John Krasinski the director just wants his kids to love him. After a few maudlin indie films and a banger of a horror flick that turned into a big franchise, I was curious where John Krasinski, director, would go next. Years of parenting, presumably watching Inside Out over and over again, led him to IF, a rare original family movie that I was really worried would stink, but mostly wins over with its sweet earnestness. “Mostly ok” doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, but trust me, it could have been MUCH worse.
After a very Pixar ripoffy montage, we’re in New York City with teenish Bea (Cailey Fleming). It’s another tough time for the poor girl: she’s lost her mom, and now might be losing her dad (Krasinski) who’s in the hospital for surgery, forcing Bea to live with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw). Bored and sad, Bea passes the time by visiting her dad and the nice young kid Benjamin (Alan Kim) next door to him, but that’s really it, since she doesn’t have any friends. That all changes one night, when Bea catches Cal (Ryan Reynolds) chasing after Blue (Steve Carell) and Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a couple of strange looking creatures she finds out are imaginary friends, come to life.
It’s so very clear IF needs to be a great kids movie to be a commercial success. So the film pulls out all the stops, using great storytelling ideas of the past, as if John Krasinski wrote this film as he was at home for Family movie night. From what I see here, the Blunt/Krasinski household likes Up, Inside Out, Dr. Strange, Bambi, Transformers, and Patch Adams, as he remixes pieces of all of those films into his little fantasy story. To assuage the studio’s nervousness, Krasinski calls in all the big guns, as we get a Shrek like voice acting cavalcade to accompany many of his adorably rendered CGI creations. That not good enough for you? We get all sorts of emotional manipulation, designed for maximum tears at all times as poor Bea is put through the emotional written wringer of all sorts of tear inducing tropes. But all this stuff going on makes IF a bit of a jumbled mess, with poor Cailey Fleming forced to carry a movie she’s not quite ready to do yet.
Even though this movie is targeted at kids, IF is really an adult film in kiddy CGI greenscreen. Not all of the teary moments are hilariously manipulative. When the perspective shifts every now and again to the adults, Krasinski’s real motivations shine through. He wants this film to be more of a reminder to kids, but especially parents alike: never lose the wonder and comfort an imaginary friend can bring to your life. While Ryan Reynolds is motormouthing to make the kids laugh, Fiona Shaw wordlessly earns a tissue through a wonderfully realized trip through her memory lane. Nostalgia can certainly be a crutch to people, but in a scary, anxious present? Krasinski wonderfully shows it can be a warm hug that you can use to remind yourself “It’s gonna be okay” and you can be brave enough to go forward.
I don’t remember my IF, but I do remember lots of days playing LEGO adventures in my room. Those moments in brief are wonderful to reexperience every know and again, a brief reminder of good times that make life worth living. And who would have thought Deadpool would be the delivery service for this gooey messaging? That’s the power of parenting I guess.