IF (2024)

I don't have anything against John Krasinski. I quite enjoy the work of John Krasinski, especially when he is onscreen in the right roles. But I was as surprised as most people when IF was marketed as being "from the imagination of John Krasinski". I didn't think that John Krasinski was known for his wild imagination. It turns out that I was right, and IF is actually the work of someone disappointingly unimaginative.

Cailey Fleming plays Bea, a young girl who is going through a hard time. Her father (John Krasinski) is in the same hospital where her mother lived her last days, she is back living with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) for a while, and may well have already left her childhood innocence behind. Until she meets the upstairs neighbour, Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who is busy dealing with a load of personalities that nobody else can see. Well . . . nobody else except Bea. It's time to meet a string of Imaginary Friends (IFs) and figure out a way to reunite them with the adults who have long forgotten them.

The idea of IF isn't bad. It's not original either, of course, but it isn't bad. I saw the trailer months ago and figured it might be the kind of thing to keep me easily amused. That wasn't the case, sadly, and the blame lies squarely with Krasinski, who decides to go for the schmaltziest option at every turn, and plots the story out with a complete lack of that imagination that viewers were told about in the marketing. There were moments here that had me rolling my eyes and wondering how Krasinski could have thought he was filling the screen with great ideas.

Rules are established, but then thrown away as soon as it doesn't suit. Characters are presented with the sole purpose of being bright and weird (based on the idea of kid's creations, which I get, but you need more than that, especially with such an excuse to go as wild and whacky as possible), and nothing feels as if any one scene leads smoothly and naturally on from the one preceding it.

The cast aren't terrible, but some of them aren't half as good as they should be. Fleming is great in her role, and equalled by young Alan Kim, stealing the few scenes that have him portraying a child in the same hospital as Bea's father, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge once again proves to be an excellent pick for a voice role. Fiona Shaw is made to use some kind of accent, but overcomes that with her natural excellence, and Liza Colón-Zayas does well as a caring nurse. Reynolds isn't used well though, and feels very awkward for every minute of his screentime, and I was disappointed by the voice performances from Steve Carell, Awkwafina, Bradley Cooper, and many of the other stars lending their familiar tones to the many IFs. Some work, and Louis Gossett Jr. is a great fit for the kindly Lewis, but very few of them feel like the best fit.

There's enough here for children to enjoy, especially in a scene close to the halfway point that indulges in a musical fantasy sequence that certainly feels like the kind of scenario a child could easily create in their mind, and that may be enough to keep Krasinski happy. That may well have been his aim, and he'll view this as a success. Sadly, many others will feel disappointed. Some nice design work, a lovely score from Michael Giacchino, and the cinematography of Janusz Kaminski are all wasted on a film that suffers from being a self-indulgent doodle that Krasinski seems to want us all to metaphorically hang on our fridge doors.

3/10

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