Fosters home without the imagination - IF Review

F is a 2024 American live-action animated fantasy comedy film written, produced, and directed by John Krasinski. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, and Liza Colón-Zayas, along with the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell. Its plot follows a young girl and her neighbor who find themselves able to see imaginary friends.
IF was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on May 17, 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $59 million worldwide.
Cast
Cailey Fleming as Bea, a young girl who can see IFs
Ryan Reynolds as Cal, Bea's neighbor who can also see IFs
John Krasinski as Bea's dad
Fiona Shaw as Margaret, Bea's grandmother
Alan Kim as Benjamin, a boy recuperating in the hospital
Liza Colón-Zayas as Janet
Bobby Moynihan as Jeremy
Catharine Daddario as Bea's mom
Voices
Steve Carell as Blue, a large purple furry monster who was Jeremy's childhood imaginary friend
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Blossom, a rubber hose-style humanoid butterfly who was Margaret's childhood imaginary friend
Louis Gossett Jr. as Lewis, an elderly teddy bear who runs the Memory Lane Retirement Home
Awkwafina as Pop, a bunch of bubbles that can pop and reconstruct itself
John Krasinski as a marshmallow whose head is always on fire
Emily Blunt as Uni, a living unicorn stuffed toy
George Clooney as Spaceman, an astronaut
Bradley Cooper as Ice, an anthropomorphic glass of ice water
Matt Damon as Flower, a sunflower-headed imaginary friend
Bill Hader as a banana who Cal once told to put some pants on
Richard Jenkins as Art Teacher, an animation figure
Keegan-Michael Key as Steven, a blob of slime
Blake Lively as Octocat, a cat who wears an octopus costume
Sebastian Maniscalco as Magician Mouse
Christopher Meloni as Cosmo, a super-sleuth detective with an obscured face
Matthew Rhys as Andromedus III, a crown-wearing ghost
Sam Rockwell as Guardian Dog, an anthropomorphic dog who works as a superhero
Maya Rudolph as Alligator
Amy Schumer as Gummy Bear
Allyson Seeger as Viola, a violin with sunglasses
Jon Stewart as Robot
Brad Pitt as Keith (credit only), a silent and invisible IF who keeps tripping Cal
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 49% of 142 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "A sweet ode to rediscovering one's inner child, IF largely works as old-fashioned family entertainment despite an occasionally unfocused and unnecessarily complicated plot."[23] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 84% overall positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend it.[22]
Adrian Horton of The Guardian awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that it "checks the boxes" on the elements of a family-friendly movie, but also noting that it does not "fully conjure the magic" of other films in the genre.[25] Another mixed review was published on NPR by Bob Mondello, who wrote, "But mostly the filmmakers detour, decorate and digitize their story rather than telling it, and that doesn't mesh well with the real-world stuff - dad's surgery, for instance, and Bea's wandering all over Brooklyn without her grandma seeming to notice. And yes, I know: IF is a kid-flick, but it still needs grounding. We're in Brooklyn, not Willy Wonkaland."[26] RogerEbert.com called the film "a well-intentioned misfire".[27]
Tomris Laffly of Variety wrote that the movie was "in desperate need of some coherent world-building", while praising the performance of Cailey Fleming in the lead role.[28] In a more negative review for The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck criticised the film as "plagued by significant tonal shifts and pacing issues".[29] The Chicago Reader was even more dismissive, stating, "IF makes you wish you were watching some other movie. (...)There’s a fine line between the whimsical dream logic of Roald Dahl and irritating, incoherent nonsense. Director John Krasinski’s new kids film IF is nowhere near that line. Despite the best efforts of the extremely talented child actor Cailey Fleming, IF makes no sense, narratively, emotionally, or visually."[30]
Several critics noted the film's sharing some similarities with the Cartoon Network animated series, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.