i haven't read the books but i'm interested. i think i read that the radio show was first anyway so it doesn't really matter if i read the books first. the stories started off as an oral narrative so why not watch the film first because it's an oral narrative with pictures.

the film was good for the most part. there is one section where the pacing dies down and it started to lose my interest but i think it made a full recovery. the very beginning was hilarious! i died laughing. i actually had to hold it back because apparently i was the only one in the theater who thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. dolphins swimming across the screen like they are a synchronized swimming team singing the song of "so long and thanks for all the fish" was more than i could bear. genius. brilliant. it'll keep me laughing for a long time to come.

i really liked the simplified animation that accompanied the passages read whenever the characters would look up something in the "hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" book. i think it really corresponds with the current sensability of style and design that has been going on in mass advertising and web circles.

the character of zaphod beeblebrox really bugged me. he was too tom cruise. big smiles all the time. yeesh!