IF: A Cloying, sentimental, missed opportunity.

Rob Ryan

⭐⭐

In-between the inconsistent pacing, annoying characters, cloying cuteness and overbearing sentimentality, there's a sweet and heartfelt idea in John Krasinski's IF that would have made for a sweet tv show or a more emotionally rewarding film, as it is the film wears it's manipulative nature so much on it's sleeve that at times I almost felt bad for not getting emotional or bursting into tears, as if the film was angry at me for not being on it's wavelength.

The story: A young girl named Bee (Cailey Fleming) is sent to live with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) whilst her dad (Krasinski) is in hospital for a heart operation. Bee is understandably worried about her current circumstance not helped by the fact that she had lost her mother (Catherine Daddario) to cancer years prior. One night she learns that the apartment upstairs houses 2 magical cgi beings, both are the product of a former child's imagination. They are blossom (the voice of Phoebe Waller Bridge) a ballet dancing bug and Blue (the voice of Steve Carell) a big purple monster with attachment issues to other kids. They are both looked after by the only other human who can see them, Cal (Ryan Reynolds) After learning of this new found ability, to see every child's imaginary friend (IF for short hence the title) Bee decides to use this new found gift and discovery of a world never thought possible to help the IFs' find new kids to befriend and help them overcome their grief due to losing that friendship with their first kid.

At a certain point in the narrative, after witnessing a pointless musical number that serves little of purpose in the story, along with a lame interviewing process scene where our characters interview the IFs to see which one would be the best to befriend a kid Bee met in the hospital, the film is briefly saved when it switches focus from no longer being about trying to get the IFs new companions and instead try to give them closure for their loss by giving the adult versions of their former friends a trip into memory lane, a step into their pasts that remind them of their roots and thus helping them push forward into the trials of adulthood.

An example of this is when Blue is reunited with his former kid now adult (Bobby Moynihan) who is nervously waiting for a pitch meeting and is sweating profusely. We learn that this character lived in a bakery and he and Blue always ate croissants together. Bee get's some Croissants and eats them in front of him thus triggering his memory and thus regaining that connection to his imaginary friend.

The film might have worked better if it had kept its focus on giving all of these wacky and colourful characters a version of that scene alone, it might have also earned the sentimentality and also giving an opportunity for more world building, but IF spends too much time on trying to make the kids laugh with all of these cgi creations voiced by every popular celebrity who was available that week and after being given this taste of what the movie could have been, the film switches back to the inevitable climax involving Bee's dad "will he, won't he make it" plot point, which doesn't mean anything considering how little time we spend with this character and his only personality is being the hospital clown as he always has an elaborate joke to tell Bee every time she visits him.

As a result the film is somewhat of a missed opportunity as it goes for the tears rather then expanding on the connective tissue that would have properly warranted those tears. If it wasn't for those moment's in the middle to final act previously mentioned then IF would have been very tedious to sit through, none of the jokes made me laugh, the actors seem to be on auto pilot, the direction from Krasinski feels limp and awkward compared to his Quiet Place movies and it's cutesy tone would be enough for any cynical person to squirm in their seat. But because it had glimpses of a better movie, IF is a mediocre if well intentioned effort at best but all in all, not something that will leave you feeling warm and happy when you walk out of the cinema.

IF is out in UK cinemas now.