Gulliver’s Travels

Producer-star Jack Black and his henchmen (writers Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller, director Rob Letterman) set poor old Jonathan Swift spinning in his Dublin grave, comforted only by their failure to give him any credit (or blame) for what they’ve done to his venerable satire (which they probably haven’t read). The setup is halfhearted (a slacker buffoon gets lost in the Bermuda Triangle, ending up where the people are only 6 inches tall), and the mild novelty of Black-as-giant wears off pretty early. The supporting players (Billy Connolly, Emily Blunt, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Segel) work earnestly enough, but between the slapdash script and the fact that everyone except Jack Black is only 6 inches tall, they don’t stand much chance. Amanda Peet whiles away a few minutes as Black’s love interest.