Movie Review: IF

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: May 17th, 2024 / 03:14 AM

IF movie poster | ©2024 Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG
Stars: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, Bobby Moynihan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Audrey Hoffman, Steve Carell (voice), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (voice), Louis Gossett Jr. (voice), Emily Blunt (voice), Matt Damon (voice), Maya Rudolph (voice), Jon Stewart (voice), Sam Rockwell (voice), Sebastian Maniscalco (voice), Christopher Meloni (voice), Awkwafina (voice)
Writer: John Krasinski
Director: John Krasinski
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 17, 2024

One would have to be a Grinch of the highest order to object to the premise of IF, which is, broadly, that imagination makes everybody’s lives better. Written and directed by John Krasinski, the contemporary fantasy has charms and laughs and even a few moments to evoke tears. It’s just that its loose structure makes us wonder how far we and the characters are getting in their quest.

We meet Bea (short for Elizabeth) as a little girl (Audrey Hoffman) with adoring parents (writer/director Krasinski and Catharine Daddario). Then Bea (Cailey Fleming) is twelve, settling into a room at the lovely New York City apartment of her grandmother (Fiona Shaw).

Bea’s mom has died, and her dad (writer/director Krasinski) is in the hospital for heart surgery. Despite Dad’s upbeat and whimsical manner, Bea is understandably extremely worried. As a little girl, she had loved making art, but now she believes she’s too old for such things.

Then a series of almost-sightings lead Bea to investigate some neighbors in another apartment in Grandma’s building. She eventually meets Calvin (Ryan Reynolds), who suffers from anxiety, as well as Blossom (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a black-and-white anthropomorphic butterfly, and Blue (voiced by Steve Carell), a gigantic furry purple Something.

Bea determines to help Calvin, Blossom and Blue as they seek to improve the existences of other Imaginary Friends (voiced by a collection of name actors). The late Louis Gossett Jr. stands out as a philosophical old bear (and gets a lovely tribute at the end).

IF is mostly sweet and pleasant, but because our heroes more or less stumble onto what it is they ought to be doing, there isn’t a strong sense of trajectory. Likewise, because we never really know what the stakes are, we’re not sure what, if anything, we ought to fear. This is in fact lifelike, but it doesn’t make for an engrossing adventure. Some of the jokes land well (including a meta one embedded in the closing credits), but some running gags don’t hold up throughout.

A crucial issue is that, while Fleming is an engaging performer, she is clearly older than twelve. Since the story seems like it would work just as well if Bea were a teen, insisting that she’s pre-adolescent is a particularly odd choice.

The production design by Jess Gonchor is cheery and inviting. Indeed, Grandmother’s apartment is as appealing as most of the fantasy environments that Bea and friends visit.

Speaking of Grandmother, Shaw delivers a performance of marvelous nuance and sensitivity. Krasinski makes an ideal Dad (and also voices the Imaginary Friend Marshmallow).

IF does come together in the end. The journey may not be as consistently fun as we might wish, but it is touching often enough to be viable.

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A warm-spirited if under-plotted fantasy

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Article: Movie Review: IF

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