IF

Starring: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (voice), Fiona Shaw, Steve Carell (voice), Louis Gossett Jr. (voice), Alan Kim, Bobby Moynihan, Awkwafina (voice), Emily Blunt (voice), George Clooney (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Matt Damon (voice), Bill Hader (voice), Richard Jenkins (voice), Keegan-Michael Key (voice), Blake Lively (voice), Sebastian Maniscalco (voice), Christopher Meloni (voice), Matthew Rhys (voice), Sam Rockwell (voice), Maya Rudolph (voice), Jon Stewart (voice)
Directed by: John Krasinski
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young girl (Cailey Fleming) begins to see Imaginary Friends, which leads her on an adventure that distracts her from the traumatic events in her own life.

Review:

Tim: I've long been a big John Krasinski fan and I truly want him to succeed in whatever he does. I think he's a talented actor and director, and I was interested in seeing his next production, IF. My kids certainly loved the movie, which is a big plus. However, for me, I could only see the ways it easily could have been significantly better. Sure, the film has a ton of strengths- however, the flaws really hold this movie back. In the end, I believe this is a decent film that squandered much of its potential.

The heart of the story is a solid one and I loved that Krasinski (writer and director) tried to tackle a subject with a big more depth to it. It handles these big topics with kid gloves, sure- but the idea of parents either getting sick or dying is such a frightening idea and I love that he approached it here. You can see how that inspires everything that follows. One of my complaints, though, is that Krasinski's script never really makes this connect clear enough. It's like he started with a strong vision and then got totally distracted by the quantity of Imaginary Friends and Ryan Reynolds' zany energy. The story ultimately takes a far backseat here and by the time Krasinski looks up and tries to tie everything together, it feels forced and rushed. That's really the main issue here- Krasinski throws WAY TOO MUCH into this film. There could have been a brilliant movie here, but it needed so much less. Half of the IFs needed to be cut. Nearly all of the pointless voice cameos. The script needed to be streamlined, to focus more on this little girl and what this adventure does for her. The glitz and the visuals totally dominate the back half of this movie and the film is poorer for it.

I have to admit, the absurd number of voice cameos really turned me off. It felt like Krasinski was showing off- look how many people I've worked with, or know in Hollywood! I admit, it's kind of cool to see the various connections he's built throughout his Hollywood career and yes, he's worked with so many huge names. However, this wasn't the forum to brag about that. Especially, not when so many of them have 1-2 lines that only distract from the main story here. Did George Clooney make this movie better at all? Did Matt Damon? Did Bradley Cooper? The answer is, "Absolutely not." Was there any reason for them to do this? Again, nope. The film is filled with pointless, unnecessary characters and Krasinski gets lost giving them a few lines each. I couldn't tell you most of the characters or who voiced them- they mostly wash over you in a rushed, visually smorgasbord sequence that is all flash and very little substance. It's frustrating to see a movie that is founded on deepness succumb to the allure of flashy visuals and celebrity cameos. That hurts this film immensely.

Krasinski himself is good as the dad. I liked that he cast himself in a smaller supporting role. His performance is limited, but good. Ryan Reynolds is excellent in the most memorable role of the film. His over-the-top humor and comedic timing is perfect for this role and it's great fun to sit back and watch him cook. I loved Cailey Fleming in the protagonist role. After seeing her suffer so much on The Walking Dead, if felt wonderful to see her in something more age appropriate. She's quite effective in the main role. I don't like Phoebe Waller-Bridge much, but her voice is one of the few that really mattered. She does good work in her role. The same can be said for Steve Carell- his character matters and it's important. He does a nice job bringing this silly character to life.

The plague of excess sinking this film isn't limited to IFs. I couldn't believe the movie took the time to introduce a character played by Alan Kim, only for him to matter so little to anything to follow. It boggles my mind that our time was wasted on a pointless subplot that is shoehorned into the broader story at the end. It's a glaring example of the sheer lack of focus inherent in Krasinski's screenplay. Honestly, I love the guy, but what was he thinking? I just keep looking down the long list of actors involved in this film and truly, it's not worth mentioning nearly all of them.

Now, as much as I've been complaining about this film, it has many strengths, too. Krasinski certainly directs a high-energy, zany film that is memorable. He throws everything into this movie. The visuals are impressive and while the film ultimately fails in its attempt to tell a deep, powerful, emotional story, it gets somewhat close- which is far better than most unambitious children's movies. There's some really good performances here that are fun to watch. As I said, my kids both loved the movie, and as a 9 and 5.5 year old, they were very much the target demographic. Critics were split on the film- 50/50 according to Rotten Tomatoes, although the audience score was in the 80s. The box office was solid, too, $111 million. So, Krasinski probably won't learn much from this- he'll chalk it up to a great success and move on. That's fine, but I think he has real talent and I wish he'd seen that this film should have been even better. Still, it's not a bad movie, and IF being only decent might be a disappointment, but kids won't see that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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