I was a bit wary of this movie because the trailer did not look great, and movies with Jack Black in them can often be hit or miss (though I do like most of his movies). "Gulliver's Travels," however, ended up being kooky, zany, and not half bad.
Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black, "Year One"), or "Gulliver" to his friends, had worked in the mail room of a New York magazine for the past ten years, and has no hopes of ever being promoted. He has a crush on the magazine's travel editor, Darcy (Amanda Peet, "Please Give"), but is too shy to ask her out. Because of this shyness, Gulliver soon finds himself promising to write a travel piece, and Darcy sends him to investigate the Bermuda Triangle. After being caught in a storm, however, he finds himself on the island of Liliput, where he is gigantic compared to the rest of the people there. The townspeople originally label him "Beast" and chain him in a jail cell, but after he saves them from their enemies, they honor him as a hero. Gulliver then has to decide whether he should stay in Liliput forever or go back home to the "island of Manhattan."
There were a lot of A-listers in this movie other than Black and Amanda Peet. Emily Blunt ("The Wolfman") plays Princess Mary, who is engaged to marry the boring General Edward (Chris O'Dowd, TV's "The IT Crowd"), and Jason Segel (TV's "How I Met Your Mother") plays Horatio, who interrupts their engagement, as he has loved the princess for a while.
Maybe see this film. It was cute and funny, but in a "stupid movie"-type way. The 3D was okay but not great, so I'd recommend seeing it in 2D if possible and saving some money. Jack Black was hilarious but the movie itself was all over the place, and the actors did an over-the-top job, which I think was intended (kind of like a wink to how farfetched the movie's plot was). There are a few scenes that had the audience hysterical, however, and "Gulliver's Travels" is not a bad film to see if you just want to laugh and not really struggle to understand the movie's plot.
"Gulliver's Travels" will be in theaters on Christmas Day, December 25th.
Check out this contest on AMC's Facebook page to win a Gulliver's Travels Prize Pack
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
