The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

August 19, 2006

Meh.

I guess I’m just not dorky enough to “get” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I “get” British comedy, I don’t think that’s the problem. I like The Office, Monty Python and Ab Fab. I even laugh at Benny Hill. I think that I must have a fundamental issue with British Sci Fi. I cannot stand Dr. Who and Red Dwarf just bores me to tears. It’s all so pretentious – don’t get me wrong, ALL Sci Fi is pretentious on some level, but British Sci Fi is like adding insult to injury. They insist on making everything so…cute. Dolphins…cute. Mice…cute. Towels…cute.

Martin Freeman played the bland everyman to a tee. He’s a bit typecast right now, I’m watching his next move. I was also not surprised by Sam Rockwell – he’s good in everything. Mos Def’s performance was most definitely a big surprise. I’m used to him being hilarious on Chappelle’s Show, but he’s popping up in more and more movies. I think he’s got a shot at shrugging off the “rapper slash actor” label and becoming known as an “actor.”

John Malkovich was criminally underused. He was only in the film for like 5 minutes, if that. More Malkovich would have meant less boredom.

Even though he was voiced by Alan Rickman, it was really Warwick Davis inside Marvin, the Paranoid Android. Davis must have a total lockdown on all big budget movies that require a little person. He better watch his back, Deep Roy is gaining fast.

At least now I know the origin of all the little Hitchhiker’s Guide references that I’ve been hearing for years. I never found it particularly funny when someone answered “42” as a response to a serious question. After watching the movie, it’s even less so. I’m a big fan of Babelfish. I use it all the time, most recently to translate the lyrics to Lady Marmalade. Paranoid Android is no longer just a Radiohead song and Trillian isn’t just a messaging program.

This movie gave me a headache that did not go away until the middle of the next day. Watch at your own risk.