OK, so I'm way late to the game. But as a strong Douglas Adams afficianado (have read Dirk Gently and watched Dr. Who as well, so my credentials are strong here!), I feel that, now that I've seen the movie, I not only can, but MUST respond to it!

First off, the cast: Arthur Dent was decidedly Arthur Dent-ish. Good call on that one. Ford Prefect...well, I didn't have any hard image of Ford Prefect, so he wasn't badly done. Trillian was well cast, and seemed at home in the role. And Zaphod was very zaphod in his mannerisms, let's just say that. The Vogons were appropriately designed to the books description as something that had not so much evolved, but rather congealed. Marvin, however, was a disappointment.

The standard complaint about excellent movies made into books also applies here: they missed a LOT! And they also deviated significantly from the book. I was especially disappointed in the ending, during which the screenwriters apparently felt compelled to pander to the idea of wrapping everything up in a nice, neat little package rather than follow the book (to me a surprising development since Adams has such a strong cult following that is intensely familiar with the book).

The movie was decent eye candy, though, and was family friendly. My kids absolutely enjoyed it. While I will watch it again and found it surprisingly more entertaining than most of the reviews I've read, it won't be making any "best of" lists on my part.

Even the harshest critics of the film expressed some enjoyment of the song, and I have to agree with them. I think my kids could watch the video endlessly. Catchy tune, that!