Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel
Have I Seen it Before: I’m fairly sure I had? Although, as the ending of this version of the story plays out, my memory felt a little fuzzy. That might have more to do with me having read the novel a few times over the years, and that version remains solid in my head.
Did I Like It: At the time of release, a number of sources questioned the casting of Mos Def as Ford Prefect, despite Adams himself saying that Arthur Dent (Freeman) was the only character who needed to be British. I don’t need to guess as to people’s objection to Mos Def, because it’s pretty obvious on the face of it, and I think he’s perfectly cast in the role, channeling a being of pure eccentricities through the film.
The problem is that Prefect is far too truncated in the context of a feature motion picture, so much so that he is delightfully daffy for the film’s opening minutes, and then is relegated to merely a passenger on board the Heart of Gold. It’s a real shame that the film felt the need to find some kind of restrictive structure for itself, and in doing so opted to be a romantic comedy film which could just as easily been titled When Arthur Met Trillian.
I’ve often thought that certain properties are best suited to certain formats. Batman is more at home in a monthly comic book. Star Trek is at its best on hour-long TV. Star Wars reaches its maximum potential in feature-length movies*. Hitchhiker’s is probably better off as either a radio series or in prose. Things are less limiting there.
*And can we be really honest? Only did so in its first two times at bat.