Directed By John Krasinski

Starring – Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, John Krasinski

The Plot – A young girl (Fleming) who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone’s imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild adult language.

IF | Final Trailer (2024 Movie) – Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Steve Carell (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

Imaginations are aspects of our adolescence that we will unfortunately never get back, but thanks to the fantastical pageantry of Krasinksi’s biggest production to date, ‘IF’ unlocks the door to that special place of make-believe, where anything can and in the case of this movie, often does take shape. Krasinski’s indulgence comes across seamlessly in the consistency of his direction, with exhilaratingly elaborate larger than life musical numbers that inspire an infectious chaos to the design of this wistful underworld, with a whimsical wonderment from the score of the great Michael Giacchino, that serves as the musical exclamation point to so many boldly decorated sequences. Krasinski’s world-building is without a doubt the single greatest element to the movie’s favor, both in the rules of the imaginative indulgence, with heartbreaking realities for kids-turned-teens, and also this retirement village of sorts for the many eccentric personalities that adorn the dreams of their children, with Krasinski imbedding a heft and tangibility to the designs of these animated characters that make them feel believable in the context of every scene they vividly invade. The animations are not only full of expressive emotional impulses, but also a rich versatility in texture that highlights many uniquely compelling forms of animation, proving that anything is indeed possible in the eyes of the beholder who dares to dream so big. For many of these quirky personalities, they serve as one-off cameos, with possibly the grandest ensemble of the year lending their vocal capacities to the depth and integrity of the characters, but each with the kind of scene-stealing capability that justifies their collective efforts, serving as a calling card to the merit of Krasinski, who everybody seems to want to work with, by this point. The endless celebrity cameos definitely do a service in balancing the responsibility of entertaining with Reynolds and Fleming, but never robbing them completely of their purpose to the narrative, with each of them handing in meaningfully stellar turns that prove each of them to be the right person for the job. For Reynolds, this is anything but a surprise, as he seems to fit comfortably in any role he’s cast, but here his familiar scenery chewing in commentary is traded in for a slapstick side of physicality that Chevy Chase once perfected, all with the balance of heart and humor that only Ryan can capably pull off to the benefit of the film. Fleming takes her biggest step forward after her breakthrough role in TV’s “The Walking Dead”, but with an obvious degree of difference here as Bea, who grapples with some surprisingly deep realities that Krasinski illustrates around her. Fleming continuously rises to the occasion of grief and sacrificial innocence with a portrayal that eventually earns vulnerability to her cadence, resulting in a full circle climactic pay-off for the film that Cailey holds entirely in the palm of her hands, with regards to its effectiveness towards the audience. Lastly, like other films set there, the film has an unabashedly loving appreciation for New York City backdrops and skylines, which prescribe integral beauty to a shot composition that most family films aren’t blessed with. In particular, the appearance and sentimental meaning behind the boardwalk Wonder Wheel, with a frozen in time rendering in introduction, is breathed new life as a virtual crossroad between two worlds, reality and fantasy, where our story is prominently set, and while Krasinski doesn’t get too involved in the technical components of his film, it’s nice to see substance behind a setting that makes the most of its geographic familiarity.

NEGATIVES

One thing I truly didn’t expect from ‘IF’, was for it to be dominated tonally by dramatic enveloping, so much so that it saturates much of the comedic merits from transpiring in ways that Krasinski wanted them so evidently to do. While the material itself is nothing special, mostly as a result of cutesy, schmaltzy family humor that has rarely ever been my style, the film’s dependency on sentimentality and drama result in several clashes to its consistency that often has this feeling like one concept helmed by two respective artists, and in the case of the movie’s entertainment value, leaves it feeling a big wet blanket during key scenes that could’ve used humor to flesh out the bizarreness of the situation. I myself appreciate when a family film packs emotional depth to its engagement, but here some of those beats fall a little flat as a result of melodramatic encompassing, making it a bit difficult to understand which side of the age bracket that the film will promote delight towards. In addition to oversaturated drama, the script is quite literally a mess, with unfinished arcs and unfocused consistency leading to an unfulfilling exploration. Considering the opening act of this movie is spent introducing many characters and various subplots, especially Bea, who has this unexplained ability to see and interact with IF’s long after her childhood expiration date, the pay-off’s of such don’t amount in juice to anything that exerted the squeeze, and with the stacking of many plates that the film is continuously trying to spin, in addition to a central plot that doesn’t seem to garner any kind of long-distance development to such, the film feels like a collection of scenes instead of one cohesive effort, resulting in a haphazard execution that frequently made it difficult to stay invested, especially with one particular section in the storytelling that meanders in the same realities for roughly 20-25 minutes. Beyond this, the script has some great ideas to the concept of this fantastical delve, but never with a summoning of intentions that fully renders a complete picture within the extent of the movie’s world-building. Besides two people’s unexplained ability to see these IF’s, where do IF’s come from? How is a new one produced? Why is Reynolds Cal such a sourpuss for the first half of the movie? These are only a few of the questions that were left lingering long after I left the theater, and while the most basic response is to never treat a kids/family movie with logic, the realities enacted here by Krasinski never feel fully realized, even by the set of rules that he himself imbeds to the integrity of the finished product, or lack there of. Finally, the film’s dialogue is also incapable of smoothing out the heavy-handed emphasis of the intention, especially those lines of Bea, who serves as a manifested exposition dump sent to hold the hands and answer as many questions from the audience as possible. If Krasinski took more time to make the sentences out of Fleming’s mouth sound personal to her, or at least in the ways kids would echo them, then it wouldn’t of felt as heavy-handed from the creative think tank behind the camera, but unfortunately they’re conjured in the kind of order and effort that you would expect from visionaries with little to no confidence in their audience, leaving these noticeable gaps of elementary interactions that might as well be read monotonously to articulate the artificial intelligence that went into crafting their realism.

OVERALL
‘IF’ is a respectable attempt from creator John Krasinski, who vividly unlocks the door of fantastical pageantry to our adolescent imaginations, but unfortunately never delves deeper than surface level in a film constantly undermined by its own counterproductive execution. While Reynolds and Fleming are a charming and dynamic duo, the film surrounding their efforts is one full of abrasive tonal clashes, unanswered questions, unfulfilling subplots, and rudimentary dialogue, resulting in a heavily flawed film where its imagination never gets the better of it.

My Grade: 5/10 or D+