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This week at the Tryon Theatre is “IF” (Imaginary Friends), a sweet and endearing film from director John Krasinski. This film examines a world in which people’s imaginary friends are very real, born into existence from the minds of their childhood creators. However, as these creators have aged, they have lost their ability to see or interact with their IFs, leaving the imaginary creatures in a state of limbo, loving and harmless phantasms. 

At the center of this story is a young girl named Bea, a kind and curious child who has recently lost her mother to cancer and is now coping with a father awaiting surgery. One day, in her state of grief and tension, Bea realizes she has a newfound ability: the capacity to see other people’s imaginary friends, a rare and strange gift. 

Her curiosity about these IFs brings her into contact with an adult man named Cal (Ryan Reynolds), another individual who seemingly shares this same gift as Bea. Cal introduces Bea to his life’s work, the rehabilitation of forgotten IFs, and in turn, introduces her to a massive cavalcade of IFs in need of care. Bea’s youthful and naive perspective on these creatures’ lives is mined for no shortage of comedic misunderstandings and friction, with both the IFs and Cal. 

“IF” is first and foremost a children’s film, made for that most imaginative and open-hearted of audiences, full of bright silliness and goofy laughs. But, like all good children’s art, it also contains a message for the adults of the audience, one that employs our nostalgia to very sentimental and surprisingly deep ends. 

“IF” is a gentle film, one that aims to employ humor and comfort above any more tension-inducing thrills. At the most shocking, “IF” uses some choice language, but is, above all else, a film safely enjoyed by most any age.

It is predominantly live-action and set within our conventionally realistic world. However, this “real” world is overlaid with a myriad of characters brought to life through animation. This combination allows for the “cartoonish” nature of a child’s mind to register visually, any quirk or quality as real as their own existence. The stimulating visuals of these animated characters will enrapture children’s attention as well as any of their comedic exploits, while the more subtle emotional beats of the story will satisfy the adults in the audience.

“IF” is an original and loving story and one that will surely resonate with a broad audience. Its sweet and earnest message is easily digested. For any filmgoer in search of a film for the whole family, and one that will provide no shortage of charms and laughter, we recommend you open your imagination to this week’s film!