Fuddland

Mostly entertaining.

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I liked it. I’m not going to moan [too much] all about the bits I loved from the other versions that are missing from this one, or the new bits that we’re not really sure about, and just say that I think the movie isn’t an unwelcome addition to the Hitchhiker family by any means.

I must admit to a certain glee at being one of the people who “got” the in-jokes, such as the TV series version of Marvin popping up in the queue on Vogsphere; the appearance of Simon Jones [the original Arthur Dent] as the ghostly voice from Magrathea’s past confirmed that the people involved in this version had the right amount of respect and admiration for the previous incarnations.

We could have done with a bit more background on Trillian; unless I missed it, there was no mention of her degrees in maths and astrophysics to help explain how she seemed to be quite at ease at the controls of The Heart of Gold [it would have been nice to have someone else show the general public that mathematicians can look pretty damn sexy, I’m rather tired of doing it all myself]. But unlike a lot of reviews I’ve read, I was fine with the newly-elevated status of the bizarre love triangle between her, Arthur and Zaphod.

The film is a visual treat, and used to great effect, not just to impress — the staggered-zoom out from the Earth revealing the Vogon’s ships had me giggling for its entire duration. I do feel that it erred on the side of visuals over dialogue, which is a pity as up until now it has of course been Douglas Adams’s writing that was the entire attraction to the series. For example, near the beginning, when Arthur’s house is about to be demolished, the original exchange between Arthur and the foreman went like this:

Mister Prosser

But Mister Dent the plans have been available in the planning office for the last nine months!

Arthur Dent

Yes! I went round to find them yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to pull much attention to them have you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything.

Mister Prosser

The plans were on display.

Arthur Dent

Ah! And how many members of the public are in the habit of casually dropping around the local planning office of an evening?

Mister Prosser

Er — ah!

Arthur Dent

It’s not exactly a noted social venue is it? And even if you had popped in on the off-chance that some raving bureaucrat wanted to knock your house down, the plans weren’t immediately obvious to the eye were they?

Mister Prosser

That depends where you were looking.

Arthur Dent

I eventually had to go down to the cellar!

Mister Prosser

That’s the display department.

Arthur Dent

With a torch!

Mister Prosser

The lights had probably gone.

Arthur Dent

So had the stairs!

Mister Prosser

Well you found the notice didn’t you?

Arthur Dent

Yes. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard”. Ever thought of going into advertising?

In the movie, the same scene goes roughly like this:

Mister Prosser

Well you found the notice didn’t you?

Arthur Dent

I had to go down to the cellar!

Now I know there’s only so much you can cram into a two-hour film, and things have to be cut, but maybe they could leave one or two more of the jokes in? Having said that, the new parts they did add, I have no complaints about — the whole sequence on Vogsphere was particularly excellent — and I’d have no qualms about going to see a sequel or two.

#1

Kav | 2005 / 05 / 03 – 10:34

I cannot believe that I haven’t yet been to see it. I must be getting old…

#2

David | 2005 / 05 / 04 – 18:01

Don’t forget that the final radio series started this week too.

#3

Ade | 2005 / 05 / 04 – 18:36

I have been to see it and generally agree with your comments. I am perhaps slightly more annoyed about the cutting out of certain parts, and maybe slightly even more annoyed about the pointless extra bits that were made up. But in general I liked it…

#4

kazza | 2005 / 05 / 05 – 10:44

I thoroughly enjoyed it too. No complaints about the new stuff, the only things I think they should have included were where they talked about the entry for the earth, and the significance of carrying a towel around.

#5

David | 2005 / 05 / 05 – 15:04

Re #4: Good point, I guess they didn’t explain the importance of towels did they? It’s tricky to remember what wasn’t included when you know the story so well!

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