Movie 2005.06.01 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I originally planned to watch Kingdom of Heaven, as one colleague said it's great. Just when I got to Greater Union Burwood, my sister gave an opposite opinion based on feedback she got. While thinking about it, I went to Burger King for a light snack.

Did you know that Burger King Burwood is Australia's one and only Burger King branded outlet? With credentials like that, you'd thinking people will be coming here in droves. NOT! The place is big and clean, but only a handful of customers were there. One cashier at the front and two back-office staff preparing orders as they come. I bet they're the ones who clean the toilets, too. Things must be really bad for Burger King because I noticed they're using Hungry Jack's paper traymat and salt sachets. I asked the staff about it. She said sometimes they get supplies from Hungry Jack's when they're out of stock, but they're separate entities. Yeah, right. Why not order supplies from McDonald's? She's just not letting me in on the big secret. I smell a conspiracy.

Anyway, I decided to go for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy instead. The ladies at the counter assured me it's good. I got in the cinema 20 minutes before showtime because I wanted to get a good seat and I'm such a sucker for trailers. The end credits were just scrolling when I walked in, and get this, there's not a single soul in the cinema. 121 seats, 1 viewer. So I sat there for like 10, 15 minutes listening to Star Wars soundtrack (in an HHGG cinema). I noticed another Star Wars marketing gimmick as I walked into the theater. Between the steps of the escalators are panels with text on them. As the escalators move up, they simulate the opening sequence of Star Wars with text slowly scrolling up the screen. Good thing a few couples walked in just as the movie is about to start. All that airconditioning and projection and surround sound for one person is a bit wasteful.

The movie is better and funnier than I expected. The jokes are not really funny, but I just feel like laughing out loud. It has been years since I read the book, but I still remember some bits here and there. Don't expect a strong coherent plot because you'll be disappointed. The movie started with Arthur Dent (played by Martin Freeman from The Office) suffering a triple-whammy: the (new) love of his life ran off with an alien, his house gets demolished in favor of a bypass, and Earth was blown up to make way for a hyperspatial expressway. Arthur was saved at the last-minute by his alien friend Ford, and they hitch-hike their way across the universe. The have a nasty encounter with poetry-reading Vogons, met some old friends on the Heart of Gold (Zaphod, Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android), had a chat with Deep Thought about life, the universe, and everything, and got a backup copy of Earth courtesy of some mice.

To top off a great adventure, they decide to have lunch at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Some funny quotes I remembered:
Arthur: I'm British, I know how to queue.
Vogon: Resistance is useless!
Trillian: [Zaphod aims the Point of View gun at Trillian] That won't work. I'm already a woman.
Marvin the Paranoid Android: [Trillian is ecstatic that Marvin saved them] I know. Wretched, isn't it?
Vogon Secretary: [Arthur holding Marvin's arm as if it's a gun and asking where Trillian is] Who? The Director of Arm Repair?
Ford: Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so.