'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy': Fans deserved better
by Phil Kloer

It's tough to tell who will be crankier about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" when they leave the theater: Fans of the revered cult sci-fi parody by the late Douglas Adams will be wondering "How could they?"; folks who just wandered in on a whim will be thinking "What was that?" This is one of those tone-deaf adaptations where they use the characters, parts of the plot and even some words from a famous book, and create something that feels nothing remotely like the book. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

FILM FACTS ...
Touchstone Pictures
'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'

Director: Garth Jennings
Starring: Bill Bailey, Anna Chancellor, Warwick Davis, Martin Freeman, John Malkovich
Run time: 110 minutes
Release date: April 29, 2005
Rating: PG for thematic elements, action and mild language.
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READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: C-
"Keep your expectations as low as Marvin the Paranoid Android and maybe its bits of Monty Pythonesque humor will shine through the clunkiness."

Austin American-Statesman: 2 of 5 stars
"Fans will blanch at nearly everything — from the joke-killing theme song to a plot sellout that's too demoralizing to even discuss."

Dayton Daily News: B-
"The Hitchhiker's Guide still plays best on radio or the printed page, where your imagination is given free rein. But the film version isn't bad, especially compared to the BBC TV series or, even worse, Vogon poetry."

The Middletown Journal: C+
"Even though I laughed at many of the jokes and admired the very British quirkiness of the story, it's a major problem when every single one of the humanoid characters, save two, are either dull as dust or annoying as nails on a blackboard."

The Palm Beach Post "Flick Chick"
"Even at its uneven moments, it was fascinatingly weird enough, in a touching, breathlessly droll way, that made it impossible not to love. And I don't love much."


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