[Loy]

"Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy"-OK, so it's missing about 80% of the weird tangents (and of the ones they kept are cut short) and the end trip to the restaraunt at the end of the universe, and added in a love story and given the vogons a bigger role than the mini-series or the radio show (confession-I've never read the books. After listening to the radio show, and seeing the mini-series, I figured there'd be no point, and from what I understand from my more Adamsoid friends, there is none). Here's what it's got-

A-big production. No, I mean BIG production. I just couldn't possibly explain exactly HOW big the production values are....now, I normally don't give a rats ass about production values, but with some films, one cheesy special effect could cause the whole house of cards to fall, and in this case, the production crew went beyond the call of duty.

B-humor. It captures a lot of Adams' wacked sense of humor quite nicely for non-initiates and Adamsoids alike (and the few additions to the storyline are fucking hilarious as hell).

C-the cast. Every performer fits the character so perfectly. Martin Freeman (from "The Office") plays Mr Dent, Sam Rockwell as Beetlebrox, Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Alan Rickman doing the voice of Marvin, and Mos Def (aka the most beautiful man in the music industry) as the definitive Ford Prefect...now, some might be taken aback by the last statement about Mos being the definitive Ford (him being A-black, B-a hip-hop artist par excellence, and C-most definately NOT British)....trust me on this one, Mos Def is the definitive Ford Prefect.

All in all, the film does well enough on its own, and (more importantly) makes non-Adamsoids not only understand the greatness of "HHGTTG", but will make them want to check out the original mini-series and radio show (and, maybe, the books).