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Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The
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MPAA Rating: PG
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Entertainment: +3
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Content: -1
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This sci-fi comedy is based on Douglas Adams' six-novel series, which was popular in the early 80s. Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is an excessively ordinary man who has rarely taken a risk. Having recently missed a chance to date the beautiful Trisha McMillan (Zooey Deschanel), Arthur awakens one morning to find that his house is about to be demolished, which is the least of his worries. Moments later, Arthur's friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) arrives with even graver news: The earth itself is about to be destroyed by an interstellar construction crew sent to build a "hyperspace expressway". Ford knows this valuable fact because he happens to be an alien who writes for the galactic travel book known as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". He also knows that the only way he and Arthur will survive is by hitching a ride on a spacecraft. So Ford sticks out his thumb, and before long Arthur embarks on the adventure of his life.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy includes several funny elements like Marvin the depressed robot and excerpts from "the Guide". But the film doesn't quite meet the standard set by the books, whose fans will be a bit disappointed while others might be a little confused. Faithful to the spirit of the books, the film espouses a seminaturalistic worldview in which God exists but is inactive, or perhaps foolish, and life is meaningless. The film even concerns itself, in part, with discovering the answer to the question of "life, the universe and everything". But the answer itself turns out to be meaningless. Viewers should keep in mind that the Christian worldview, in contrast, holds that God is very active and that life is full of purpose. Though other objectionable content is minimal, Preview doubts that this film will be enjoyable for those unfamiliar with the novels.
Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: Several (6) times - mild (hell 4); moderate (other 1); strong (-ss 1)
Obscene Language: None
Profanity: Several (6) times - moderate (G 2, G-sake 1, other 3)
Violence: Several times - mild (men are tied down and interrogated by aliens, men are jettisoned into space, alien creatures repeatedly slap people, other physical comedy and perilous situations); moderate (earth is destroyed by aliens, a body part is removed from a man but shown in silhouette and not gory, aliens shoot at people, robot is shot in the head, woman is nearly fed to an alien creature)
Sex: None
Nudity: None
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Few times - mild (man refers to woman in a mildly sexual way, man talks about how good he looks to women, man and woman live together with possible implication of sexual relationship); moderate (man grabs woman?s rear)
Drugs: Few times - moderate (men consume a single alien alcoholic drink that makes them drunk immediately)
Other: Naturalistic worldview with mentions of evolution and cosmological timeline of billions of years and other science-fiction explanations for realities that are attributed to God in the Bible, subtle use of existential philosophy and statements that life is pointless or absurd, mention of God as foolish or mistaken in some of his actions
Running Time: 110 minutes
Intended Audience: Youth, adults and fans of the books
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