Taken for a ride...

Unless you're a fan of the books (or any of the iterations of the storyline), there's not much reason for you to check out The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I have to admit, for full disclosure purposes, that I've read and owned all of the books (five in total) at one point or another. When I was in middle- and high school, they were fun reads. Now, however, they've been made into a pretty boring film that is going to be of interest only for those of you who've already read the books and want to see how they've been translated onto the big screen.

The film is not a literal translation of the books, as the books were not a literal translation of the radio play on which they were based, so there are a number of my favorite moments from the books that didn't make the movie, and some characters and events in the movie that weren't in the books. Many of the same throw-away jokes are there, admittedly, but most of them fall flat in the film version because they simply don't have the time for the semi-pointless, comedic exposition that the book used to such effective ends. I found myself enjoying a number of jokes in the film only because I knew the backgroun and remembered the rest of the joke - untold on the screen - from the book.

Reviews have been mixed at best. My advice is to skip the film - at least for now - and to not bother with it until you've read the series of books (though you can honestly skip the fifth volume in the series anyway - it stinks - but do read through the first four because the fourth book is easily the best.)