This film is the role model for bizarre and unusual. It is
like a drug induced roller coaster ride through one of the most
beloved children stories of all time, J.M. Barrie's "Peter
Pan". It combines almost every aspect of the original
story with a modern setting and a direction style that feels
like a hybrid between "Spun" and "Trainspotting".
And, though I was thoroughly entertained by the film, I could
not help but feel the slightest bit cheated at the end.
This pretty much follows the basic storyline. Wendy
Darling (Melany Bell), along with her brothers Michael and John
(Wil Wheaton) are left alone by the adopted parents for the
weekend. They end up meeting Peter Pan (Ray Sparks) and
his pal Tinkerbell (Kari Wahlgren) and going to Neverland, an
amusement park where Peter and the Lost Boys stay. The
maintenance of the park is ran by the sinister Captain Hook
(Gary Kelley), who thinks Peter and his friends are spoiling the
purity of the park. So, he plots to get rid of them.
Now, here are the differences...
Fairies are whores. Fairy dust is cocaine. Captain
Hook and his men are sexual deviants with a fetish for leather.
Tigerlily is a cross dressing singer/dancer. The Lost Boys
are runaways addicted to pot. And, Peter Pan is their
somewhat leader who never wants to grow up, but in a very sad
way. Wendy is the voice of reason, trying to get Peter to
realize his life is going nowhere, while also becoming a
surrogate mother to the rest of the Lost Boys.
I
enjoyed the way in which directed Damion Dietz took every ounce
of the original story and made it translate so well on screen.
He was also able to extract some wonderful performances,
especially from Melany Bell as Wendy and Ray Sparks as Peter.
Sparks has this look about him that made me not want to take my
eyes off of him. Gary Kelley is not shabby as Captain
Hook, but I do feel his acting ability is less than those that
were around him. And, even with good performances, it is
always nice to see a familiar face, this one coming from Wil
Wheaton, Gordie from "Stand By Me".
"Neverland" has this continuous feel to it, almost
ethereal, that makes us seem like we are in a daze with everyone
else in the film. The vivid use of colors and camera
techniques are ingenious, but wear a little thin at points and
some of the spinning and flashing goes on for far too long.
We needed less spinning and flashing, and more Ray Sparks.
All in all, this is a very creative and ingenious take on the
old story, and I am sure most everyone will walk out feeling
somewhat pleased with what they have seen, especially the scene
when the cross dressing Tigerlily sings "Big Full
Moon", ending it with, "The Native Americans put the
red in red, white, and blue". "Neverland"
is fun, sweet, and is much more intelligent that it appears on
the surface.
