At its peak, IF is satisfactory. While it is respectable that an original story had this much support thrown its way, it is unfortunately quite forgettable.

IF is writer and director John Krasinski’s first film away from the A Quiet Place franchise. He wanted to make a family film about fatherhood for his two children. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fiona Shaw, John Krasinski, Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Steve Carell, among a whole smorgasbord of famous actors in cameos or voice roles. 

IF follows the story of Bea (Fleming), a girl who lost her mother at an early age and whose father is now in the hospital for heart surgery. She moves into her grandmother’s (Shaw) apartment in New York City and visits her father (Krasinski) every day. She’s a serious girl, a strong contrast to her goofy, fun-loving dad. She meets a young boy named Benjamin (Kim) whom she develops a friendship with when she brings her father flowers. Then, everything changes when she catches Cal (Reynolds) and Blossom (Waller-Bridge) sneaking into a house to see if an Imaginary Friend, or IF, named Blue (Carell) is matching well with the new kid that Cal assigned to him. She learns that IFs exist, and they struggle with a purpose now that their original child has forgotten them. It turns out that Cal has been living in the apartment above her and her grandmother. Bea doesn’t want to see the IFs anymore, so she decides to help Cal match all them with new children so she can move on with her life.  

The writing is the weakest aspect of the film from both a character and plot perspective. Bea’s grandmother is essentially purposeless. She lets her granddaughter run around modern-day New York City without ever being concerned for her wellbeing or giving Bea a call. She might as well have been living at home alone while her father was in the hospital. Also, she quickly jumps into the world of IFs despite so determined to be serious and realistic in the beginning of the film. On the other hand, IF has several plot holes that I couldn’t stop thinking about and it was more convoluted than it needed to be. Instead of sticking to a premise, it twists just to do it. IF fails to have that cathartic release that it sets itself up for and instead opts for a reveal that is actually rather obvious. The premise of a film about imaginary friends is interesting, but it by no means reaches the ceiling of potential.

Krasinksi and Reynolds are both producers, so unsurprisingly they both inserted themselves in the film. Ryan Reynolds is known for a specific vibe he brings to the movies he stars in which this film fails to capitalize on. He typically acts like an overgrown boy, but here, he is dour and stressed out trying to match IFs with new kids. The movie would make more sense if Krasinksi and Reynolds switched roles since Krasinski is attuned to that dry humor. This wasn’t the project to change the formula. Cailey Fleming does a solid job, and it was nice to see Alan Kim in another film! Although the film isn’t up to par, at least the audience can play “Guess the Actor” with every IF on screen. 

Two aspects of the film that were rather admirable were the cinematography and score. The twinkly and whimsical score was written by Michael Giacchino. I could easily imagine it playing as I walk down Main Street at Disney World. It was a delight to listen to. As for the cinematography, Steven Spielberg’s consistent collaborator Janusz Kaminski was brought in as DP. The film is actually rather beautiful, which was a nice surprise. It was soft and glowy when it could’ve easily been basic and flat. However, it seems like Krasinksi simply sent The Fabelmans trailer to Kaminski and asked him to just recreate it. He must have wanted to use this visual connection as a shortcut for moviegoers to identify IF as a magical film that could play alongside Spielberg’s entertaining filmography. Unfortunately, it just seemed more like a carbon copy rather than an inspiration despite its beauty.

As much as Krasinksi tries to pay homage to family films of the past, it doesn’t live up to expectations. It bites off more than it can chew trying to make IF a big, flashy film and rather than actually honing in on an interesting theme or idea. Honestly, based on several dancing scenes, it almost seems like Krasinksi really wants to direct a musical. Those scenes are practically superfluous to the core of the story, though they were the most entertaining part. At its peak, IF is satisfactory. While it is respectable that an original story had this much support thrown its way, it is unfortunately quite forgettable.

Grade: C+

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Where to Watch: In Theaters