Once again, I probably only have time for one new movie this week. The big release this week was writer/director John Krasinski’s IF, his third directorial effort and the first that was not an outright horror movie. It just so happened that my girlfriend heard of it a bit before I did and wanted to see it, so this was a rare trip to the multiplex for both of us. The previous two such trips were fun outings, and while the reviews of IF have been mixed, what I saw told me that she would probably really enjoy the movie. Me? Maybe, maybe not. But as part of a big birthday thing from me to her, we ended the day with IF.
Now, if only that kid with a headache wasn’t telling someone a row or two behind me how much he hated not being allowed to leave…
12 year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming) doesn’t want to be a kid anymore, but her fun-loving father (Krasinski) is in the hospital for some unspecified heart surgery, and with her mother deceased from what is implied to have been cancer, Bea will be moving into her grandmother’s (Fiona Shaw) apartment. One night, Bea catches a glimpse of an odd figure that looks like a human child-sized butterfly that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Betty Boop cartoon. Said butterfly is hiding in the upstairs apartment of Cal (Ryan Reynolds), and both Cal and Bea can see Imaginary Friends (AKA IFs) like Blossom the butterfly (voice of Phoebe Waller-Bridge) or the purple fuzzy thing named Blue (voice of Steve Carell) that seem to be hanging around Cal’s place. Bea and Cal were once created by the imagination of a child, but when the child grew up, they could no longer see their IFs. Blue, a clumsy thing in the best of circumstances, has been trying to find a new child while the exasperated Cal just seems to be trying to make sure he doesn’t make a mess.
The thing for Bea to do then is perhaps to help the IFs find new children despite the fact that even other kids can’t see them. She’ll get help from the reluctant Cal and the various IFs, including the wise old teddy bear Lewis (voice of the late Louis Gossett Jr to whom the movie is dedicated in a post credit moment). It’s a tricky thing to do as the IFs need to have a purpose to do much of anything. Can Bea and Cal find a way to help these forgotten IFs?
I enjoyed this movie a bit more than I thought I would. It’s not perfect. The soundtrack sounded a little too treacly and intrusive, pushing a more sentimental mood into the movie in ways I didn’t like much, and my girlfriend thought Fleming was smiling too much in scenes when she shouldn’t have been. I would also say that IF isn’t on the same level of A Quiet Place, but I would likewise say some of the criticism aimed at IF by one or two of the film critics I heard from before heading out wasn’t quite justified. This is a movie with an impressive cast for the different Imaginary Friends, and not just Reynolds and Krasinski’s respective famous wives, though be aware characters voiced by the likes of Matt Damon and George Clooney don’t actually have a lot to say, plus a good closing credits gag about the actor playing the invisible IF. If anything, I think the movie might be a little too sentimental for kids while maybe being a little “sweet” for adults.
But all things being equal, this was a fine enough movie. The IFs look good, and I can’t really say there’s much wrong with the movie. It’s more of a case where it doesn’t quite live up to being any better than fine. It’s cute, sweet, and sentimental, and while there are other movies that have arguably done this sort of thing better–Bing Bong from Up comes to mind–it’s also a movie that does a good job telling a story of its own. At the very least, Krasinski should get credit for trying to make something outside of the genre he made a directorial name for himself with.
Grade: B-
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