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“IF” (2024) is a family fantasy live-action animated comedy film that feels a bit old school. John Krasinski is the director and writer of this film. He is also the director of the film alongside Allyson Seeger, Andrew Form, and Ryan Reynolds. “IF” (2024) is released on May 17, 2024. The original name of this film was “Imaginary Friends”, which due to some reasons was shortened to “IF” before its release. The film, which had a budget of $110 million, did not perform as expected at the box office and managed to do business of only around $60 million at the box office. But why did this happen? Let us know all the things that you should know about this film, whether you have seen this film or are thinking of watching it further.
Story of the film “IF” (2024)
The film’s story revolves around a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming), who can see other children’s childhood imaginary friends. As those children grew up, they forgot their imaginary friends, but all those imaginary characters remained there. Now the responsibility fell upon Bea to reunite those imaginary characters with the children who had created them from their imagination. All this was very difficult for Bea because she is only 12 years old and is struggling with family problems. But she decides to fulfill her duty and sets out on an adventurous mission with her neighbor Cal (played by Ryan Reynolds).
A few things about John Krasinski and his directed film “IF” (2024)
John Krasinski has worked in many films and TV series. He started his career in 2000 by doing a minor role. Then he established himself as a good actor. He gained recognition when he played the role of Jim Halpert in The Office (2005–2013). He also served as a producer and occasional director on this long-running series, and in 2013, he received an Emmy Award nomination as a producer on the series. He has been an actor, writer, and producer in two parts of ‘A Quiet Place’ (2018 – 2020). And has played the role of Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in the MCU movie ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022).
John Krasinski has had a long and successful career. But this time he is doing something different and has brought his directorial film “IF” (2024), which is dedicated to children. Perhaps John Krasinski was trying to play it safe by using the familiar and tried-and-tested storytelling style and thus failed to offer anything new. But his safe game did not work out and the film performed average. The film fell short of being memorable and remained like any other film. John Krasinski, who is experienced and skilled in acting, writing, and directing many great films and TV series, could have made a much better film dedicated to children.
Why the movie “IF” (2024) was not impressive
On the surface, this film can be called fine, but when we delve deeper, we have to face a little disappointment. There are a few reasons to call it a decent film. As such its visual impact and performance are average. Also, Ryan Reynolds’ well-known comic acting can be praised. So, Kelly Fleming (who has previously acted in ‘Walking Dead’ and is seen in the lead role in this film) has also done a great job. Whereas, if we talk about its minus points, the main reason for the film’s lagging behind was its story and its presentation. The director made a slight mistake in understanding the sentiments of the general audience (children and adults).
Apart from Ryan Reynolds and Kelly Fleming, this film includes a large group of famous stars. Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon (in both live-action and voice-acting roles) are included. A celebrity overload scenario happened in this film. It is possible that the director might have been thinking of doing something big in the ‘Avengers’ style, which did not work. While this big star cast is benefiting the film, on the other hand, it seems to be emerging as a weak link for this film. You might be wondering how a big star cast can harm a film. Come on, let’s find out…
Problem due to big star cast in the film IF (2024)
If you are a director and are making a film dedicated to children, then it is expected from you that you will focus most on making a good story of the film and presenting it in the best way. Children like a simple story that they can enjoy watching and listening to and can relate to the characters. In most cases, they have nothing to do with the big star cast. Children search for a hero somewhere in the movies in which they find themselves and face a villain while having many adventures, and finally a happy ending. If they do not feel connected to the hero of the film then they will not be impressed by the film.
The storyline of the film “IF” (2024) is weak due to which it could not make the same impact on the audience in the beginning as the filmmakers had expected. On the other hand, some critics also believe that if the film had been made completely animated, its impact could have been much more positive. But why so? By making it completely animated, you can call any big or small star cast to voice the characters of the film and invest a fair part of the budget in the things necessary for the film. To get voice and acting from big stars, you have to think about a big budget. For this reason often not much is spent on other parts of the film, such as writing and animation. This mistake is reflected in the case of this film. It would not be wrong to say that instead of writing the story of the film in a better way, more attention was given to gathering famous stars.
Its big and famous star cast has played another role in the failure of the film. Viewers became alienated and confused due to the number of celebrities. Especially having Ryan Reynolds in the lead role also came across as a problem. But why so? In fact, due to his previous films (especially the Deadpool series), Ryan Reynolds has established himself as an adult-oriented comedy actor. However, he also has many clean films which are not adult comedies, like ‘Free Guy’. But that film was not made keeping children at the center. Ryan’s presence in a film dedicated to children came as an unspoken signal to parents that they were unsure whether the film would actually be appropriate for children. Will it not contain adult-oriented dialogue? Etcetera. Because of these prejudices, most people who preferred a family-friendly approach ignored the film. It is important to note here that this is just a possibility and we have not concluded any survey. Not all audiences who prefer family-friendly films will automatically turn off big casts.
Final Words
Keeping aside all the flaws of the film and the initial reactions of the audience, if we talk about the overall performance of the film, then it is likely to be liked by many people and children. If you liked “Minions” and “Monsters, Inc” and are looking for something similar but a little more mature then “IF” (2024) is for you. The acting of the film’s main CGI character Blue (Steve Carell) may impress you. This is a family film and all the children and elders of the family can sit together and watch it. There are many such moments and comedy scenes in the film which will make you laugh. Whereas there are many such scenes when children burst into tears. The film does not scare children in any way. Its climax can also be called good and emotional which especially affects children. Although it may be a little difficult to follow the film wholeheartedly, it is still a good film.
