IF review

IF: 

A DERIVATIVE BUT WHOLESOME FAMILY FILM WITH IMAGINARY FRIENDS (AND RYAN REYNOLDS)! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, and a bunch of imaginary friends in IF

 

            A young girl discovers a magical world of imaginary friends with a charismatic Ryan Reynolds (Deadpooltrilogy, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Free Guy) as her guide in IF, the latest film from John Krasinski (The Office, A Quiet Place 1 and 2, Jack Ryan). The idea of exploring the lives of imaginary friends after their children outgrow them is nothing new (In fact, there will be comparisons to a certain animated series that revolved around the same thing throughout this review), but like Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Monsters, Inc. a movie or show can have similarities to another existing media as long as it’s able to bring something fresh and new to the table or do its own unique variation of these ideas. 

            The movie looked promising by the trailers which sort of had a Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends meets Toy Story sort of vibe which I was onboard for. It also helps that John Krasinski is madly talented both in front of and behind the camera so much like what he did with his Quiet Place movies, I was confident that he’d be able to craft something high quality and entertaining. 

            Now that it’s been released and watched, I can say that John Krasinski’s IF is…a good movie! It’s certainly not a perfect movie and has some flaws, but I found it to be a very imaginative (No pun intended) and charming family film. 

            The film follows 12-year-old girl, Bea (Cailey Fleming-The Walking Dead, Star Wars: The Force Awakens,Loki) moving into her grandmother’s apartment while her father (Played by Krasinski) is in the hospital. Bea discovers that she and her next door neighbor, Cal (Reynolds) can see imaginary friends or simply IFs including a lovable purple monster ironically named Blue (voiced by Steve Carell-Anchorman 1 and 2, The Office, Despicable Me franchise) who no other imaginary friend character in media shares that name with! 

            It turns out there’s an entire world of IFs that were abandoned by their creators and Bea, Cal, Blue, and a dancing Mickey Mouse cartoon-inspired IF named Blossom (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge-Fleabag, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) embark on a magical journey to reconnect the IFs with their owners. 

            The film also stars Fiona Shaw (Super Mario Bros., Harry Potter franchise, Enola Holmes) as Bea’s grandmother Margaret, Alan Kim (Minari, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Monsters at Work) as Benjamin, Liza Colón-Zayas (Freedomland, United 93, The Purge: Election Year) as Janet, and Bobby Moynihan (Monsters University, We Bare Bears, The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2) as Jeremy; and features the voices of the late Louis Gossett Jr. (The Deep, The Punisher (1989), Iron Eagle franchise) as Lewis, Awkwafina (The Farewell, The Bad Guys, The Little Mermaid (2023)) as Pop, Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, A Quiet Place 1 and 2, The Fall Guy) as Uni, George Clooney (Ocean’s trilogy, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Gravity) as Astronaut, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, Marvel Cinematic Universe, A Star is Born (2018)) as Ice, Matt Damon (Bourne franchise, The Departed, Oppenheimer) as Sunny, Bill Hader (Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs 1 and 2, Inside Out, Trainwreck) as Workout Banana, Richard Jenkins (It Could Happen to You, The Visitor, The Cabin in the Woods) as Art Teacher, Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Hotel Transylvania franchise, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)) as Slime, Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2, The Shallows, A Simple Favor) as Octopuss, Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book, The Irishman, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)) as Magician Mouse, Christopher Meloni (12 Monkeys, Law & Order, Green Lantern: First Flight) as Cosmo, Matthew Rhys (Titus, The Post, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) as Andromedus III, Sam Rockwell (Moon, Iron Man 2, The Bad Guys) as Guardian Dog, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Big Hero 6, The Mitchells VS the Machines) as Ally, Amy Schumer (Trainwreck, Bros, Trolls Band Together) as Gummy Bear, and Jon Stewart (The Daily Show, Death to Smoochy, Irresistible) as Robot. 

            Overall, IF may not be the most original piece of media dealing with lost imaginary friends, but its creativity, heart, and lovable characters help bring this movie to life. Really, my only major issue with the film is the plot, not because it’s bad or not told well, but because I’ve heard this story before in other shows and movies, specifically Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. 

            A place where imaginary friends live and the human protagonists act as social workers and put them up for adoption. It’s literally the exact same plot as Foster’s except only certain people can see them and for a movie that’s being marketed as imaginative, plot-wise it’s pretty standard. 

            The movie truly shines with its world-building and characters and since this is a film about imaginary friends, the designs of the animated characters are insanely creative and a visual marvel to look at. All the IF characters have unique animations and art styles to help them stand out and effectively blend with live-action, it’s no Roger Rabbit but the animators and effects designers deserve a lot of praise for their work here. 

            I haven’t seen much of Cailey Fleming aside from Young Rey in Force Awakens, but I thought she did great as the film’s protagonist and pretty much carries the whole movie. Ryan Reynolds is also a standout here in an against-type role as the grumpy neighbor who reluctantly guides Cailey Fleming into the world of IFs, both Fleming and Reynolds have very likable chemistry here and I enjoyed seeing them interact with each other. 

            I also appreciate how despite this film being geared towards kids and families and is mostly very lighthearted and wholesome, it doesn’t shy away from heavy and somber moments. The drama is well-handled here and when the film gets dramatic, it lets the moment sit with the audience and doesn’t end in a punchline or dumb joke. 

            If you got kids and looking for a nice family outing, IF ain’t a bad movie to check out, it has just enough creativity, heart, and endearing characters to excuse its indifferent plot. Side note, I am very disappointed that Paramount didn’t put a Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer before this movie!