The Hitchhiker's Snoozer

The wife and I went out last night to see the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which received a favorable review by Captain Ed. While my sister-in-law saw it on opening night and loved it, we hated it. Of the two of us, I, the Anglophile and British humor addict, am the only one who read the books. Normally, I am not one who will say, "I liked the book but hated the movie." I grasp the fact that literature and cinema are two very different art forms and that movies based on books should be judged as entirely separate works of art. Nevertheless, I am saying that now.

The appeal of the books for me lies in the narration, which is almost entirely lost in the movie. Since the books and the movie have a wholly naturalistic plot, which is to say, no plot at all, the movie fails to do anything but generate an occasional laugh.

This gets my first "F." I thought about a "D" on the strength of the hilarious portrayal of the Vogons, but any producer with decent special effects support could have pulled that off. Hell, I dozed off three times! My wife thought twice about asking to leave early, but happened to look at me when I was awake each time. Since she thought I was enjoying myself, she regrettably kept her mouth shut.

Stay away unless you are a fanatical devotee of the books and would just love to see any of it on film. Otherwise, you're wasting your time on a plotless movie that tends to showcase only the worst, most nihilistic aspects of British humor.

-- CAV