This seriously underrated mid-2000s sci-fi comedy just dropped on Hulu — I feel so high school

Tom's Guide

2 days ago

It's not often that a movie hits me with a huge blast of nostalgia. Don't get me wrong — I'll gladly revisit a beloved movie from my past, but my first reaction rarely is to be transported back in time to a particular era of my life. When I saw "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" had been added to Hulu this month, though, I couldn't help but be transported to when I was a freshman in high school.
Full disclosure: This movie came out in April 2005, a few months before I started my first year of high school. But I associate it with rekindling a love of sci-fi and fantasy books that is core to the high school nerd I was.
Now, if you just look at Rotten Tomatoes to judge whether or not to see this movie, you'd probably skip over "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." This sci-fi comedy wasn't universally well-received at the time, but I think it was unfairly maligned for a multitude of reasons.
First, let's just get this out of the way: If you don't like British humor, you won't like this movie. Similarly, if you found that Douglas Adams' books weren't for you, then this movie isn't magically going to fix that.
But if you like dry British humor or find absurdist comedies to be your thing, then there's something for you in this movie.
And the movie is definitely absurd. The film starts with a David Attenborough-esque nature documentary narrated by Stephen Fry that transforms into a two-minute-long musical number sung by dolphins, which it turns out are the most intelligent creatures on the planet Earth, according to Fry's narration.
Again, if you don't find that amusing, or if it doesn't at the very least intrigue you, then this movie probably won't be for you. The same goes for those who don't find it amusing that Earth could be demolished by a race of aliens to make room for an intergalactic highway bypass. If that's not for you, you probably won't click with this movie.
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But if you find it funny that doors can be programmed to sigh when they open and close, that a robot who is programmed to be more human turns out to be depressed, or that one of the best pieces of travel advice for hitchhiking across the galaxy is to always remember to bring your towel, then this movie is for you.
Speaking of that aforementioned robot, he's voiced by Alan Rickman, and he's the best part of what's still arguably a loaded cast, and certainly was considered a loaded cast at the time back in 2005.
There's Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, an Earthling who is currently fighting to keep his house from being destroyed to make way for a terrestrial bypass. Mos Def co-stars as Ford Prefect, Arthur's friend who turns out to be an alien who works as a travel writer, and gets Arthur a ride off Earth when the Vogons come to demolish the whole planet for a bypass.
They ultimately hitch a ride on the ship of Zaphod Beeblebrox, played by Sam Rockwell. He's the newly elected president of the Galaxy, and it turns out his ship is a stolen ship. He's aided by Tricia "Trillian" McMillan, an Earth woman portrayed by Zooey Deschanel, and Marvin, our aforementioned clinically depressed robot.
There are more names besides. In addition to these actors, you also have acclaimed performers John Malkovich, Bill Nighy and Helen Mirren all taking roles in the movie.
But the star of this sci-fi comedy is undeniably Rickman's morose robot with a massive head, whose personality is a prototype made to simulate a human personality. I'd watch a movie just featuring him, and thankfully, we do get plenty of moments with Marvin throughout the film's 109 minutes.
So if you love sci-fi, comedy, or Alan Rickman, then "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" needs to be next on your watchlist. Go stream it now on Hulu.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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