The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - PG
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this movie is partly kooky and partly philosophical, and not always accessible to younger kids. While the slapstick (pratfalls, face slaps) and puns can be amusing, the chatter alternates between clever and tedious. Characters drink beer and use mild language.
Essentially a boys' adventure in space, the movie tracks nerdish human Arthur and his alien traveling companion Ford Prefect from episode to episode, as they meet new beings, seek knowledge, and find satisfaction at last. Parents should also know that the movie has some scary, if abstract moments (the earth is destroyed from outer space; the image features no people, but the globe does go pffft), some shooting of science-fiction-ish weapons, a few odd, large, ugly creatures.
Families might discuss the friendship between Arthur and Ford, who learn to appreciate each other's different perspectives and look out for one another. Families might also consider the symbolic roles played by the aliens Arthur meets (the two-headed president of the galaxy; the lumbering bureaucratic race called Vogons; the generous, sensitive Ford), or Arthur's passivity: how does he learn to act on his desires, look out for his friends, or have self-confidence? How can you define "normality"?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Based on Douglas Adams' beloved BBC radio series (first aired in 1978, and thereafter turned into novel and TV series), the movie of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY has been in the works, in some format, for over 20 years. This means that some of the ideas, in being faithful to the source also feel dated, that is, not new insights (media are deceitful, corporate workers are boring and shortsighted, boys are nervous about expressing their feelings to girls... well, okay, some old concerns remain unresolved).
The movie begins as two friends, nerdish human Arthur (Martin Freeman) and space traveler Ford (Mos Def), depart earth just before it's demolished by the universe-roving Vogons, looking to make room for a "hyperspace bypass" (this parallels the destruction of Arthur's small home by a road crew building a highway bypass). Arthur and Ford (who brings along his a book, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) hitch a ride with other space travelers, namely, the self-loving, two-headed President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell, trying his darnedest to channel President Bush, with intermittent success) and his new, slightly lost-looking girlfriend Trillian (Zooey Deschanel). As Arthur also has a crush on Trillian, he endeavors to win her attention, amid a clutter of supporting characters (including Marvin the depressed robot [voiced by Alan Rickman] and a couple of white mice running loose on the space ship and chewing through crucial wires).
In search of an answer to an ultimate question (the meaning of life), the crew visit with diverse communities on different planets, including a cult led by John Malkovich (a role the recently deceased Adams wrote just for the film), who ritually worship a sneeze, and an architect of custom planets Slartibartfast (the always engaging Bill Nighy), who offers to rebuild earth for the currently homeless Arthur. Perhaps the film's most provocative innovation is the POV (point of view) Gun, with which the shooter can instantly impose his perspective on a target, invented, reports the Guide narrator, by "a group of housewives who had become utterly sick of ending every domestic argument with the words, 'You just don't get it, do you?'" Once Trillian gets a hold of this potent weapon, her vulnerability is exposed, which means she finally seems to break through Zaphod and Arthur's self-obsessions. But as the film never suggests how her life will improve once they "get it," Trillion seems left adrift.
Families who enjoy this movie might also like Buckaroo Banzai, The Man Who Fell To Earth (this would be for older children), and Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits.
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ViolenceSome shooting and some scary moments. |
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LanguageSome mild profanity. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoCharacters drink beer. |
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