FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Arthur Dent’s house is about to be torn down to make way for a new highway. In order to stop that from happening, he lays down in front of the bulldozer in protest. His friend Ford Prefect comes along and pulls him away on urgent business. He tells Arthur that Earth is about to be essentially torn down to make way for an interstellar highway. They can’t exactly lie in front of that bulldozer, so Ford (now revealed as an alien) hitches a ride on a spaceship to escape. There is no home to go to, but maybe if they hop on the right ship, they can find a new place to settle. It’ll sure be interesting for Arthur either way, as long as he survives.

Based off a book that’s based off a radio series, “Hitchhiker’s Guide” finally makes its way to the big screen. The late Douglas Adams, author and co-writer (with Karey Kirkpatrick – “Chicken Run,” “The Little Vampire”), brings his trademark wit to this latest incarnation. Huge fans of British comedic styling should greatly appreciate this humor, even if they don’t laugh at it all the time. Most of the jokes you find here aren’t laugh out loud funny. The situations and the dialogue are so deeply satirical and dry that you’ll find the film more internal. There are some jokes that will provide something of an outburst, but mostly it’s just insanely clever – emphasis on the insane.

It’s hard to really get the comedic juices flowing when every character is essentially a straight man. When you have a cast full of Hardys, it would help to have a couple Laurel’s to even it out. The most comparable to this would be Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox. His portrayal as leader and rockstar of the universe (with a second, hidden head) isn’t just brilliant comedy, it’s also brilliant acting. However, my favorite character is the clinically depressed robot Marvin, voiced by the great Alan Rickman. His self-deprecating quips come at just the right times. Mos Def also displays surprisingly apt delivery as Ford.

I also love the fact that the creatures and robots are actual physical things. And they built sets! Hooray for old-fashioned movie making. The enemy clan of bureaucratic ogre like things called Vogons look amazing thanks to the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Marvin is a guy in a suit (Warwick Davis to be precise). This just adds so much more to the overall enjoyment of the film, because the dynamics and interactions between these creatures and the human actors are actually happening. This should happen much more frequently.

Despite all this, the movie fails to really deliver much of a punch or impact. There’s just not enough there to really get you enthralled or excited about what’s going on in front of you. I would have loved to see more done with the guide entries, as well. The biggest thing holding us back is that although the general emotions of Arthur (Martin Freeman, the BBC series “The Office”) are recognizable and relatable, he as a person is not. It’s shocking that the love story works as well as it does, considering I didn’t give a mouse’s (or whale’s) crap what happened to either of them. I just wanted to see cool stuff happen in a funny way. To an extent I was pleased. After an abrupt ending, the film just wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been. Hopefully they’ll make a sequel that works better.

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