Primetime Backyard Movie Series - HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (2005)

A WEEK EARLIER THAN NORMAL. I have to be out of town on the last Friday of May, so we're moving this month's Backyard Movie up one week, but...

DON'T PANIC!

So the world just suddenly ended. All you gotta do is stick out your thumb and hope to get picked up by a passing spaceship. In this case, it's a spaceship piloted by insufferable galactic bureaucrats who like to torture you by reading poetry so bad it literally drives you insane.

That is essentially the opening premise of brilliant British author Douglas Adams in his absurdist and hysterically funny series of novels, collectively called the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, of which this movie only relates its first entry. The other major entries more or less completed before Adams' death in 2001 were (2) The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, (3) Life, the Universe and Everything, and (4) So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, although other novels and stories were contemplated and completed by others later.

Originally conceived and produced as a series of BBC Radio dramas in 1978, HITCHHIKER'S journey to the big screen was not an easy one, taking two and a half decades of devoted fandom to convince Touchstone Pictures to produce the film in 2003, and it wasn't until 2005 that it was actually released. The film was a modest success, although one wonders if it could have been a much bigger hit (possibly triggering the production of the sequel novels) if it had been marketed properly. I think the problem was that the humor is very British - kind of Monty Python meets a really silly STAR WARS meets DOCTOR WHO. In my humble opinion, this movie succeeds where Mel Brooks' SPACEBALLS (1987) fails. Rather than feel a need to slovenly parody a well-known story, HITCHHIKER trods its own bewildering, mind-boggling and peculiar path. Although the film takes some significant departures from the novels, it still retains its wide-eyed fascination with the behavior of sentient life (words carefully chosen) and the silliness and arrogance of we mere humans on this planet.

The cast is outstanding, with Brit-American crossover Martin Freeman in the lead role of the hapless earthling Arthur Dent, Mos Def as the ever helpful alien-incognito Ford Prefect, and the wonderful Zooey Deschanel in one of her few big screen roles as Trillian. But the one who really has fun here is Sam Rockwell who gives perhaps the most unhinged and silly performance of his career as Zaphod Beeblebrox, the rock and roll President of the Universe (a role originally intended for Jim Carrey before the film ended up in Development Hell).

It is both silly and profound as only British comedy can be. So come join me as we listen to to some awful Vogon poetry, have Helen Mirren's off-screen voice explain the meaning of the universe to us, and see what thoughts go through a blue whale's mind when it suddenly materializes in the upper atmosphere.

Just don't forget your towel and your copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide, and remember the answer is always 42.

Presenting our sixth season of our Primetime Backyard Movie Series, where we'll all get together during good weather armed with our bug spray and lawn chairs to watch a variety of movies.

I have the movies. I have the projector. I have a sort of giant (for a backyard at least) 10 foot screen. I even have a long, narrow but semi-deep backyard with a giant oak tree that will silently watch over us as we relive our youth at the drive-in and make fun of those making out on the back row.

There will be free hot dogs, movie candies, movie nachos, and popcorn. Feel free to bring other stuff if you want, including your own lawn chair. I have some spares and some blankets, but not enough for a full house. BYOB. I'll have some soft drinks and water as well.

We'll socialize for about an hour before the movie, which will start promptly at dusk (about 8:45 pm), along with an Alamo Drafthouse -style preshow as you enter.

RAIN POLICY - I'll post here if we have to reschedule for weather or other unforeseen events. Just check here before you head this way.

CARPOOLS - My parking around here really is limited thanks to overbuilding on nearby lots, so carpooling or Uber is encouraged. Uber-Waymo Robotaxis are common in this neighborhood if you've been wanting to try one.