IF Review

Directed By: John Krasinski
Written By: John Krasinski
Runtime: 104 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language

Cailey Fleming – Bea
Ryan Reynolds – Cal
John Krasinski – Bea’s Dad
Fiona Shaw – Bea’s Grandmother
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Blossom
Steve Carell – Blue
Louis Gossett Jr. – Lewis
Alan Kim – Benjamin
Liza Colón-Zayas – Janet
Bobby Moynihan – Jeremy

Writer and director John Krasinski presents a new vision with his kid-centric feature, IF. The film certainly has its fair share of heartwarming moments. However, while the film’s heart is in the right place, its haphazard execution fails to bring the proper balance of the classic Pixar style, filmed in live-action that it’s so desperately trying to evoke. In failing to strike that ideal balance between poignant, bittersweet emotion and comedy, the story never reaches its full potential.

IF follows a young girl, the 12-year-old Bea (Fleming), who travels to New York to stay with her grandmother (Shaw) while her father (Reynolds) undergoes what’s implied to be an open-heart surgical procedure. Despite her father’s cheerful demeanor and sense of humor, encouraging his daughter to live a little and have fun, Bea has already been experienced this pain before. Her mother previously died after a debilitating fight with cancer, depicted in the film’s opening prologue. Bea doesn’t realize that she is facing the indescribable fear of losing another parent.

Soon, Bea starts noticing strange creatures. The docile, cartoonish beings are called IFs, short for Imaginary Friends, and they are cared for by the exhausted, cynical, and dour Cal (Reynolds), who seeks to re-home the IFs. Once children reach a certain age, they grow out of their IFs and forget about them, leaving the IFs forced to live in a retirement center in a fantasy realm beneath Coney Island. Bea embarks on an adventure to help the IFs, seeking to help them find new homes and children.

IF brings a solid premise to the forefront, but Krasinski’s script is undercooked. The story is far too narratively inconsistent, and there are no stakes. The IFs are lonely and suffering from abandonment issues, but they are not in danger of physically disappearing or dying. Even when the gentle giant, Blue (Carell), fears he might disappear, Cal quickly shoots the idea down.

IF was sold on the premise that Bea helps the IFs by finding them new homes and kids. Unfortunately, Krasinski discards the idea just as he finishes establishing it. Bea workshops her IF matchmaking service with young Benjamin, an injured child she befriends while checking on her father at the hospital. Benjamin loves fantasy dragons because he keeps the toys near his hospital bed. Bea even makes him a dragon out of clay. A fantasy dragon IF happens to live at the Coney Island community center. Yet, Bea, who recognizes that Benjamin loves dragons, doesn’t bring in the Dragon IF to audition him for Benjamin. It’s a strange setup with no payoff. The idea to re-home the IFs with new children then gets abandoned with little thought or effort.

The movie constantly shifts focus and becomes frustrating. Also, most of the IFs play more like gimmicks than genuine characters. Blue and Blossom receive the most screen time and turn into likable characters. Some of the other IFs are cute and have humorous gimmicks, such as Cosmo (Christopher Meloni), a shadowy silhouette who acts like a hardboiled detective or superspy. The IFs are generally amusing, but few of them have enough screen time to leave a stronger impression. Cinephiles will likely notice a particular line of dialogue that spells out the whole movie’s big twist. The line is so blatant that it sounds intentional, but some stronger delicacy with the plot twist would have been preferable.

That said, the late Oscar-winner Louis Gossett Jr. delivers an incredible vocal performance in one of his final roles, portraying Lewis, the oldest of the IFs living at the retirement center. Gossett brings a wisened, kindly nostalgia for Lewis, and all of his lines leave an impression as he mentors Bea in the ways of the IFs.

Krasinski seeks to inspire hope, optimism, and imagination in the face of crippling fear. That’s understandable, but the plight of his own character, Bea’s father, never rings true. It’s nice that Bea’s father maintains high spirits for the sake of his daughter, who is frightened that her father’s illness will leave her orphaned. At the same time, Bea’s father does not act like he’s a patient in a hospital, and oddly, never wears his hospital gown. He comes off more like a nurse playing hooky than a patient about to undergo surgery. As one who has personally experienced a family member undergoing surgery, the frustrating vagueness way in which Krasinski stages the hospital scenes never rings true. These should be the realest, most sobering scenes in the film, but they tend to fall flat in character-building and emotional stakes.

Those issues aside, Krasinski does enable some wondrous cinematography by award-winning DP Janusz Kamiński and heartstring-pulling music by composer Michael Giacchino. Those elements working in tandem create undeniable moments of vibrant warmth throughout IF. The imagination, ambition, and heart are there, but the story never works as well as desired.

IF does not reach its full potential through its flawed narrative and presentation, but at least, Krasinski strikes out with an earnest, admirable attempt at bat.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

IF has its heart in the right place, but the story never works to the full potential of its premise. The narrative becomes far too inconsistent, and many of the IFs come off as throwaway gimmicks, rather than genuine characters. To its credit, the film creates undeniably heartfelt and emotionally genuine moments, despite the various plot and story issues. Small children will likely still have fun and enjoy the experience of seeing the IFs come to life onscreen.