Clumsy at Times, but Full of Heart: A Review of "If"

 written and directed by John Krasinski

In the current marketplace dominated by adaptations of existing intellectual property, whether they're comic books, novels, video games or even previous movie franchises, when I see a property that looks even remotely original I usually make it a  point to check it out at some point, although often that usually just involves switching on Netflix.

To see the family-oriented fantasy "IF," though, required a trip to the movie theaters, and fortunately, the film's trailer enticed me enough to not only make the trip but to bring almost all of my family along for the viewing. I'm happy to say that the film, for the most part, was worth the trip. 

The film starts with a brief prologue narrated by its protagonist Bea (Cailey Fleming), a 12-year-old girl who lost her mother to cancer at a very young age, and whose father (John Krasinski, pulling triple duty here as an actor, director and writer) is about to undergo heart surgery as the film begins. A bit hardened by the pain she has experienced early in life, Bea, who moves in with her kindly grandmother (Fiona Shaw) initially resists her efforts to get her to engage in whimsical, childlike activities like painting and drawing. A chance encounter in her grandmother's building with a mysterious neighbor changes everything, though, as Bea meets her next door neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds).  Cal is a man with whom she shares the remarkable gift of being able to see people's imaginary friends (IFs, as they are referred to), two of whom she meets almost immediately, the insect-like cartoon ballerina Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and the giant purple furball Blue (Steve Carell).  Many of these IFs face the problem of their children having forgotten them, and it's up to Bea, Cal and their friends to help the IFs find their way back to the hearts of the children who once loved them.

It's a simple enough story, told with generous helpings of humor and heart, and a fairly decent amount of computer-generated imagery. The storytelling logic doesn't really hold up all that well to scrutiny, but charming performances from the lead actors basically carry the film, along with an enchanting, if occasionally overbearing music score from Oscar-winning Pixar veteran Michael Giacchino, and some understated but striking cinematography from two-time Oscar winner and regular Steven Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski. Of course it also helps that Krasinski has recruited a murderer's row of extremely talented actors to voice the IF.  In particular, it tugged at the heartstrings a little bit to hear the late Louis Gossett, Jr.'s voice as Lewis, a kindly old teddy bear of an IF who runs a retirement home of sorts for them. It was his last onscreen appearance, and there's a brief tribute to him at the very end of the credits.  

The movie was good fun; I would hardly list it as an all-time favorite, but I think it's the kind of movie studios should try to make more of, i.e. non-franchise family movies.

7.5/10