Gulliver's Travels

I haven't read the original Gulliver's Travels, and I assume the eight-year-olds that this movie is aimed at haven't either so I will have little to say regarding the source material and how true this film may or may not be to it. If I had read Gulliver's Travels, however, I probably would just have more negative things to say about this movie, because unfortunately this is one of those movies where all the funny parts are in the trailer for it.

Starring Jack Black as Lemuel Gulliver. On his way to the Bermuda Triangle after an attempt to ask out his crush (Amanda Peet) ends up badly, Gulliver ends up on the Island of Lilliput which is inhabited by tiny people of varying accents. Jason Segal plays Horatio, a tiny friend he meets, and Emily Blunt as the Princess and Horatio`s love interest. This movie isn't even cute, it's just silly. Sure I laughed out loud when the little people reenacted scenes from Titanic and Star Wars, but not so much when he tries to give Horatio dating advice or ends up banished to some island of giants. The movie ends with a random song and dance to the old Motown hit "War" by Edwin Starr, but it's just an obvious attempt to fit in some Jack Black singing and dancing because we know he can't go a movie without doing that. Don't get me wrong, I generally think Jack Black is hilarious, but this movie tried too hard and didn't work for me. I think children will enjoy it, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it was marketed as a fun for the whole family movie, and I don't think that adults will enjoy sitting through this as much as, say, Despicable Me.

Some little rays of sunshine are the performances by Emily Blunt and Billy Connolly.

Go do something else while the kids watch this one.