IF – Good Intentions Hampered By A Scattered Narrative

Coming off the success of his two films in the “A Quiet Place” series and multiple seasons of Jack Ryan, John Krasinski is back in the director’s seat for a film that is a little less intense than those former two properties, instead taking a moment to bring his experiences as a father to life. With IF, Krasinski set out to make a film that is for children first and foremost, and something that is hopefully a fun enough experience for them as well.

Bea (Fleming) is a 12-year-old girl who has moved to New York to live with her grandmother Margaret (Fiona Shaw), as her father (Krasinski) is about to undergo heart surgery in the same hospital where Bea lost her mother (Catharine Daddario) years prior. As her stay began, she noticed a strange creature in the street one night, following it back to her apartment building and eventually, being introduced to Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Blue (Steve Carell), two IFs (“imaginary friends”) who are living together with Cal (Reynolds), a man who can see the IFs and even communicate with them. With the help of Bea, Cal vowed to get Blossom and Blue, IFs of people who have now grown up, as well as other IFs, back to children who still believed in them to make sure they were no longer forgotten.

Meanwhile, characters with imaginary friends are no stranger to fiction. Cartoon Network’s “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” immediately comes to mind. A major one, however, is one of the most famous comic strips of all time: “Calvin and Hobbes”, about a 6-year-old boy whose best friend is a tiger, one who appears real to him but as a stuffed toy to everyone else. When asked if Hobbes was real or not, the creator, Bill Watterson, never gave a definitive answer to the question, saying “when you make up a friend for yourself, you would have somebody to agree with you, not to argue with you, so Hobbes is more real than I suspect any kid would dream up.” In a sense, if one believes in Hobbes, he’s real. Krasinski, it would seem, is a massive fan of the comic, indeed referencing it with a copy of the first collection (simply titled “Calvin and Hobbes”) in Bea’s closet and just like Calvin’s parents, Bea’s mother and father have no names, simply referred to as “Mom” and “Dad.” Hints of both “Foster’s” and “Calvin and Hobbes” are present in IF, as when children grow up, they stop believing in imaginary friends, and think that was just something that existed in a suspended moment in time and it was now gone. As the film progresses, Bea is helps people find those memories that unlock the need to find their IFs.

Krasinski’s thematic handling in this regard is very heartfelt, and there is a genuine sense of wonder brought to the film. As Bea learns more about the IFs, she learns that she can take her imagination to any number of heights, with one standout scene having her transform a dull retirement center for IFs into an assortment of rooms and amusement park attractions that help liven up the place, and even bring choreographed dance sequences into the foray. The film is also effective as a visually striking experience, with intricate work done on the IFs themselves and the subtle details that distinguish them. With every scene involving Blue, every hair is visible on him, and is quite well done. The biggest compliment it deserves is how it truly has a sense of childlike wonder infused within it. While a sense of skepticism first hovers over Bea, this disappears as she begins to see more of the imaginary world take shape around her.

The material also leads to some good performances from Fleming and Reynolds, the latter of whom takes a few notes from his performance in The Adam Project to convey Cal’s relationship with Bea to equally good effect. The real stars of the film, however, are the IFs, whose voice talents range from Waller-Bridge and Carell to George Clooney, Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt, all of whom get a small moment to shine in their extremely limited screen time. With the spotlight primarily on Blossom and Blue, both Waller-Bridge and Carell give great voice performances that go with their characters, particularly Carell’s over-the-top comedic beats and Blue’s exasperation in moments. Krasinski, as Bea’s father, pops in every now and then with a few notes taken from his stint in The Office to go with his comedic interactions with Bea, while Shaw gets the most of the human characters besides Reynolds to develop accordingly, and plays Bea’s grandmother well.

Where IF suffers, unfortunately, is in its storytelling. Though it lands its major themes effectively, the plot is the rare case of a film having a needlessly overwritten script to go with its character arcs. Krasinski spends a surprising amount of time with scenes explaining how the world works around the IFs, as well as the logistics behind a safe haven for IFs and how to imagine to make something effective, along with subplots about former owners of IFs and Bea’s family troubles on the side to add to the mix. By doing so, there is a sense of mysticism and fun taken from the proceedings, often being made messier with all the rules. With a film built around the core concept of being as imaginative as possible to the point that a room that was nothing becomes a full-blown cafe in one moment, the unnecessarily complex plot around why the IFs need to be sent around and those who have lasted as long as they have but may not any longer can feel less grounded in that childlike wonder the movie presents. This also leads to some subplots feeling rushed or underwritten, thereby making no sense in the long run and ironically, feeling illogical to the world built around the characters. This snowballs into some pacing issues and a lack of energy surrounding the scenes with many IFs at once.

IF is a film with very good intentions and even succeeds in many areas, including a wonderful score from Michael Giacchino overlaying it. However, its scattered narrative and need to do more than necessary affects it dramatically and shifts focus away from its more effective moments and character beats. The result is an unwieldy experience that audiences can still enjoy for the most part and will keep children entertained throughout, but one can’t help but wonder how much stronger it could have been with a more streamlined storyline.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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Shaurya Chawla