Uno R3 + 20x4 I2C LCD - screen freezes / garbage

Give it a shot with a 2K2 resistor and check how the LCD is grounded. If you have long lead going to the LCD you may have added too much capacitance to the line and a 4k7 may be a bit too much. How long are your wires going to the LCD?
Do you have other i2c devices connected?