Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) by Brett W — 20 Sep 2010

A massively frustrating work, owing in large part to the script, credited to the late Douglas Adams (writer of the original books) and Karey Kirkpatrick. Exactly how much of the final film represents Adams' work and how much is re-writing after his death (four years before the film's release) is unclear, but an executive producer noted: "The script we shot was very much based on the last draft that Douglas wrote....All the substantive new ideas in the movie...are brand new Douglas ideas written especially for the movie by him...(Source: Wikipedia)". Therein lies a major problem, especially for fans of the book, but also for newcomers. Adams' major additions are the character of Humma Kavula and the Point-of-View Gun, and while Humma is well-played by John Malkovich, with a sense of smug genius that's quite amusing, his appearance merely complicates a plot which was, in the original novel (perhaps in the radio show and plays as well), fairly straight-forward. The P.O.V. Gun is a fairly weak gimmick, and that its use (mild spoilers) is an important part of the finale gives the overall conclusion an especially limp feeling. A major subplot involving Questular Rontok, VP of the Galaxy, which is meant to give the film some kind of driving force, is so badly integrated with the rest of the story the whole is, from a narrative standpoint, a total mess. Whether Adams or Kirkpatrick is to blame (and it's entirely possible that Kirkpatrick, out of reverence to Adams, left the draft mostly untouched), the film is so disjointed it's hard to imagine it being approved for release.

This is a shame, as so much of the rest of the film is good, in parts even great. The cast is largely fine: Martin Freeman is an ideal Everyman, and fits Arthur Dent to a tee, while Mos Def's easy-going, personable style makes him a solid Ford Prefect; unfortunately, he seems to fade into the background after the first third. Sam Rockwell's daffy, spacey approach to Zaphod Beeblebrox seems a little odd--Zaphod should really be shrewder--but he's fun to watch. Zooey Deschanel, while appealing, isn't much of an actress, and her brand of smug free-spiritedness feels wrong for Trillian, and her accent (presumably Californian) is markedly grating. Alan Rickman, however, is perfect as the voice Marvin the Paranoid Android, ladling on the gloom and doom of the robot's personality to hilarious effect. Warwick Davis, who actually plays Marvin, brings a great deal of personality with the use of a mouth or even moving eyes; it's all in the body, and Davis does well indeed. Stephen Fry's droll narration also helps, giving a consistency to the film that the narrative fails to provide. In a smaller role, Bill Nighy is solid as the great architect, Slartibartfast.

From a technical standpoint, the film is also excellent. Jim Henson's Creature Shop created a number of animatronics and creature suits, scoring especially with the wonderfully grotesque Vogons. Joel Collins' production design is varied and attractive, and nicely shot by Igor Jadue-Lillo. The special effects are great throughout, and in this respect, the world of the stories is brought wonderfully to life. Joby Talbot's score is fine, and the theme song "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish" is ridiculously catchy.

Garth Jennings' direction, at least in individual scenes, is fine, and in one especially striking moment, he has the point-of-view pull back, in a series of dramatic cuts, to go from Arthur and Ford standing on the doomed Earth, to show the massive size of one Vogon destructor ship, to show the thousands of Vogon ships which are assembled to destroy the planet. That he can't really make the narrative flow (and in spots, the timing seems decidedly off) disappoints, but there are good things to be had.

As there is with much of the movie, which, in its individual scenes, is often a great deal of fun. British humor, at its best, is about as funny a thing as can be imagined, and the science-fictional whimsy on display here is often quite amusing (and British) indeed. But the pieces don't fit, and it's hard to recommend to the film to any but forgiving fans of the Guide.