Jack Black stars as Lemuel Gulliver, an unrequited New York newspaper mailroom worker with a crush on Amanda Peet (Amanda Peet’s Features Editor). One sloppy lie to impress Amanda leads him on an assignment leading him to Lilliput and its inhabitants; they meet their tiny counterparts who live there.
Although taking some liberties with Swift’s 1726 novel, this light-hearted update features plenty of broad pop culture satire and impressive special effects.
Jason Segel
Lemuel Gulliver works as a delivery man for The Times newspaper, and his task involves collecting travel articles for their Travel section. To impress his editor, Gulliver sets sail into uncharted waters and discovers an unknown civilization called Lilliputians that lives therein – leading them to victory against an opposing rival culture while learning a great deal about himself and what weaknesses and strengths lie within himself as he discovers both themselves as well as others around them.
This 2010 American comedy adventure film, loosely based on Jonathan Swift’s 1726 novel of the same name, employs social and political commentary for comedy purposes. Rob Letterman made his live-action directing debut and stars Jack Black as its titular character alongside Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, T.J. Miller, William Shatner, Chris O’Dowd, and Catherine Tate; 20th Century Fox was responsible for distribution.
Segel is an American actor best known for his roles on How I Met Your Mother from 2005-14 on CBS, though he made his television debut with Freaks and Geeks (Judd Apatow’s series from 1999-2000 and Undeclared (2001-2002) from 1999-20. Since then, he has twice been nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, appearing in films Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) and Dead Man on Campus (1998).
This movie makes numerous pop culture references and modern media jokes that will appeal to contemporary audiences, including Gulliver playing Guitar Hero and recreating scenes from Titanic (1997; owned by 20th Century Fox). Furthermore, Lilliputians put on miniature reenactments of The Empire Strikes Back and Avatar (both owned by 20th Century Fox). Overall, this film is entertaining and does not take itself too seriously.
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British actress acclaimed for her performances as an idealistic FBI agent in Sicario (2015) and an alcoholic in The Girl on the Train (2016). Additionally, she appeared in the fantasy adventure Jungle Cruise and Western miniseries The English before debuting her singing talents with Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods (2014).
She has quickly emerged as one of Britain’s premier movie stars of her generation, overshadowing Knightley, Winslet Mulligan, and possibly even Dame Judi Dench. She began her career on stage and the BBC before making an impressionful performance as a caustic, put-upon assistant. Meryl Streep’s character in the 2007 comedy The Devil Wears Prada brought film producers’ notice of her talents.
Blunt has since gone on to star in several prominent roles. She is best known for playing a woman fighting for her life in Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and appearing as an alluring soldier in Looper (2012); moreover, she provided voice-over work in animated movies Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) and Sherlock Gnomes (2018) as the romantic heroine voiced by herself.
Blunt plays Lemuel Gulliver, an unfulfilling mailroom worker at a New York City newspaper who sets out on an attempt to impress Darcy Silverman by going on a shot at traversing the Bermuda Triangle that ends up landing him on Liliput island – towering over its tiny residents – when Blefuscians invade Lilliput and capture Princess Lavinia; Gulliver takes action and rescues her before being transported away by ship to Brobdingnag and awakens wearing pink dress inside an overstuffed dollhouse!
Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly is an award-winning Scottish comedian and actor best known for his observational comedy and sometimes risque material. Commonly referred to as “The Big Yin,” Connolly has been listed in various polls as one of the most excellent stand-up comics ever. Additionally, he has released albums of instrumental performances and appeared as an actor.
He began his career as a welder in Glasgow’s shipyards but eventually turned to folk music, becoming a banjo player and singer. In the early 1970s, he co-formed folk-pop duo the Humblebums with Tam Harvey; he told jokes between songs during concerts. This eventually became his main act, and he has appeared in multiple movies and television shows.
Nat Joseph produced Connolly’s first album in 1972, featuring both comedic songs and short monologues, which became an instantaneous success and launched his career. Shortly afterward came Solo Concert, recorded at an Airdrie venue – his gamble paid off and helped Connolly achieve international renown.
Connolly returned to Scotland and continued performing at various venues. In the late ’80s, he made numerous tours throughout North America and Europe, appearing at major venues like Royal Albert Hall. Additionally, he has made frequent television and radio appearances, such as BBC’s The Comedy Store and Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Billy Connolly made a surprise announcement that he would retire from live performance due to Parkinson’s disease, citing how it changes how his brain operates, making comedy increasingly challenging to perform live. Additionally, he has been diagnosed with dementia.
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate has made numerous television appearances, from the BBC sitcom Queen of the World to the US series Hard Cell. Additionally, she played Donna Noble in Doctor Who – making guest appearances both during the 2007 Christmas/New Year specials as well as 2023 series 60th-anniversary celebrations – making guest appearances during 2007 Christmas/New Year specials as well as 2023 celebrations and the 2023 series’ 60th-anniversary celebrations. Tate recently completed filming a road-trip comedy road movie, The Nan Movie, which can be seen here.
Jack Black stars as Lemuel Gulliver, an unemployed newspaper mailroom worker whose laziness is exposed when he’s sent on an independent assignment near the Bermuda Triangle and ends up shipwrecked at Lilypot, an ancient kingdom populated by giant dogs that host Horatio (Jason Segel) as his guide while falling for Princess Amanda Peet (Amanda Peet).
Chris O’Dowd of BBC comedy Something for the Weekend joins this cast as General Edward, the infatuated rival of Emily Blunt’s princess. James Corden from IT Crowd stars as one of Emily Blunt’s castle flunkies, while Gavin & Stacey actress Catherine Tate plays Queen Isabelle.
Problematically, Black’s comedy in this film relies too heavily on his brand of humor to succeed; though he is an accomplished performer, his character doesn’t get many chances to shine in this film. Supporting players have more roles, but their script doesn’t offer enough depth for their performance either; cast members do try hard, but it becomes increasingly frustrating as the film progresses, as its end results in an unexciting, lifeless adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s classic novel; even with enthusiastic performances by all involved, this adaptation doesn’t stand out among its peers.
Chris O’Dowd
Chris O’Dowd is an Irish actor best known for portraying Roy Trenneman on Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd from 2006 until 2010. Since then, he has appeared on the US television show Girls and multiple movies. Additionally, he co-created and wrote Sky 1 series Moone Boy, which ran between 2012 and 2015; its associated books also bear his signature.
Jack Black stars as Lemuel Gulliver, an underachiever and wannabe travel writer who gets his chance of a lifetime when an assignment to write about the Bermuda Triangle takes him aboard a ship sailing towards an unknown. Soon enough, he finds himself washed ashore on an island inhabited by hardworking yet tiny people – and the adventure begins!
When he arrived, Gulliver brought modern technology to Lilliputians, including a PDA and music video game. Soon after, he is welcomed as a hero by Princess Mary and encouraged to court Horatio after he rejects his advances at work. But when Blefuscians invade, Gulliver agrees to duel General Edward and ultimately saves his home country by playing Edwin Starr’s “War.”
O’Dowd won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor during his time on the show and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Additionally, he played Miles Daly on Epix’s drama series Get Shorty and appeared regularly on the comedy TV show State of the Union. Additionally, in 2014, he made his Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men: An Adaptation, where he received nominations for both Drama Desk and Tony Awards; with his wife Dawn, they now split their time between Los Angeles and London.
