Directed by John Krasinski, IF follows a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming), who has been going through a troubling experience in her life and unexpectedly gains the ability to see people’s imaginary friends (referred to as “IFs” for short) who have been abandoned by the kids they helped. Bea also discovers that her mysterious neighbor, Cal (Ryan Reynolds), has the same ability. Together they join forces to reunite the IFs with their former kids.
John Krasinski has been proving himself as a great director, with his most recent work in the horror genre with A Quiet Place Parts 1 and 2. Now he is briefly stepping away from horror and trying something new with this film that on the surface appeared to be much lighter-toned and aimed primarily at families. It’s a big change of tone for Krasinski but honestly a welcome one as I believe every director has the right to expand and experiment when it comes to filmmaking. So I was definitely interested to see what this film would be like and I can honestly say after seeing it I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would.
It was not at all what I expected based on the trailers, so it ended up being a very pleasant and touching gem of a film that tugs at the heartstrings. It looks and feels like an old-fashioned and light-hearted family film but it ended up being much more than that. Krasinski tells a very emotional and surprisingly layered story with some great leads plus some very lovable imaginary friends that make this film one of the most interesting family films I have seen in a long time.
We have a really stacked ensemble cast involved in this film for both the humans and the IFs, all of which do an awesome job putting forth their best performances no matter how big or small their parts are. In most family films I’ve seen these days that aren’t made by Disney or Pixar the casts usually phone in their performances. But not this cast, which was really refreshing to see.
The primary lead is Cailey Fleming as Bea who was simply outstanding with her emotionally driven and vulnerable performance. She is a young girl who is dealing with grief and growing up, but ends up finding solace in helping to make things better for the IFs, allowing her to explore her own imagination as well as allowing her to hold on to that childhood innocence as life tries to destroy or corrupt it.
She ends up not being the only one dealing with this as we get to see other characters enduring the same or at least similar struggles as her but as adults, making it surprisingly relatable for older audiences. I think many people, including myself, have this attachment to a part of our childhood, whether it be an imaginary friend, a simple memory, or even a childhood dream that can give us happiness in the roughest parts of life. That is what this film explores, along with a variety of other themes that can be interpreted through the human characters, especially with Bea.
Sharing the screen and excellent chemistry with her is Ryan Reynolds as Cal. It was interesting to see Ryan Reynolds take on a less comedic role this time around, as a person who seems to have lost hope in his mission but starts to gain it back thanks to the efforts and imagination of Bea, resulting in a great duo that shares plenty of heartfelt moments. Even though this role is different from most of Reynolds’s other roles he still delivers the same amount of great charm that he gives in other roles. He is also able to deliver some pretty good laughs through funny quips and even some solid physical slapstick that he nails perfectly.
We also get some really solid supporting performances from Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, and even John Krasinski himself, giving this film additional amounts of heart and emotion with their respective performances.
Then we come to the IFs themselves who are all very lovable in their own ways thanks to both the effects and the voices behind them. There was a surprising amount of talented voices involved that succeeded in getting me attached to most of these characters as they offered lots of comedy and tons of heart in the film. The main standout IFs for me were definitely Blue (Steve Carell), Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and Lewis (Louis Gossett Jr.). Whenever you want a character to deliver lots of laughs and heart Steve Carell is the man to cast. He gives so much life to this goofy fuzzball that he won me over instantly and I loved the journey he takes in this film with the help of Bea and Cal.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings excitable energy and elegance as the cartoonish Blossom, making for another lovable character that gives out infectious joy every time she’s on-screen, and has great chemistry with Blue and the rest of the cast.
And then we have Lewis, an elderly teddy bear voiced by the late Louis Gossett Jr., who brings an immense warmth with his voice, wisdom, and presence that I loved so much and honestly made me emotional at times. I also love the nostalgic aspect of his character being a teddy bear since it is considered one of the oldest toys in America and the earliest form of an imaginary friend for many people’s childhoods. Rest in peace Louis Gossett Jr., you will be missed.
The rest of the voice cast is great too, but admittedly there were some I wish could have been utilized more.
The narrative of this film is straightforward in terms of plot and it certainly is light-hearted in terms of its humor but it had a more serious tone than I expected. This film was seemingly advertised as sort of a wacky adventure for little kids but the film itself is so much more than that and definitely feels geared more towards older kids and even adults with the subject matter. I loved how it dealt with the themes of grief, growing up, and even the loss of childhood dreams in a unique and original way that ends up creating many emotional moments that I found to be important and impactful. Family films these days don’t often tackle themes like these in any meaningful or serious ways and that goes to show that Krasinski put forth a lot of effort when writing this film.
Now there are some narrative elements of the film that I personally didn’t mind but I know critics and fellow reviewers would nitpick the hell out of. For instance, there are some leaps in logic in some parts of the story but given this is a film about imagination featuring magical creatures I am willing to give these leaps a pass. There is also no detailed explanation of the magic that occurs within this film or how it works. Instead, most of it is visually told and left to the interpretation of the viewers, which is somewhat similar to what many older family films used to do back in the day, and I personally am fine with that. If we had every single magical thing that happens in this film stripped down and explained away in a scientific manner it would completely ruin the wonder, and more importantly the lessons this film is trying to teach. Not everything needs to be completely explained depending on the kind of film you are making and for this kind of film, in my personal view, you don’t need detailed explanations for anything.
On a technical level, this film isn’t anything insane in terms of visuals or cinematography in comparison to A Quiet Place, but it is still visually appealing due to some very well-crafted effects both practical and CGI. Most of the IFs are very much like 3D cartoon characters come to life but none of them look off-putting at all and are given a great amount of detail. For example, Blue’s purple fur looks so realistically fuzzy and warm that you’d just want to reach out and touch him just to feel how soft it is. Every character has their own unique texture that is clearly visible thanks to some gorgeous effects that put big blunders like Space Jam 2 to shame.
But by far one of the biggest technical elements that carries and elevates this film to massive heights is the whimsical score by Michael Giacchino. Giacchino continues to prove himself as one of the greatest composers working today and he delivers some of the most beautiful and heartfelt music in this film. For a film with a simple setting that doesn’t involve epic action sequences you wouldn’t expect such an emotionally charged score but damn Giacchino really put his heart and soul into all of the music.
This film also does feature a light soundtrack of some well known songs that felt fitting for this film including a great use of the song L.O.V.E. by Michael Bublé that plays during one of the most wholesome scenes in the film.
IF was definitely not what I was expecting based on the initial advertising but I really did find myself emotionally attached and really enjoying it from start to end. It’s a very wholesome film that I feel can be a definitive crowd-pleaser for both families and kids as well as a relatable film that can be appealing for adults as well. I think everyone should see this film because it is certainly a worthwhile watch that is guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings. I’m going to give IF an A = 95.
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