FINDING NEVERLAND is one of those movies that feels kind of like a remedial imagination class they force you to take on Saturdays because you fucked up. You may not know this, it tells you, but it turns out imagination is important and magical and all that kind of crap. Johnny Depp plays J.M. Barrie, the writer of Peter Pan. The movie starts the same as ED WOOD, he’s the writer of some flop play that the audience already hates literally about 2 seconds after it starts. It’s the first line of dialogue and a dude is already asleep.

So J.M. needs to imagination up his life somehow to inspire him to write Peter Pan, and luckily he runs into a widow (Kate Winslet) and her spunky kids (a bunch of kids) while he’s walking his novelty oversized dog. Next thing you know he’s hanging out with the kids, dressing up in silly costumes and imagining stuff with them. They’re still pretty bummed about their dad dying so he has to teach them to have a childlike sense of wonder, etc.

I mean it’s a good sentiment but I think the whole thing is too broad. It’s one of those movies where it’s supposed to be real life but they got Darth Vader style villains. Both J.M. and his new surrogate family have to deal with a crusty old bitch who just doesn’t understand the power of imagination, et al. J.M.’s always gotta put up with his social climbing wife, and Kate Winslet’s gotta deal with her rich old bitch of a mother bossing her around. There’s no need to argue, parents just don’t understand.

When J.M. imagines stuff it appears on screen, but usually in play form, since he’s a playwright. I got pretty confused at first because he’s dancing with his dog and telling the kids it’s a bear. Suddenly he’s in the middle of a fake circus with a painted audience, dancing with a guy in a fake looking bear costume. So the kids are imagining that the dog is really a guy in a bear costume? What kind of a fantasy is that? (more…)

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