Imagination is a core pillar of which the foundations of childhood stand, from playing make-believe to dreaming up visions for your future life. While some retain the ability to let their minds run free with creativity into their adult life, it quietly slips away from others. IF (an abbreviation for Imaginary Friends) is the latest directorial effort from actor-turned-filmmaker John Krasinski. This family fantasy adventure is a sizeable departure from Krasinski’s most notable efforts as a triple threat, the ongoing A Quiet Place horror franchise. But right from the start, it’s easy to see how John Krasinski’s journey as a father to his own two daughters inspired the story of IF. This makes way for a light-hearted, charming story that packs a hefty emotional punch.
IF follows 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming), who has just moved in with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) in New York City while her dad is admitted into the hospital for a major surgery. Still reeling from the loss of her mom at a young age, Bea spends her time looking through old camcorder recordings from the early days of her childhood. One night, Bea is followed home by a mysterious figure in the shadows. After working up the courage to investigate, Bea ventures to the top floor of her apartment building, where she discovers a gang of colorful and whacky creatures known as IFs accompanied by her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds).
Realizing that they are the only two humans who can see and interact with these imaginary friends, Bea and Cal decide to team up and use their superpower for good. The duo set up a match-making service of sorts at Coney Island, the place where all the forgotten IFs live in retirement. Their goal is to pair every abandoned IF with a new kid who is able to see them. After some failed matchmaking attempts, it becomes clear that the IFs are still tied to their original child companions, who are now grown adults. Filled with hope and determination, Bea makes it her mission to reunite the IFs with their creators. But digging for imagination and wonder in grown-ups proves to be more difficult than you would think.
It’s impressive that at such a young age, Cailey Fleming (The Walking Dead) is able to carry IF on her shoulders effortlessly. Fleming plays out Bea’s character arc with great emotion, where you see her go on a heartfelt journey and gain back that child-like enthusiasm for life that was almost fading away. What’s not made abundantly clear in the film’s marketing is that writer-director John Krasinski plays Bea’s father as well. In his limited screen time, Krasinski shares some tender moments with Fleming. You could argue that his looming presence over Bea adds some authenticity to the emotion given Krasinski’s real-life inspirations from his two daughters.
The biggest surprise from a performance perspective is Ryan Reynolds, though. The Deadpool star and Wrexham A.F.C. co-owner is known for utilizing his charming wit in each of his roles. Family-friendly movies are also typically where actors showcase more eccentric performances, but Reynolds plays his character, Cal, in a very restrained manner. This doesn’t make it a poor performance by any means. Still, it feels like an odd choice of direction for Cal to lack some ardor, given that he’s constantly surrounded by zany and vibrant imaginary friends. However, when paired together, Reynolds and Cailey Fleming make a strong team and bounce off each other with ease.
Aside from the human cast, IF is littered with celebrity cameos in its voice cast, from Hollywood A-listers such as Bradley Cooper and George Clooney to modern comedy legends Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph. Out of all the animated friends we are introduced to throughout the movie, we spend the most time with two of them: Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a cartoony butterfly lady, and Blue (Steve Carell), a big yet adorable purple furry monster. The designs of all the IFs are highly amusing and, on a technical level, seamlessly blend in with the live-action world around them. At times, it seems as though practical effects are used to simulate their presence next to the human leads. It’s an impressive feat that only makes the IFs feel more like their own characters instead of CGI props.
For the most part, John Krasinski’s screenplay is solid. However, it paints an odd picture of the characters’ lives before the film’s main events kick off. Bea was seemingly separated from her father with no further context as to why a child was left on their own or where they lived previously. Now, this is not information that is completely necessary for the plot’s progression. But, in the grand scheme of things, it does become distracting for the viewer when the script avoids explaining such a huge setup.
John Krasinski’s IF will undoubtedly appeal to both adults and children, and not just because it is designed to be a crowd-pleaser. The pride that the IFs have in their former kids and their journey towards reconnecting with them is truly heartwarming and relatable. It reminds you that each of us has aspects of our childhood that we just abandoned one day, be it intentional or not. Each viewer will be able to take something rather emotional away from this family film’s reflections on the fleeting nature of childhood while also having an overall fun time at the movies.
IF hits theaters on May 17!
Release Date: May 17, 2024.
Directed by John Krasinski.
Written by John Krasinski.
Produced by John Krasinski, Allyson Seeger, Andrew Form, & Ryan Reynolds.
Main Cast: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Christopher Meloni, Richard Jenkins, Awkwafina, Blake Lively, George Clooney, Matthew Rhys, Brad Pitt, Allyson Seeger, Bill Hader, Bradley Cooper, Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Vince Vaughn, Catharine Daddario, & Audrey Hoffman.
Cinematographer: Janusz Kamiński.
Composer: Michael Giacchino.
Production Companies: Sunday Night Productions & Maximum Effort.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures.
Runtime: 104 minutes.
Rated PG.
