Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy purists may well despise the new film, but I don’t see how there can be such a thing as a HGG purist. Purist to what? The original BBC radio show? The books? The record? The TV series? Each different, each with story variations, each with its pluses and minus.
The pluses of the new film, which Kath and I saw this morning, is the look of it. Armed with sumptuous designs and the full might of Disney and the Henson Creature shop, HGG the movie has a budget and look to it that the makers of the TV series can only salivate over enviously.
The dialogue is kind of hit and miss, but it might seem that way to me because I’m familiar with the previous incarnations, and it’s difficult for me to step back and view it with an undiscerning eye. To me, the sequences that are most evocative of the source material are the Arthur/Slartibartfast scenes. Why? Two British actors. I understand that casting Brits wasn’t necessary save in the case of Arthur, but the moment you bring in Americans, the cadences are going to shift and the Adams dialogue isn’t going to work. So you have to rework the dialogue to match the Americans, and things can get a little schizo.
Which isn’t to say the film’s not well cast. It is. Martin Freeman is satisfyingly bewildered as Arthur, Zooey Deschanel–looking uncannily like a young Karen Allen–is lovable as Trillian, and Sam Rockwell’s Zaphod is a cross between prime Burt Reynolds and Elvis, guaranteeing a plethroa of Beeblebrox costumes at summer cons. The one problem is Mos Def as Ford Prefect. It’s not entirely his fault. Ford is the least formed, least interesting character in the story, serving mostly to be a guide and a foil. If you already know all the stuff Ford is going to explain, then that leaves him pretty dull. Which means you need a strong actor to instill the role with some of his own life and personality to beef things up. Mos Def, from my POV, brings nothing to the party. If they wanted to cast Ford with a black actor, fine. Craig Charles. Lenny Henry. Hëll, even Chris Tucker, Someone with strong comedic sensibilities which, if Mos Def has them, aren’t on display.
And in the absolutely perfect department are Alan Rickman providing the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android (admit it: The moment you found out about the casting, you could HEAR HIM saying, “Oh, God, I’m so depressed”; Stephen Fry as the ever calm voice of the book (accompanied by brilliant animated illustrations) and a cameo by Simon Jones, the original Arthur, as the recorded message from Magrathea. For the hardcore fans, in the additonal cameo department are appearances by everyone from Douglas Adams himself (good trick, that) to individuals from the TV series, including the original Marvin. The original theme music shows up, and even a rubber duck which–although I could be completely misremembering–I think was on an album cover. And stay through the credits for another famed book entry about halfway in.
There are different plot tracks that will no doubt incense those who have forgotten that every version of HGG has different plot tracks, and there’s a sort of ultimate weapon introduced that’s used to hilarious effect. And I don’t mind the Zaphod/Arthur/Trillian romance triangle, particularly when one remembers that Adams had Arthur hitting on Trillian at a party before Zaphod whisked her away, so it’s not as if the groundwork isn’t there.
A theme song “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” almost makes one wonder if Disney is trying to position this as their next Broadway musical endeavor. Since I’m reasonably sure musical theater is the one version that hasn’t been tried yet, I suppose it’s just a matter of time…which we all know to be an illusion, and lunchtime doubly so.
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