Touchstone Pictures
Arthur (Martin Freeman) has a beautiful flat in the English countryside. He has no intention of allowing anyone to tear it down, not for a bypass or anything else. While lying in front of a bulldozer, his protest in interrupted when his good friend Ford (Mos Def) shows up with a shopping cart of beer and peanuts, a attempt to distract the workers and Arthur. Bigger things are about to go down than Arthur’s flat. The Vogons, the bureaucrats of the galaxy, are going to destroy the Earth to build an intergalactic bypass no less. Ford grabs Arthur a towel, sticks his finger toward the sky and hitches a ride just before Earth explodes into dust, good thing Ford has read the guide!
The story of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has crossed many media formats, originally a book written by Douglas Adams, which was then the basis for a radio show, then a TV series on BBC, and finally a film. The common denominator in all these incarnations is the special wit and sense of humor that Adam’s has given to the characters, the environments, basically every aspect of the story is uniquely Douglas. Contrary to popular belief, humans are only the third smartest creatures on the planet; dolphins are number two (which is why they “left” the planet before it was destroyed) and number one is … is something you have to watch the film to find out.
Along with Arthur and Ford for the ride is an entire cast of characters with their own agendas. Patricia McMillan, a.k.a Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), is a beautiful young woman that Arthur had met at a party- and totally blew it with. She ran off in a spaceship with Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), the current President of the Galaxy. Will they be able to avoid the Vogons to learn the answer to the Ultimate Question? Can Zaphod learn to control the not so presidential sides of his personality? Will Arthur ever get to change out of his pajamas and find a descent cup of tea? Will Trillian ever learn that she and Arthur are the last humans alive? What does 42 mean?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is rated PG for thematic elements, action and mild language and provides an offbeat view of creation, one in which God had little to nothing to do with. However in no way can this be viewed as point of view that should be taken seriously. Nothing about this movie should be taken seriously, but enjoyed for the fresh, satirical humor and insane settings. Part Sci-fi and part Comedy, this film is the answer when there is nothing good on TV, when you can’t think of a movie to watch. It is a movie that, for those who can appreciate its humor, will quickly become a favorite go to DVD and will have you quoting lines from it after the first time you watch it.
For more info:
IMDB Page
Wikipedia for the film
Wikipedia for the book - and links to the subsequent books in the series
Wikipedia for the TV series on BBC
Wikipedia for the radio series
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