The film opens as dolphins cavort and a choir sings "So long, and thanks for all the fish." I knew it was going to be good. Douglas Adams' radio show/book/now movie "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" opened Friday, thrilling millions of Adams' fans around the world.

The long-awaited film stars Sam Rockwell, Brian Bailey and Mos Def. Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is a normal guy living his normal life until his best friend, Ford Prefect (Def) shows up one morning to tell him the world is about to be destroyed. They proceed to vacate the planet just in time, and from there have many more adventures, from hearing the third worst poetry in the galaxy to being turned into sofas.

My favorite character besides Ford Prefect (so named because the beings on his planet thought cars were the dominant life forms on Earth) is Marvin, the Paranoid Android (Warwick Davis). Marvin is very depressed. He is quite possibly the only depressed robot in the universe, but what would one expect when one has the largest brain? The President of the Universe, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Rockwell) is a bit of a space cowboy. His accent sounds suspiciously like Dubbya's, especially when he says, "Readin', it's not really my thang."

Zooey Deschanel plays Trisha, Arthur's love interest. Trisha has the best line in the movie when Zaphod tries to use the “point of view gun” on her (it forces the person being "shot" to see the "shooters" point of view). She says, "It won't work on me, I'm already a woman."

Jim Henson's production company created the alien creatures in this film, so we can thank the geniuses there for the various aliens the characters meet, and Marvin. But a film of such a beloved story is not going to be without its downfalls.

Fans wish the filmmakers had included more information on why a towel is the most important thing to have at all times, especially while hitchhiking. Also, there must have been some technical reason why Zaphod didn't have two heads for the majority of the film.
If viewers go expecting a film that remains true to the radio show/book, expect to be disappointed. If one goes expecting to have a good time with some old friends (Zaphod, Arthur, and Marvin), meet some new characters and have some new adventures, everyone will go home happy.

We can hope another film could be in the works (there are five books based on the radio show) and there is bound to be an interest after audiences hear about the restaurant at the end of the universe.