Drove down to Huntington Beach to visit Matt at his new place. After lunch, we went to catch a matinee of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’m a big fan (but not rabidly so) of the original BBC Radio dramas, and the books, and the television show. So, I was looking forward to the film, but with some hesitation. I had interviewed the composer, Joby Talbot, already, and so I got a bit of a perspective on his approach before I even saw it. But, now I’ve seen it.
This will be a rather brief entry. Not because I don’t have plenty to say, but rather because the movie is already out, and so writing a review just doesn’t seem as important! While the movie has plenty of funny moments, there are a lot of things that just don’t make much sense to people who don’t have the benefit of having read the books/listened to the radio shows/etc. As such, some of the jokes fall flat, or feel gutted. The storyline is simplified, and in the end, the movie is just so-so. I like the casting – I feel it was wonderfully set up, but the delivery and execution of the humorous material needed a bit more punchiness. This film had the potential to have a lot of belly laughs, but instead ended up with just a few smirks and chuckles.
In a nutshell, this was a valiant attempt at making a movie version of a concept that took 20 years to come to the screen. It’s not perfect by any means, but it certainly will provide enough entertainment value for a video rental. But you should also check out the television series, available on DVD. Rent it beforehand.