One travel you will enjoy

Film review: Gulliver’s Travels

MANILA, Philippines - Don’t you just find it amazing how commonplace 3D movies have become. The technology failed to catch on when it was first introduced over 50 years ago. But now, thanks to lots of improvements, it is considered the best bet for full enjoyment of the cinema. There is always a 3D movie in the specially outfitted theaters nowadays and fans now expect to watch the big adventure films in 3D. Truth to tell, not being available on 3D is seen as a minus factor for such films. Think, if the producers didn’t think it good enough for the extra budget required for 3D, then it is no good.

What I do not like about 3D viewing are the glasses. This was a problem in the 1950s and despite all those improvements, this is the one that still has to be solved. I am sure some genius will get around to doing that one of these days. But while we wait, I think theaters should make sure they have clean glasses of sturdy material for moviegoers. Better yet, good quality 3D glasses should be made available in the stores like regular glasses. Then people can buy them and have their own that they can just bring to the movies and also use at home while watching 3D videos or 3D television.

It is a big picture. Therefore Gulliver’s Travels starring Jack Black is on 3D. Given how movie producers go about mining classic writings to put on the screen, it was inevitable that they would get to Gulliver’s Travels. What surprises is that it happened so soon and not after they have used up the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen or H.G. Welles. Written by the brilliant Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels is a serious work. The most popular image we have of the hero Gulliver pinned down with strings tied to nails on the ground and surrounded by little people does seem funny but the book was actually a satire on politics and society of the 18^th century with some ribald humor thrown in. It was never meant to be a kiddie fantasy. But trust Hollywood eyeing big bucks from the parents to change that.

Jack Black’s Lemuel Gulliver is a modern-day loser. He has worked for 10 years in the mail room of a newspaper publisher. He likes to play Guitar Hero and with Star Wars action figures. He dreams big as in space adventures and hopes for the affections of Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet), the lovely travel editor in the office. One day, he decides to do something about both. Thanks to copying entries from the web, he is able to put himself out as a travel writer and is assigned by Darcy to visit the Bermuda Triangle. Lemuel then has to prove that it is really not the dangerous place that legend says it is.

So Gulliver goes to Bermuda, gets caught in an eddy and disappears. He wakes up in the classic Gulliver pose, nailed down on the ground and surrounded by little people called Lilliputians. The adventure begins and it is now also Lemuel’s time to shine. In between tales of his supposed exploits on the Titanic and against the evil empire, he defends Lilliput from its enemies, plays matchmaker to the princess and his commoner friend, unmasks traitors in the kingdom and becomes a giant celebrity in every sense of the word. Why he even introduces them to the wonders of a coffee maker and saves the king from what could have been a fatal fire with urine. Of course, given his size, his pee is like a torrent of water from a hose that is strong enough to put out raging Lilliputian flames.

Now, I do not recall anything about a Lilliputian being forced up Gulliver’s ass in the book. That may be Black’s idea. But make you no mistake that this bit about the urine is just one more attempt at toilet humor. It is one of several incidents about sex and body functions that Swift cooked up for his novel. In fact, Gulliver as portrayed by Black is closer in sensibility to the original character then the then popular version by Kerwin Matthews. The satire may have been toned down but bits remain. Think of people’s preoccupation with size, the bigger the better, or the inordinate rush to condemn the unfamiliar, what is different from us cannot be good, or the vagaries of fame, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, more so when confronted by a transformer.

But who cares about satire or moral lessons or how a movie again butchered a timeless classic when this Gulliver’s Travels is so enjoyable. The cast is good. The special effects, well done. The writing is clever with lots of pop references. The visuals are pretty and everything moves in a lively pace. And there is Jack Black. This guy must be the most likeable comedian around. He reminds me of the baby in the movie Honey, I Blew Up The Kid, but now grown-up and even bigger on 3D, which I must say, is wonderfully unobtrusive. Black has this innocent, open-faced quality that makes him such a joy to watch. He is also very funny. And in the long run, the laughs are really all that we care about. You will all love this Gulliver.