THE HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (2005) **1/2 They don't have a chance at all, and it's slim to none. There's no hope whatsoever, which is when hopelessness seizes the reins in its redemptive fury. The opening musical number is exquisite stuff, worthy of Mozart in a silly mood, or Monty Python. It struck me, years before this film was made, that it could be almost a perfect novel for film adaptation. The spirit of the thing is more visual than literary, and the situations perfect for really cheap sets. Garth Jennings got all that, too, and against my fears wasn't hamstrung by a big budget. Instead its grandiosity is a thing of intergalactic beauty. You can go back and forth about the book. Is Douglas Adams' novel great, or isn't it? It's fun to read, has a message, and leaves you satisfied. There are many here among us who prefer to read things that make them suffer, assure them that there are no messages, and leave them balmier than they went in. So it's a matter of taste, I think. I'm not saying that I maintained a sustained sense of flabbergastedness by brilliance, but that I was still hanging in there with a smile on my face when things wrapped up. The poetry bit is sublime, and what more can you ask of poetry? Oh, more sure, but how often do you get it?
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