The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Imagine the madcap sensibilities of Monty Python applied to science fiction and you'll have an inkling of what to expect from the whimsically eccentric humor of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, based on the first volume of the late Douglas Adams' enormously successful series (which also spawned a radio serial and a TV miniseries). Just before the Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass, a nebbish Englishman named Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is rescued by an alien (Mos Def) he'd thought was a pal from Gilford. The film follows Dent's very reluctant and frequently absurd adventures in space, as he meets the insane, two-headed president of the galaxy (a manic Sam Rockwell), has run-ins with bilious, bureaucratic Vogons (nine-foot green goblins in pinstriped suits from Jim Henson's Creature Shop), and discovers that the Earth was really a big existential computer custom-built for philosophical mice. Featuring a substantial amount of original text from Adams' novel, director Garth Jennings is clearly a disciple of the author's daffy spirit, and while this odd, amusing, and visually inventive flick is neither a masterpiece of sci-fi nor comedy, it is quite a bit of fun. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with director Garth Jennings, producer Nick Goldsmith, and costars Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy; the other with producer Robbie Stamp and Sean Solle, a colleague of late author Douglas Adams), a “making-of” featurette (9 min.), three deleted scenes (3 min.), two “really deleted” scenes (3 min.), a sing-along to “So Long & Thanks for all the Fish” (3 min.), a brief additional hitchhiker's guide entry, “Marvin's Hangman Game,” and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fun flick.] (R. Blackwelder)