taleya: (Waffle)
[personal profile] taleya
OK, I did it.. Despite my trepidations and the deep feeling I had that it would be liking watching my pet kitten get anally raped....I watched the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.

I shall put this up with a waffle icon as soon as I can find where I put the bloody waffle icons the gorgeous [livejournal.com profile] madscot made for me....




Ok. There are two ways to look at this film. One is rather nice, the other...not so nice.

Just to explain. I grew up on Hitch Hikers. It's one of the many BBC Series that were the staple viewing diet of my childhood. And more. I remember taping the Radio Plays as a kid (And still have them!) I grew up reading the books - hell, every book I own is an original cover, I went out and bought Mostly Harmless at a gift shop in Sorrento as soon as it came out on paperback (I was 13!). The first ever hormonal stirring of "oh...oh... i like that...I don't know what this feeling is, but I like it" was courtesy of David Dixon. (Shut up, I was five. And those eyes still do it for me)

Bear all this in mind. I'm bearing this in mind as I write this, but I know it will still colour my perceptions.

What did I think of it? It struck me as, if anything, the kindest thing I can say in relation to the whole Hitchikers universe, as a childs version. Packaged up, dumbed down, and aimed at kids. A fun romp. It's definitely Adams, oh hell it's loaded with Pure Adams, but it's a kid's version. (I'm not slamming him at all. Eh, I didn't like Dirk Gently, different fish for different bears, and all that) And while it may be a great intro for kids, as a 27 year old adult with all that blabbering I stuck in the introductory paragraph in my mind....I was disappointed. Very disappointed.

It's an explosion of hollywood, with a loose, jumbled plotline trying to follow the original, failing miserably and stuffing a few romantic subplots in for reasons that completely escape me. And Mos Def? You are not Ford Prefect.

The new take on Trillian was rather good - Adams himself has stated he's not good at writing female characters. I'm guessing his co-writer expanded that bit, or he's definitely beefed up on it (Mostly Harmless and the Quandry/Quintessential Phases suggest slightly the latter with Tricia, but Trillian still got raw'ed.) But Trillian/Arthur? She wants excitement. She wants to explore. to escape a dull life. He just wants somewhere quiet and a good cup of tea. He likes mediocre.

Zaphod on crack? ok, that DID crack me up. Rockwell did a fucking good job there. I liked that.

One thing? Ok, i'm a sad sad fangirl, but THE THEME Yes, I squealed quite loudly when the original radio theme got played :D In fact I'm quite sure I scared the shit out of the rats. I got terribly excited at just hearing strains that hinted at it, then went nuts when it started in full. And I grinned at the original Marvin in the queue, and Simon Jones got due applause and hoots of "BRING BACK THE REAL ARTHUR!"

But apart from that? From a Hitchikers point of view, it was something to look at, then delete off my hard disk.

BUT

From another point of view - Take away the HitchHikers element - it was very much like Galaxy Quest. I love that farking movie. Fun Romp takes on a whole new dimension when you're not looking at it with 27 years of mythos behind it. It was insane, gloriously insane, pure Adams and a great watch. I might get it cheap on rental and pull it out when I need a good laugh, much like I did with Galaxy Quest.

Would I write about it if I'd never been exposed to the original media? If I'd never read the books? Seen the series? No more than I would write Blazing Saddles fanfiction - in fact, less likely.

Soooooooo, I have an interesting little dichotomy in my brain. Realistically? I think I'll burn my downloaded copy, stick it in my DVD case and not look at it for four years. Unless I'm drunk.

Disagreements? Thrown items? Flames? Flame away, I have a soggy Ford I can roll all over >:D

Date: 2006-02-13 09:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tabimendou.livejournal.com
Aaaaaaaaaa, would you? *uber uber uber uber uber loves on *_______*!!!!~~~~~~~*

Date: 2006-02-13 09:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] taleya.livejournal.com
Yah. All five phases :D

Can't do it right now, at work - leave me a msg on MSN reminding me to do it when i get home?

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