By Shawn Dwyer
Story
Ape descendant Arthur Dent (
Martin Freeman) gets yanked from the Earth by best friend and alien Ford Prefect (
Mos Def) seconds before a Vogon constructor fleet destroys it to make way for a hyperspace expressway. Next thing he knows, Arthur is aboard the Vogon ship, reading the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (voiced by
Stephen Fry) and wondering where he might get some tea. But he and Ford are not in the clear: the Vogons (some of whom look like the nightmarish drawings of Ralph Steadman come to life in S&M leather) want to throw them into the vacuum of space, right after they read some of the third worst poetry in the known universe. Luckily, the spaceship
Heart of Gold picks up the stranded hitchhikers in the nick of time. Stolen by the dim but groovy President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (
Sam Rockwell), the ship has an Improbability Drive that causes certain mischief, turning the stowaways into loveseats and later two missiles into a bowl of petunias and a sperm whale. Also onboard is doe-eyed Earth girl Tricia "Trillian" McMillan (
Zooey Deschanel), who previously ditched Arthur at a costume party on Earth to satisfy her wanderlust with Zaphod. The crew then embarks on a quest to find the Ultimate Question to Life, the Universe and Everything after supercomputer Deep Thought (voiced by Helen Mirren) found the answer: 42. On the run and without a home, Arthur discovers that life's true meaning comes from the answers found within.
Acting
The slapstick antics and sharp dialogue evoke enough laughs to make one forget that the characters are rather one-note.
Rockwell's Zaphod is a riot at first, but the cheeky smile and devilish winks soon wear thin.
Deschanel has little to work with playing Trillian, though it's fun watching her wield a point-of-view gun on Zaphod.
Mos Def mumbles some lines but does manage to act like someone from another planet.
Freeman does an amiable job playing the fish-out-of-water Earthman but neglects to express the grief and bewilderment of someone who just lost his planet. Even
John Malkovich as Humma Kavular--the spiritual leader of a cult awaiting the arrival of the Big Handkerchief--fails to make much of an impression in his brief appearance. Only
Alan Rickman as the perpetually glum robot Marvin and Bill Nighy as the stammering planet designer Slartibartfast remain funny without becoming routine--though unfortunately Nighy only appears in the third act. A half-cocked romance between Arthur and Trillian is thrown in for good measure, with the couple merely going through the motions.
Direction
Directed with considerable flair by first-timer
Garth Jennings, whose frantic visual style blends well with Adams' ironic wit, the film looks as good as can be. CGI is used to display Adams' universe in ways never seen before: The massive concrete slabs of the Vogon fleet surrounding Earth, the
Heart of Gold tricked out in 1960's Formica kitsch, the stark bureaucratic world of Vogosphere and the eye-popping factory floor on Magrathea are all vividly brought to life. Although the graphics of the
Guide look more like Internet pop-up ads than stellar entries from the best-selling book in the galaxy, the exposition from the
Guide is clever and amusing, though one should brush up on the material prior to viewing. Even with all the stunning visuals, however, the plot is still thin.
Jennings and screenwriter
Karey Kirkpatrick (
Chicken Run) have trimmed the story--and witty banter--to its barest essentials, leaving out some of the funnier bits to quicken the pace. Memorable exchanges--like the opening battle of wits between Arthur and Mr. Prosser--are reduced to a few meaningless lines, while the always hinted-at love affair between Arthur and Trillian gets the full Hollywood treatment. In the past, Adams, who died of a heart attack in 2001, has allowed the
Guide to change and progress with each incarnation, so new additions--like the point-of-view gun and the cult of the Big Handkerchief--are welcomed. But the patchwork of wacky vignettes and neutered banter, particularly between Arthur and Ford, leave one yearning for something more meaningful.