Rich sweetness of ‘IF’ can’t escape cold realities

If “IF’ director/writer John Krasinski could have made his new film knowing only children or those who maintained their childlike innocence would be seeing it, his efforts would have been seen as an imaginary treat. It definitely drives home the message of how growing up is not necessarily a great thing if wonderment has been discarded like a broken toy.

The fact is that “IF” exists in the real world. That means reality cannot be ignored and that makes Krasinski’s efforts admirable but misguided. He is so enthralled with the world of imaginary friends that he forgoes major serious points in the story. No matter how sugary his script, the mistakes leave a bitter aftertaste.

“IF” starts on a very serious note as 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming) is dealing with one past tragedy and a possible present one. Her father – played with a tooth-decaying sweetness by Krasinski – is in the hospital to deal with what only is described as “a broken heart.”

Bea discovers that her upstairs neighbor Cal – played by the very versatile Ryan Reynolds – has a very special job. He takes care of all the imaginary friends who find themselves alone when their child gets too old to believe in them. Bea wants to rescue the IFs (Imaginary Friends) and reunite them with their children.

The IFs include a giant purple monster named Blue (voiced by Steve Carell) and Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a well-mannered cousin to Betty Boop. The other IFs are voiced by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Blake Lively, Keegan-Michael Key and many others. Most notable is the voice work by the late Louis Gossett Jr. as a teddy bear who is the voice of reason.

The fanciful interplay of the characters is made real by a solid performance by Cailey whose past work includes “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “The Walking Dead.” Those projects gave her the tools to make the IFs come across as real as possible.

Reynolds does a good job playing the often-flustered Cal but the role comes across more as Krasinski adapting the character to fit the snarky kind of role Reynolds plays so well than finding the right actor to fit the part. Someone like Timothee Chalamet would have worked better.

Later this year, Reynolds returns to the irreverent Deadpool, a character that comes across as more natural for Reynolds. The Marvel character fits Reynolds better than his work in “IF.”

To help Reynolds, Krasinski has loaded the film with a running joke that deals with Cal tripping over an invisible Imaginary Friend. Even after the joke has lost its giggle factor, it continues to justify Cal’s snarky attitude.

When both actors are dealing with the fantasy elements, the story is warm and sweet. This all gets disrupted when reality comes flooding into the story. The relationship between Bea and Cal is forced and eventually goes against all the ground rules set up early in the film. No more can be said without giving away too much.

The biggest negative is Bea’s relationship with her hospitalized father. He should be a priority but on the day of his major medical procedure, she’s not at the hospital. This blast of reality is just too big to ignore.

A minor miscue is having the film set in the 1990s for no obvious reason. Such big plot points happen in a movie for a reason. There needed to be at least a hint of context to give the viewer some insight.

“IF” ends up being a film of competing halves. Krasinski handles the fantasy part of the film with a fun and beautiful grace. It is not a bad thing to be reminded of how important it is to embrace the past and keep a bit of what it means to be a child in our hearts. It’s those pesky reality moments that prove to be too much of a sticking point for the production to be the comforting tale it should have been.

The reality is that much of the audience will be carrying the baggage of maturity into the theater. That inevitable reality sets up half the movie asking the question “What if ‘IF’ was not so iffy.”

Movie review

IF

Grade: C+-

Cast: Ryan Reynolds,Cailey Fleming, John Krasinski, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Blake Lively, Keegan-Michael Key, Louis Gossett Jr.

Director: John Krasinski

Rated: PG for mild language, thematic elements

Running time: 104 minutes.

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