DANCES WITH FILMS 2020 REVIEW! R.L. Allman’s Peter Pan, in a radically bold move, transplants the beloved J.M. Barrie story from a land of fantasy to a dystopian cityscape. Here, Peter Pan (Wynton Odd) is a struggling artist who wants to join the Lost Boys street gang as a way to help fight back against those in power. See, earlier in the day, he received a letter from Hooke Industries explaining the rationale behind the new, much higher rent prices on the rundown apartments these citizens can already barely afford.
“…Tink gives Peter a duffle bag full of drugs…”
However, the Lost Boys does not equal money right away. To that end, Peter visits his best friend, drag queen Tinker Bell (Rex Wheeler). The two have some fun verbally sparring back and forth before Tink gives Peter a duffle bag full of drugs to sell. To help him offload it, Peter visits his on-off again significant other Tiger Lily (Emily Hu), as she used to sell drugs. She reluctantly agrees to help him. Will Peter and Tiger Lily be able to save their homes? Will the Lost Boys be able to fight back against the gleefully malicious C.J. Hooke (Jenn Tripp) and her violence-prone right-hand man, Smee (Noe Flores)?
I wish I could answer those questions, but this is a review of only the first episode of R.L. Allman’s Peter Pan, so this is a lot of introduction and set up. Mind you, that is not meant to be derogatory or viewed as some sort of negative. While not entirely fleshed out, this inaugural episode of the series lays a strong enough foundation for the leads that they feel believable, and the viewer will want to binge their further adventures. Though, on occasion, the dialogue tries a bit too hard to tie things back to Peter Pan proper. Tiger Lily asks Peter how he got into her room. He says he flew. It does not work as intended.
"…I genuinely cannot wait to watch the other episodes as soon as possible."
