If there’s one thing we can all get behind, it’s a unique movie. Ask yourself how many movies you’ve seen in which the hero is an unshaven, bathrobe-clad bloke named Arthur.

Now, discounting any XXX titles that may have crossed your mind (and by XXX I mean of the adult variety, not the State of the Union kind), ask yourself how many of these films involved men turning into sofas, a race of aliens who pray to “the great white handkerchief” and a point-of-view gun conveniently created by galactic housewives.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a one-of-a-kind flick based on the quirky sci-fi series of novels by Douglas Adams, probably isn’t as good as the books. Then again, neither are any of the Harry Potter films. But like the third and most recent installment in that series, what we get here is an adapted version of Adams’ first book that, though abridged, skillfully captures the spirit, wit and eccentricity of the source material.

Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman, Love Actually) is less creepy and more British than most hitchhikers you’d find in the College Park area. Unfortunately, that’s about all he’s got going for him at the start of the film. Ironically, his home faces destruction on two fronts.

Construction workers greet Arthur one morning with bulldozers, claiming his house must be demolished to make way for a highway. Little does Arthur know, at that very minute a nasty race of bureaucratically obsessed aliens called Vogons are targeting the Earth for destruction for a similar reason — to build a galactic bypass.

Luckily for Arthur, his best bud Ford Prefect (Brooklyn rapper-turned-actor Mos Def, The Italian Job) happens to be an undercover alien. Using Ford’s neato thumb ring, the two teleport aboard one of the destroyer ships and stow away safely just seconds before Earth is obliterated into flaming space dust.

Ford shares with Arthur the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a handbook for those unfamiliar with the species, planets and customs of this madcap galaxy of ours.

After escaping almost certain death at the slimy hands of the ill-tempered Vogons, Arthur and Ford end up aboard vain buffoon Zaphod Beeblebrox’s pirated ship. Zaphod (a scene-stealing Sam Rockwell, Matchstick Men), who is actually president of the entire galaxy, has kidnapped himself and enticed Earth-babe Trillian (Zooey Deschanel, Elf) to come along for the ride.

The four, along with super-intelligent but glum robot Marvin (voiced beautifully low-key by Die Hard baddie Alan Rickman), shoot across the stars with Vogons hot on their trail in search of the answer to the almighty question of existence (oddly enough, they already have the answer — 42).

While no follow-up has been officially announced, Hitchhiker’s Guide has franchise written all over it. Faithful followers of the novels will no doubt see the movie at least once while good word of mouth and buzz will hook a slew of newcomers.

From a practical filmmaking standpoint, the actors, all relatively low on the salary totem pole, do a superb job and would undoubtedly appreciate another, most likely more lucrative, payday.

Mos Def in particular proves worth his weight in galactic gold. Unlike fellow rapper/actor Eminem in 8 Mile, he plays a real, honest-to-God character and not a tough-exterior hip-hop type. He perfectly and easily embodies Ford, the bath towel-obsessed, amiable alien with flawless comedic timing and an ever-tangible confidence.

But it’s Rockwell who seems to be having all the fun as the sleazy, egomaniacal and unfortunately dressed Zaphod. While Ben Stiller may have been a more obvious candidate for this role, props to whoever decided to cast the less-popular-but-more-skilled Rockwell.

Even with hilarious cameos from the likes of British favorite Bill Nighy (Love Actually) and the frighteningly serious John Malkovich (Con Air), this movie never quite kicks things into high gear. The beginning does a marvelous job of drawing the viewer in, but like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, Hitchhiker’s Guide sometimes sputters rather than thrusting into hyperdrive. That said, those unwilling to stick out their thumbs and hitch a ride on this flick will miss out on one helluva trip.