Review: IF
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film IF. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: A girl discovers she can see everyone’s imaginary friends, and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
QUICK REVIEW
I’m going to do something that apparently is considered a great sin in some social media circles - I’m going to start with some personal talk in a movie review. I did not come into IF particularly excited for what I was about to see. John Krasinski’s previous directorial efforts have never wow-ed me, and that includes mega-hits A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II which I found to be at best just decent. The trailers for IF inspired zero interest from me. And add to that, very mixed reviews from the little bit of critics that even got to screen the movie, as the studio kept screenings to a minimum and away from us “small region” folk.
So I walked into last night’s Thursday preview screening expecting to be very underwhelmed. And perhaps that is the reason why I ended up liking it, having expectations set so low always helps a movie to exceed them. But I have to admit when the credits rolled and it was all over, I left IF thinking “That was actually okay.”
Now did some of my concerns show up? Yes, they admittedly did. It was very paint by the numbers in character arcs, had very predictable story beats, and there were moments that the comedy and whimsy weren’t getting anything out of me. There’s a few choices made by Krasinski’s direction and the Screenplay that felt like the bare-minimum was being done. All of these are reasons why I can see someone walking away from this not liking it.
But the movie was a little more grounded than I was anticipating. I was expecting a grand whimsical adventure (And you may as well, given the plot description above), but it ended up being a much more intimate story about childhood, loss and grief, and what you lose growing up. The imaginary characters (Which came to life thanks to pretty good visual effects), particularly the side-characters with a ton of cameo voice-overs, could have used more depth and screen time as they really saved this movie at times. The movie shifts in the third act into something that left me almost getting tears in my eyes, and the audience I was watching it with seemed to be just as moved.
So what I got when it was all over was a movie that I came away feeling okay about. It never bored me, it had interesting ideas with the lore it was building, it got a few laughs from me, and it showed some heart. But it also never had me excited, seemed to limit itself at a certain point with its world building, and there were plenty moments made for humor and whimsy that did nothing for me. Ultimately I liked this, but it wasn’t anything that incredible either. The low expectations I came into it with may have helped it just squeeze into a B- grade from me. If (no pun intended, I swear) you have kids begging to go see this, IF should be a decent time at the movies for the family but I don’t think this is a new family movie classic either.
INTIAL GRADING
