“Forty-two.”

That, according to a supercomputer named Deep Thought, is the answer to the question about Life, the Universe, and Everything. Of course, the question had to be figured out in order for the answer to make any sense… and of course, that will take ten million years. And that on top of the seven million years it took to figure out the answer!

Douglas Adams was a brilliant writer whose life was cut tragically short by a heart attack in 2001. He never got to see his best-known work brought to the big screen, though he did manage to write a large portion of the script.

I went to see the movie on opening night. The theater was, of course, sold out. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I was hoping for what I thought might be the first in a series, or at least a trilogy. Of course, being a fan and not a studio executive, I could afford such fantasies. I don’t sign the checks.

Since the movie really only follows the books loosely, I’ll do my best not to include any spoilers.

The movie opens with a narrative about humanity and the fact that we’re only the third-smartest species on the planet. Amazingly enough, we don’t know this. We also don’t know that our planet is slated for destruction, in order to make room for a hyperspace super-highway. Alas, the Vogons don’t really care.

A few minutes before Earth is disintegrated, a man named Arthur Dent is outside his home in his pajamas, trying to keep it from being destroyed (a little irony never hurt) by bulldozers. His closest friend, a man named Ford Prefect (played very well by Mos Def), comes and drags him off to the pub, where they drink six pints of beer and a bowl of peanuts and Ford proceeds to warn Arthur about the imminent end of the world. Arthur, dazed and naturally skeptical, goes back outside to find that his house has already been destroyed. Dismayed, he stands there while Ford comes over, grabs him, and sticks his thumb out to hitch a ride. A moment before the Earth is blasted to nothingness, they are transported aboard one of the Vogons’ ships. From there, it just gets stranger.

If all of this sounds a bit confusing, it should be. The books were a little disjointed in the way a lot of British comedy is, but they were funny and charming nonetheless. The movie stays true to that, with memorable and laughable characters that grab your attention a lot more than any special effects. And through it all, Arthur moves along, apparently only dimly registering what is going on around him.

This isn’t to say that the movie’s effects aren’t well-made, as they certainly are. It’s just that, for once, this is a sci-fi movie with a plot more engaging than the eye candy. Thanks to a relatively small budget (under $100 million), CGI effects were somewhat sparse, and this was a good thing. Instead, puppets from Jim Henson’s Workshop were used, and the movie was much better for it.

Add to that the wonderful acting of Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel, the great voice acting of Alan Rickman, and a spooky cameo by John Malkovich, and you have one of the best sci-fi comedies to come out of Hollywood in a very long time.

The movie was a composite of the four books “The Hitchhiker’s Guide top the Galaxy”, “The Restaurant at The End of The Universe”, “Life, the Universe, Everything”, and “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.” While remaining faithful to the author’s vision and style, there were a fair number of differences that may not sit well with purist fans of the books. Which is truly too bad, as such purists must be unaware that the books themselves were a departure from the orignal radio show.

So, no spoilers. I managed to get through the review without spoiling it for you. Watch this movie, though. You’ll laugh, you’ll… well, laugh… and then you’ll want to read the books again (or for the first time, for those who never have).

Verdict: Theater flick.