Parents' Guide to The Lost Girls

While some of its outdated stereotypes and language is today rightfully called out, J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan remains a classic and much loved story. Which is why The Lost Girls, which builds on Barrie's original tale, should be admired for its courage in taking on such a task. Unfortunately it fails to deliver on nearly every level. The drama takes place some 60 to 70 years after Peter Pan first visited the Darling household. We soon discover that Pan is something of an obnoxious boy who becomes angry at various female members of the Darling family for … getting old. So, somewhat creepily, he returns sporadically when a new Darling reaches the age of 13, magically appearing in their bedroom no less. Rather than be cause for concern, the original Wendy -- played by the iconic Vanessa Redgrave -- talks as if this home invasion is the best thing to happen to a young girl, while her granddaughter, also called Wendy, is overcome with jealously due to the fact that Pan is now more interested in her own daughter.

If the icky storyline isn't enough to put you off, the acting -- despite the presence of Redgrave and, briefly, her own real-life daughter, Joely Richardson -- is poor. Some of the scenes are reminiscent of a TV soap opera, and not a good one at that. The direction is little better, with characters suddenly appearing or erupting in an abrupt outburst. It has the disjointed feel of a dream, but sadly one you can't wait to wake up from. Based on a book released in 2001, fans of book adaptations or even Barrie's original material will find nothing here to delight.