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Sunday, May 08, 2005The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyFinally saw the new Hitchhiker flick. Very nice. Above all else, it managed to avoid confirming my worst fears about what Hollywood would do with it. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the film, at least from where I was sitting, was the Python influence. The opening number, "So long and thanks for all the fish" was in the spirit of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," from Life of Brian, while the chasing of Vogons with a towel simultaneously evoked the ridiculous terror caused by the Knights who say Nih and the screams of King Arthur's men as they fled the killer rabbit. According to the credits, Adams was one of the two screenwriters. That was obligatory. More surprisingly, a fair amount of the script seemed to fit him, if not the Hitchhiker story known to fans of any of the previous incarnations of the series. The Pythonesque bits fit this to a tee. More dubious is a certain romantic interest that unfolds during the film. I won't mention who is involved or how things unfold, lest fans of older series who haven't seen the film simply renounce doing so. But I will note that it's in keeping with Adams' observation that Mostly Harmless had turned out to present a rather bleak view of Life, the Universe and Everything, including love, due to problems in his own life, and that he would have steered things in a cheerier direction if he had it to do over again. The biggest problem with the picture should not be one for Hitchhiker fans, but for those who are new to the experience. The film is a bit disjointed in places, leaping between in-jokes that follow in logical sequence if you know the structure of the Hitchhiker mythos but which lack logical connection for those new to the story. One expects the purists and the novices to be equally taken aback, then, while those who enjoyed the earlier incarnations for their wit, their cynicism and their earnestness - but not too much - will be delighted with what is two parts cheesy spacy opera, but one part hopeful story of the last earthman and his quest for hope. 
posted by gbarto at 11:10 PM |
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