A young girl 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.
Chuck says:
Scattered and confused, John Krasinski’s “If” is a misfire from start to finish, a film that promotes itself as a heart-warming fable yet comes off as overcalculated and obvious. Confusing and incomplete, the movie is nothing more than a collection of disjointed ideas that never coalesce into anything fully formed as a narrative. And while the special effects on display are effective, “If” simply can’t emerge from the collective shadows of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” “Monsters, Inc,” and any number of better stories Krasinski shamelessly cribs from.
Bea (Cailey Fleming) is a surprisingly self-assured 12-year-old, considering all she’s been through. Having lost her mother at an early age, she’s returned to New York City to stay with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw). Where Bea has been and why she’s been away from her ailing father (Krasinski) is one of many glaring plot points that are never addressed but no matter. Apparently, we’re supposed to be so charmed by the film’s conceit that the absence of a coherent plot shouldn’t concern us.
So, Bea’s dad is in the hospital with “a broken heart.” That’s what he tells his daughter, displaying a cardboard heart on his chest that has been torn in half. Whether that is his cute way of saying he needs a transplant or something, again I’m not sure. But I will tell you this, good ole dad has more energy than any person I’ve ever seen in need of a new ticker. Again, we’re not supposed to question the lack of logic on display.
While staying with grandma, Bea sees an odd creature traipsing around her apartment building, a pixie-like, animated thing with antennae and Betty Boop eyes. Wouldn’t you know it, she’s an orphaned Imaginary Figure (IF…get it?). Seems the child that conjured her has moved on with her life and no longer needs her. And just coincidentally, right upstairs in the brownstone where grandma lives, Cal (Ryan Reynolds) is in residence, whose job, I think, is to keep track of all the Ifs who’ve been abandoned.
If it seems I’m nitpicking, you would be right but, in my defense, “If” is the sort of movie that invites this approach. I have no problem with fantasy films or heartwarming ones for that matter, and my suspension of disbelief is more liberal than most. Every film sets up the rules of its own universe and as long as it follows them, then all’s right with that world and my perception of it.
This is where “If” goes horribly wrong – it establishes no rules, coherence being just so much collateral damage in Krasinski’s pursuit to wring a tear or three from us. The conflicted tone and frantic pacing, as if this approach would generate the energy needed to pull this sort of movie off, only exacerbates the confusion.
Most of what happens is incredibly random. Cal takes Bea to visit to an old IF’s home for no apparent reason and she takes it upon herself to reunite them with their children or pair them up with new ones. Three scenes are devoted to this pursuit, all of them anti-climactic and with little purpose. Meanwhile, Bea drops in only occasionally on her remarkably spry, sick dad, while Cal hangs around like a purposeless sad sack.
I find Reynolds’ “aren’t-I-sly-and-cute” persona grating, so it was a pleasant surprise seeing him render Cal as a genuinely cynical, bitter man. The problem is, we’re never given a reason as to why he’s so burnt out, nor is there any explanation for why she’s become the de facto shepherd of the Ifs. As a result, his character, like all the others, lacks depth, making it difficult to become emotionally engaged with them.
Krasinski calls in one favor after another, stacking his voice cast with an impressive roster of heavyweights. Steve Carell, Phobe-Waller Bridges, George Clooney, Emily Blunt, Maya Rudolph, Amy Schumer, Matt Damon, Sam Rockwell, Akwafina, Keegan-Michael Key and the late Louis Gossett Jr. are all on board, many of them used so sparingly you won’t be able to distinguish one from the other.
And in the end, that’s the real problem with “If.” Missed opportunities abound. The pieces for a genuinely poignant film are present, yet Krasinski doesn’t take the time to develop them, too anxious to show just what a sensitive filmmaker he is, able to move an audience and well as amuse them. The lack of a solid foundation ensures that all his efforts go for naught.
1.5 Stars
Pam says:
John Krasinski writes, directs, and portrays a father in the new vibrantly magical film “If.” What an imaginative concept as Elizabeth aka Bea (Cailey Fleming) has lost her mother and now is faced with the same possible outcome for her father. Cared for by Grandma, Bea is on the verge of leaving childhood behind and facing the realities of becoming an adult. However, her childlike heart takes over as she sees Imaginary Friends (IFs) who are living in her apartment building on the top floor. Lead by Calvin (Ryan Reynolds), Blue (voiced by Steve Care) and Blossom (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the IFs face permanent deletion if they cannot find new children to help. And this is where Bea comes in as she spearheads a plan to help all while navigating the traumatically emotional issues of losing a parent and seeing another possible leave her as well.
The premise is incredibly creative, if only Krasinski would have more deeply explored these dazzling characters, this would have been an absolute wonder. Unfortunately, the story takes much too long to get to the point of it all as it meanders aimlessly. We meet and we want to love these crazy looking IFs, but never do we gain an emotional connection with any of them. Fleming is sweet in her portrayal of Bea, but the passion is missing making her role rather one dimensional.
As we finally get to the crux of the story, it’s just too late and not enough. This is a screenplay that needed about five more rewrites to give us another “Toy Story” or “Inside Out.” It doesn’t come close. There are pacing and editing issues throughout the film which creates a sense of boredom. Timing is key and not even Reynolds’ comedic skills can correct the edits, all happening in post-production.
“IF” is a bare bones story with continuity issues and story lines left dangling in the wind. Weaving together an emotional story of what it’s like to leave childhood behind as you navigate adult issues creates multiple opportunities to tug at our heartstrings, but instead, it just feels artificial in its super sweet coating.
What if we learned more about how Blue was discarded by his child, Jeremy (Bobby Moynihan) or how Lewis the Bear (Louis Gossett Jr.) came to be? Instead, we spent time attempting watching Bea do a whole lot of nothing for the first 40 minutes. I needed more story and not even the likes of all the star power behind the gorgeous animation — Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stuart, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, George Clooney — could fill the void of that missing link.
If you’ve watched the trailer for “IF,” you’ve got a skewed perception of the movie. The trailer is the best part of the super sweet, dull, and meandering story that leaves you dissatisfied.
2 stars
