Hitchhiker's Guide

Last night, after a good meal with friends, I settled down in a theater to watch the much anticipated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was opening night, and the theater was filled with rowdy Douglas Adams fans, many dressed in bathrobes and carrying a towel (needless to say, if you have not read the book this will make no sense to you). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is certainly one of the best and most insightful comedies ever written, and it's because of the large following the book has accumulated that the movie is so highly anticipated.

Based on the previews I was somewhat skeptical. It looked like they turned the book into a sci-fi action movie with lots of special effects......and that would kill the whole plotline, which depends not on action but on incisive commentary and ironic wit (in a dry, British, sarcastic sort of way) to keep the reader interested. Overall however, I thought the movie turned out pretty well. It left out a LOT from the book, but it kept the major events and in those it did not stray from the book much.

You know, I realized after seeing that movie that this is the kind of book that does not really lend itself to a movie format. Perhaps a tv series or something (the BBC gave it a noble try), but a movie ends up being disjointed. This is because a movie requires a solid plotline, a conflict and climax and resolution, etc. And this book does not have that......it's more like a rambling adventure of a Hitchhiker through the universe. Anyway, I thought that within that limitation a pretty good job was done. The acting was good, and Arthur Dent in particular was just as I imagined him. Good job there.