Badmovies.org Forum

I have as of today (18 June 2014) watched Garth Jennings' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy a grand total of five times.

I have honestly tried to like it - I even cracked a smile now and then - but for me, the experience was just, well, meh. Everything about it screamed big budget and everything about it was very, very well done, except for Mos Def, whose voice I find immensely irritating and Sam Rockwell who really should have stayed with Shredder's gang.

Now: I do want to like it. Could it be that it goes over my head because I haven't read the first book? Help: I need to know where my towel is.  :wink:

Could be you are trying too hard.  One has to roll with the randomness to get the full effect.  I'm pretty sure it must be a matter of taste (or mindset or insanity?): either it 'clicks' for you, or it doesn't.  That is inherent to the material and not a reflection on the viewer.   :wink:

The only clicks I heard were my tongue clicking in exasperation and the click of the off button on the remote.  :wink: I am open to all kinds of whacky humor: I loved The Goons and other things like that.

I am going to order the first book and see: once I have read it, I will watch the film again and then maybe I might get it.   :smile:

The book is hilarious. Frankly, I was never interested in seeing the movie version because there was no way it could equal or exceed the book.

I could tell from the trailer that it just wasn't my style of humor - at all.  Some of those British comedies are hilarious, and some leave me completely cold.

I have a feeling that when I read the book, I will like it better than the film.  :smile:

Part of the problem with making a film from this book is that often the humor in the book is derived solely from Adams's writing style rather than the material. The movie tried to incorporate some of that, and I give it its proper respect for that, but if you haven't read and loved the book, much of the movie will not make sense and therefore not work for you. I loved the books, and I liked some of the "interpretations" done in the movie, but the book will always be superior to me. The movie worked reasonably well for me as an exercise in bringing some very odd things to the big screen. I enjoyed remembering the book as I watched the movie. But if I had never read the book, like you, I can't imagine making much sense of the movie. And by now, after 5 tries, I can't imagine you ever really liking the movie. Hopefully, your movie experience won't stop you from enjoying the book.  :smile:

The reason I watched it was because of Douglas Adams' hilarious script for the Dr Who series City of Death and I was drawn to his quirky sense of humor, e.g. in the scene where the Doctor orders three glasses of water ("Make them doubles!").  :teddyr:

Ah yes...the style.
Adams humor works for me, because I started with the radio plays from the BBC.
Hearing Simon Jones and Goffery McGiven as Arther and Ford set my feel for the characters in amber.
Not to mention Peter Jones, as the Book, showing the only true way to deal with reading such abounding absurdity out loud.
And Doug's way with words works for me; your mileage may very. And I've been known to quote Marvin the Paranoid Android whenever the diodes down the my left side start acting badly.
So the movie...failed for me. Rather like having warm treacle poured down your back while being chased by gibbons.

That's just another pleasant Wednesday afternoon for me...  :twirl:

My favorite adaptation of the books is the old BBC Radio 4 series, which was infinitely better than the 2000s movie and a little more complete than the 1981 BBC 2 TV version, which was also endearing. Although maybe I like the radio shows because they remind me of being little and listening to the box set my dad got as a perk for joining an NPR station.  :smile:

That's the whole enchilada. 
Just because someone doesn't like something, doesn't mean that there's something wrong with the guy or girl watching the movie.  Of course, in this day and age, being "unimpressed" with something and automatically knocking things for the sake of maintaining that image is some sort of new standard for being cool, so there are people who will reject things no matter what, while others will freely form their own natural opinion based on their love or dislike for the material.

Sadly true. 'your milege may vary' is the wisest way to deal with it. I prefer the radio shows, my friend Wendy (Aka Trillian) prefers the books.
All is well.

I'm with you there Trev.  I watched it in the theather because there was NO way I wasn't going to watch it in theather.  I left feeling disappointed.  I think I've watched it once or twice after that.  I like Sam Rockwell, but I don't think he had Zaphod down and I really DIDN'T like the way they did his second head.  I did like Martin Freeman as Dent, I thought that worked well.  Just the movie as a whole was just a let down, maybe after a few drinks it'll be better.

The movie only touches on the book umm mediumly....The books I have all read many many times, and while the movie was in the spirit of the books, it wasn't what my mind sees when I read them.
It was a fine show, but not THE version I want in my head
-Ed

 :buggedout: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :teddyr: :teddyr:

This must be Wednesday...never could get the hang of Wednesdays...

I have no idea wtf that is-I dont plan on finding out....that said-

http://youtu.be/EhPvkzFJhnk (http://youtu.be/EhPvkzFJhnk)

I saw it again yesterday on satellite: it seems to be a bit less than 'meh' now.  :smile:

Yeah, man. A chick I used to mess with wanted me to see that one. She claimed it was so great. Now, I have a wide range of comedy styles that I enjoy, but the film itself was just "meh" for me. And no I have not read the book.

I have a copy of the old BBC TV Series and have watched it many times before that on our local PBS station. I love it's quirkiness and was actually very disappointed in the big screen adaptation. Nothing will ever replace the book for sheer reading pleasure but the tv version was fun.