IF (2024)

IF starts out like old school Spielberg. Krasinski is channeling the legendary's director most family friendly work. There is a warmth in the cinematography with a slightly unreal, constructed feeling to his world that hints at the presence of magic. Some have described IF as live action Pixar which is appropriate in how it attempts to build a world for an imaginary concept, way of looking at the world. Unfortunately for me Krasinski never quite accomplishes either tribute, just missing the mark of what makes those film makers great. 

The problem isn't what Krasinski does with the material. He remains a visually magical director who can set out the story beats well. The problem is that the story just isn't really there. There is a good idea here, about this not being about children but about adults needing to reconnect with their childlike dreams, but the story is only half there. There is about an hour's worth of story in this 105 minutes movie. Often it feels dragged out. But other times it just feels rather hollow. 

The interior logic of the world of Imaginary Friends (IFs) just doesn't feel well thought out. It doesn't have the Toy Story completeness that a story like this needs. And Reynold's gruffness always feels out of place, even more so after the story resolves. While the premise is interesting IF just isn't fleshed out enough in terms of both story and characters to justify its run time. Perhaps IF would work as a great short film. As a feature it feels lacking. 

Flemming is great here and she shows a lot of potential as a future leading lady. I wish the film had given her more to do. Same with most of the voice cast who clearly have fun with their imaginary characters most of whom just don't blossom (pun intended) into anything that memorable (again pun intended). IF generally feels half baked, like it needed another round (or two) or workshopping before it went before the camera. 

Again it's not that there is much wrong with IF except that there just isn't enough of IF to go around. 

IF
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Flemming, Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr., Alan Kim, Awkwafina, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Keegan-Michael Key, Blake Lively, Christopher Meloni, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart

Writer/Director: John Krasinski