“IF” Review
With a massive group of imaginary friends, a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming) seeks to help her new friends find homes in “IF”, a new film from John Krasinski.
After wowing mainstream audiences with his talents as a screenwriter and director for “A Quiet Place” and its sequel, John Krasinski has made another kind of “family film” although it could not be more different from his ventures into survival horror. “IF” represents a turn by Krasinski into the world of family entertainment and, while having a good message and charming characters, does falter with a lack of focus.
In New York City, a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming) is feeling anxious about her father’s (Krasinski) heart surgery, especially since her mother (Catharine Daddario) died of cancer, and is staying with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) as she awaits her father’s hopeful recovery. While feeling lost, Bea encounters a strange group of creatures that are actually our Imaginary Friends or “IFs” from childhood as well as Cal (Ryan Reynolds), her grandmother’s upstairs neighbor who can also see the IFs. The problem that these IFs have is that their kids have grown up and no longer can see them. Hoping to make them feel better, Bea and Cal embark on an imagination-fueled odyssey to reignite the purpose of the IFs.
With a lot of the cast and visuals, including excellent camerawork by frequent Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski, Krasinski is trying to craft this vivid world that, in many ways, mirrors ours but can be turned upside down by whimsical forces, not unlike “Mary Poppins”. My respect goes out to him because, for the most part, the atmosphere he creates was winning me over. I was feeling drawn into his little world and I loved the performances that carried it home. There are some truly sweet moments of childhood wonder and nostalgia that really got me emotionally.
Cailey Fleming takes the trope of a kid who’s trying too hard to be an adult due to outside elements and makes it feel fresh with a jovial sincerity. Her costar Ryan Reynolds makes this a perfect pairing since that man seems to always have the energy of the fun kid who got to sneak more extreme films past his parents but was still earnest in his childlike curiosity. Together, I became invested as they worked with a whole team of IFs that just want to take care of children in need.
With a voice cast consisting of legends like Steve Carrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jon Stewart, Sebastian Maniscalco, Emily Blunt and the late Louis Gossett Jr. as well as some creative designs, these IFs were quite delightful. Sure they look more like cartoon characters but that feels like the point. Similarly to how the animation was handled in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, they don’t have to look realistic to feel that way. I was especially worried from the trailer that Blue (Carrell), a big, furry purple monster, was going to become annoying but Carrell really taps into both the pure feeling of his need to be helpful and the pain he’s in because his kid forgot him Along with the other IFs, Blue immediately won me over with the combination of an interesting look and expressive voice-acting.
While there is this sense of sincerity to the picture, it doesn’t always shine through and it does hurt the film after a while. There are certainly humorous moments with his character but John Krasinski’s role as Bea’s father feels undefined, especially since his fate is a massive motivator for his daughter. Sure, “IF” has a very simple and sweet message about staying true to your inner child regardless of your age but the objectives of the characters seem to change on the turn of a dime, especially in regards to the fate of these unwanted IFs. At first, it seems as though Bea and Cal want one thing for the IFs but then the goal shifts without a major catalyst for this change of plans.
Ultimately, “IF” feels unfulfilled but I think is an enjoyable enough film for families and the forever young to check out. I don’t think that it will be the family favorite of the year (especially if my hopes for “Inside Out 2” are met or even exceeded) but it’s still a fun way for the family to enjoy two hours. I think it will have an audience and I love Krasinski as a filmmaker but I just don’t think he hit a bullseye with this one. He hit the target but towards the outside of it with room to improve for his next shot.
