Jonah Naplan   May 17, 2024

John Krasinski’s “IF” has the heart and spirit of a summer movie, through and through. You could also argue it could have been released around Christmas time because it contains just enough magic and wonder to justify a release during the most magical and wondrous time of the year. Either way you’d like to look at it, here is one of the smarter and funnier kids movies I’ve seen in a little while now, a film that can be very childish at times in the manner of appealing to the broadest demographic possible, but also surprisingly sad and poignant in its most sublime moments, touching on deep themes that more timid children’s entertainment would never think of going near. We’ve already seen many elements of this movie several times before, and will continue to do so as the years pass, but that doesn’t mean that the charm “IF” contains doesn’t at least get a chance to shine in select moments of mirth and beauty.

The movie follows a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming), who lost her mother at an early age, as revealed by film-grain flashback, and is currently at risk of losing her father (Krasinski), too, by the hands of a surgery relating to a “broken heart.” Living with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw, wonderful) in New York City, Bea suddenly develops the striking ability to see IFs (standing for “imaginary friends”) out in the wild. One thing leads to another, and she crosses paths with the cynical but quirky Calvin (Ryan Reynolds), who seems to be the only other soul who can see and communicate with these creatures. Calvin has created a sort of matchmaking empire and retirement home for the IFs; the goal is to match them with a suitable human, but if none are available or if their partner has simply stopped believing in them, they’re put to rest in a splendid facility where imagination runs wild and the colors run wilder.

Watching “IF” sometimes feels like jumping into a giant pit of sprinkles. It’s colorful, and bright, and vibrant, but there isn’t much more to it than that. For a little while, that fares just fine, but eventually you’ll be left wanting more out of this mythology and these characters, who are all outfitted with either a popular live-action or voice actor, and typically present one defined character trait to distinguish them from the rest if they’re lucky enough to have even gotten one. The IF given the most attention is Blue (voiced by Steve Carell), a giant ball of cuddly fur with all the merchandising potential of the Minions and Baby Yoda, but there’s also a ballerina butterfly (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a superhero dog (Sam Rockwell), an astronaut (George Clooney), a glass of ice water (Bradley Cooper), a kindly teddy bear (Louis Gossett Jr.), a blob of green slime (Keegan-Michael Key), and many, many more that couldn’t possibly be mentioned in full detail in this review.

And yet, overcrowdedness is not entirely an issue “IF” faces because so many of these characters are subjected to mere cameos in only a few minor scenes (you can imagine certain big-name actors walking into the studio to record their lines within a matter of a couple hours, and then walking right out the door with a fat check in their pocket), handing much of the heavy-lifting over to the actual humans, who are not exactly the most intriguing characters on this side of the Hudson. The actors who play them try their best given the material; Reynolds employs his usual schtick that he’s used in roles in “Deadpool” and “Free Guy,” but it isn’t as arresting this time around because it feels deliberately dumbed down as per the parameters of a PG-rated movie, while Fleming shows real strength in the emotional moments of the third act, but mainly just exists to walk around and absorb exposition from other characters.

The unfortunate thing is that these shortcomings undermine what really works about “IF,” between the creative visual style by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who shot both of Steven Spielberg’s recent movies, “West Side Story” and “The Fabelmans”) and the script by Krasinski, which, despite its undeniable conventions, is one of the more intelligent outlines of a children’s film in a long time. The second half of the movie, in particular, will play with your emotions in ways you might not expect, sneaking up on you like the best Pixar movies do, despite being held back by an inferior first hour that never foregrounds the meaning of those themes.

John Krasinski has a keen director’s eye. Coming off of the two excellent “Quiet Place” films, “IF” is a complete left turn from his prior work in both narrative and in tone. He maintains a consistent whimsy throughout, making things just visually stimulating enough to not lose the attention of little ones in the audience, but not so completely overblown that the adult next to them checks out listlessly. The compromise is this: “IF” has long stretches that might intrigue any parents in the audience but will surely bore the kids, and, by contrast, there are long stretches that the kids will love and the adults will roll their eyes at. The finished product has it two ways, and as someone whose age is a median between those two groups, I was able to appreciate both.

If there’s one thing I know about “IF,” it’s that the movie is immortal. This film will live on through June, July, and possibly into August too, so long as families continue going to the movies during the summer months, and will likely hit it big on streaming when it becomes available on Paramount+ and VOD and such. Movies like this appeal to children en masse, and multiplexes eat them all up. It also happens to be perfectly harmless and one of the most inoffensive things you could see this movie season. And what’s more? Families will be looking for a good place to spend a couple of air-conditioned hours this summer. It’s a sure good thing that “IF” is the cinematic equivalent of an ice cream shop that only sells vanilla cones.

Now playing in theaters.