Movie Number 15 of 2024
The Movie: IF
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Stars: 4.5
This film is being reviewed by an adult who went to a kid's film. Stupidly, she who went early on a Saturday night. The 6 p.m. session of a kid's film on a Saturday means one of two things. It's Dad's weekend and he's at the end of his tether, or Dad has custody of the kids because Mum is out with her mother's group slurping prosecco and munching on antipasto. And with Dad being in charge of the kids, all hell is bound to break loose.
So, the cinema was full of energetic kids, many of them young girls turning cartwheels and walk overs at the front of the screen. Could somebody please tell me why young girls feel the need to cartwheel everywhere, at any opportunity?
Thankfully after the trailers, the kids settled down until the final credits played.
Anyway, I'm an adult, and I took myself along to see IF because the premise had tickled my fancy. It's a film about imaginary friends.
As a young child, I had an imaginary friend. His name was Sparky. We got into all kinds of mischief. There's still a story in our family lore about how I lost Sparky at John Martins when I was about four - and I wouldn't stop screaming until my grandparent's took me back inside Marion Shopping Centre to get him.
And like most imaginary friends, Sparky disappeared into the ether when I started at kindergarten or school.
I brought my imaginary friend up with a hypnotherapist years ago. He was adamant that imaginary friends were real. They were there to give sensitive kids the support they needed. I liked his way of thinking.
Anyway, back to the film.
In IF, we find Bea (Cailey Fleming) not having the best of times. Through a montage we find out that her mother has passed, and her beloved father (John Krasinski) is in hospital awaiting surgery. Bea is sent to her Grandmother's (Fiona Shaw) place while her father is incapacitated. Cailey Fleming is particularly good, encapsulating the child who's had to grow up well before her time.
While she's with her grandmother, she discovers the IFs in an upstairs flat, all wanting to get back to their children. It's Bea's task to assist the IFs in finding their kids, with the help of Cal (Ryan Reynolds) who's somehow chief in charge of the IFs.
There's a lot to love about this film. Firstly, the mix of live action and animation is flawless. The characters look like they're out of the Pixar stable and are voiced by actors including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carrell, Awkwafina and Matt Damon, just to name a few.
John Krasinski's screenplay is excellent. He's pitched this perfectly, allowing kids to enjoy the film for its big, animated characters while the adults can bond with the film on an emotional level. His direction is also good, even if the start is a bit disjointed, but by the middle of the film, even if you see what is coming fairly early, everything comes together well and you'll forgive him.
Krasinski knows how to relate to kids - which is a good thing considering he has two children with Emily Blunt.
The soundtrack is good too. Subtle, and the songs they used are there for good effect. The Tina Turner scenes are wonderful, and I loved the inclusion of the Faces song, Oh La La.
I have to admit, I cried buckets in the second-half of the film. And it's not like the five-minute cry you have to have when you watch Up. I was sniffing along for the last half hour of the film. It got me where it hurts.
I really enjoyed this film. It's perfect for families with young kids - there's no swearing or violence and the emotional stuff will wash right over them. It's also fun, colourful, full of humour both adults and kids will love. And being the adult in the auditorium, there was enough in the story to keep me happy.
Find a kid and take them along to this while it's at the cinemas - and if you're taking a young girl, let her do the cartwheels out the front if you're not prepared to buy her a pony. Take tissues.
If not, hunt it out when it comes out on the streaming services.
Lastly, Sparky, if you're reading this, thank you for being my friend as a kid. I'm not sure why we parted company and I wish you were still in my life.
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