John Krasinski Recalls How Kids’ Imaginary World Inspired IF
By Movieguide® Contributor
John Krasinski talked about how his daughters inspired his new movie IF during a puppy-filled interview with Buzzfeed.
“The idea came from my kids,” Krasinski said when asked where the idea for IF came from. “I wanted to always make a movie for my kids, and I would just stand in doorways watching my two girls go into this magical world that as parents were not allowed into, and I just thought that would make a really good movie.”
The actor explained that he saw a change in his girls when the pandemic hit.
“Then the pandemic hit, and I saw their light went out, and they started imagining fewer and fewer games. And they started to let the real world in and said ‘are we going to be okay?’ And I said, ‘You know what, I should write a movie about how that magical world that you created you can always go back to,’” he described.
IF follows “a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming) who mysteriously gains the ability to see people’s imaginary friends, who are dubbed IFs for short. After learning that her neighbor, Cal (Ryan Reynolds), has the same ability, the two decide to team up and help all the IFs who have been forgotten by the kids they once helped. ”
Krasinski enlisted an A-list cast to play the imaginary friends, including Steve Carrell, Matt Damon and his wife Emily Blunt.
Did you know from the beginning which actor you wanted to play each character?” Buzzfeed asked.
“I did. I’m a terrible artist, and as I was writing the script, I would just jot down sketches of all the ifs that I was creating, and then at the end of the script when we were done, I just put them all up on a wall. And with my producing partner Alison Seager I said, ‘Who’s our dream cast?’ We put names under each one, and I got every single person to say yes,” he said. “They love the idea of the movie and putting good out into the world is important right now, so they all said yes for that [reason].”
Krasinski was also asked what it was like working with his wife, who plays Uni the unicorn.
“Emily’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life,” he said. “She has the greatest sense of humor. She’s got the greatest timing in delivery, so I would do absolutely anything with her except puppy teeth,” Krasinski said as a puppy bit him. “She was always a huge supporter of this movie, and then she was one of the first people to say that she would do a voice. And she jumped in she is so funny in this movie.”
IF earned a -1 content rating from Movieguide®. Part of the review reads:
IF is beautifully shot and performed. It also has some fun adventures and humorous situations, with lots of creativity. However, what’s most surprising about the movie are its heartfelt dramatic moments, which are emotionally powerful. IF is a celebration of imagination, creativity, love, and family. The movie promotes the idea that adults should maintain a youthful attitude and not abandon the imagination and love they had as children. IF is relatively family friendly. However, it’s marred by some meandering moments, four light obscenities and 15 light profanities. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teen children.
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