Well, Mike and I went to see The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Friday afternoon.
SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT UNLESS YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE MOVIE!
With there being differences between the book, the British TV show and the Radio Program, there is no “true” version of HHGG for the movie to follow. Instead, it charts its own course, staying faithful to the plotline but having at least some formulaic plot elements. The movie kept me entertained and laughing the whole way through.
The movie opens with one of the snappiest show tunes I have heard in a long time. “So Long and Thanks For All The Fish” still has my toes tapping and my lips humming.
Both the Heart of Gold and the Improbability drive were magnificently represented by the movie. I especially liked the part where they ended up as knitted people and Dent threw up string, only to have normalcy restored and he still has a string hanging from his mouth.
The movie also had a…unique way of representing Beeblebrox’s two heads. It’s too bad he lost one of them during the course of the movie.
There was also the familiar romantic sub-plot that was never in the book, TV show or Radio show. You got to see this when Trillian shot Beeblebrox with the “Point of View Gun” (It doesn’t hurt you, the target merely sees things from the same point of view as the shooter when shot with it). It’s the familiar, “guy meets girl, guy loses girl, guy rescues girl, girl realizes he could be the one” kind of thing.
Marvin (or was it Melvin? I can never remember) the robot was played beautifully. The voice is instantly recognizable as the dour professor from Harry Potter, both the character and actors names escapes me.
Some things were never explained in the movie, such as why Ford and Dent needed to drink before teleporting (it helps you to feel less bad afterwards). Cameos included Arthur Dent from the TV series, Douglas Adams’ mother, and Marvin/Melvin from the TV series is also in there somewhere that I didn’t see. Possibly in the Queue shot, which has the best line of the movie. Faced with a long line of “people” filling out paperwork while trying to rescue Trillian, Arthur says, “I can handle this. I’m British. I know how to queue.”
Ford made a memorable part of the movie, showing just how many different ways you could use your towel (BTW, don’t forget your towel when seeing the movie, okay?). He used his towel for just about everything short of wiping his bottom with it.
The movie ends with the Earth restored, Arthur has Trillian and the whole gang is off to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, all ready for a sequel.
Don’t forget to hang on through the credits, there is a surprise almost at the end.

After a month on the border, The Minuteman Project has closed. Minuteman Project Draws to Close in Arizona.
I wish I could have gone, but traveling to Arizona was beyond the question, logistically, financially and practically. I think what they did was to raise awareness about the failure of our government to control our borders. I was disappointed by the President calling them “Vigilantes,” as though it was a bad thing. When the government won’t do a job that must be done, who else does it fall to but the citizens?
Part II is already in the works, this time on the border of California. Mexico border watch expands.
This is a monumental problem that must be solved as soon as possible. It is atrocious that we have such a flood of illegal immigrants into this country. It must be stopped and stopped now.