagine a child taking it seriously.
If/when you do go, tell me this... do you think the Zaphod B. actor is mimicking GWB in his language... I found it unmistakable that he was doing a GWB impersonation, not with his ~look~ obviously, but with the cadence of his language.
If you hated it, you are probably a closet communist.
Douglas Adams wrote this screenplay.
D'oh! Shhhhh, that was supposed to be our secret!
Now I'll have to tell about you and Maureen Dowd.
Dan
)c8<
PS -- and I assume that, true to tradition, you're commenting without having seen the movie?
Dan
(c;
He does have two heads, but they do it in a really funny way. It's worth seeing and well done. The opening musical sequence with the dolphins is worth the price of admission, but IMHO, the whole movie was really good. It's been years since I've read the book. Enough years that I can remember punch lines and sound bites but not really the plot, so I don't know how close the whole movie tracks the book. The parts that did were so right, that I remembered immediately and could have almost read along.
It was the pacing. Honestly, about halfway through the film I was wondering what was "off" about it. It flowed like chapters from a book rather than a movie. Once I realized that, I was able to enjoy it further.
Adams did have quite a bit to do with the screenplay, and I think he might have made a few changes, but not many.
He was once asked if the film would be made for his British fans or for American movie goers. He said American movie goers, there were more of them. When the British reporter protested that as many Brits would go to see it as Americans, he responded that the reporter better get busy making more Brits if he believed that to be true.
Proudly Reviewing Movies Without Having Seen Them Since 1979.
I didn't realize you hadn't read the books! The only warning I ~might~ give then is that Douglas Adams was unabashadly atheist and Darwinist.... and he makes the point several times that really, as it turns out, life has no point. The earth is not made by God, but mice, in a huge factory. The earth is really a great computer intended to find the question, but it's blown up before the whole program could run, so we'll never know. I'm only saying this because it's something you may want to discuss or think about... it's not a film they should take seriously, it's a comedy, but it will tell them things that don't agree with your faith.
Tangentially, Friday my 18yob and I saw Kung Fu Hustle, and laughed quite a bit. If you saw and enjoyed Shaolin Soccer -- this is better. Chow pulls out all the stops trying to drop your jaw and make you laugh, and mostly succeeds. I only regret the very last scene; if it had ended with the immediatley-receding, I'd've gone out happier. Maybe it's an Asian-humor thing. But still, very fun time, very energetic and electric. More of that spirit and pacing would have made HG more fun.
Dan
Mm-hmm.
I absolutely agree. Even though the twang and pace he used wasn't consistent, it was clearly intended to sound like W at certain points. I really didn't see it as anything offensive, just playing to a cowboy stereotype.
The other thing I couldn't help noticing was how much the actress who played Trillium (sp?) looked like a brunette Meg Ryan, not just her eyes, but also her facial expressions. Not being familiar with the books, I saw the storyline afresh with no expectations. I enjoyed it, and can see watching it again to pick up on some of the throwout pieces that I wasn't prepared for.
I am glad you saw it too! Others sortof looked at me crossways when I said it. I thought Zaphod was hilarious... especially when I heard him as impersonating W.
We'll buy it when it comes out to see it again. There's a lot of jokes in the books that you get the second time around... and they were in the film too.
I like Trillian's performance too, and she does have the intent conversationalist personality similar to Meg Ryan.
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