IF

As a father of four boys it is a real struggle to find movies that the whole family can watch. We have the classic animated movies that you have watched a millions times, and other recent movies that can be torture to watch with your children on movie night. Every once in awhile a new movie comes out that is entertaining enough for children but interesting enough for parents. IF was the perfect combination with an absolute star studded cast. Actor Ryan Reynolds shows off his sarcastic humor and John Krasinski is an absolutely adorable dad. The voice actors are also stacked with names like Emily Blunt, Steve Carrell, Blake Lively, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Awkwafina, and many more. The main character Bea, played by Cailey Fleming, is reeling from the loss of her mother and the hospitalization of her father.  Living with her grandmother she discovers Cal and his strange friends, one of which is a giant purple creature. It turns out these creatures are called IFs or Imaginary Friends. Bea decides to help the IFs whose friends grew up and forgot about them. First Cal and Bea try to find new friends by parading the IFs in front of new children but it is unsuccessful. Bea changed tactics and set out to get the IFs to reconnect with their old friends. Finding the right circumstances for them to connect is a challenge but the results are beautiful and successful. I did have one complaint, there are a couple of adult words that I wish were not in the movie. As parents, my wife and I keep our children away from bad language and inappropriate material for children. In conclusion, I would still recommend this cute and funny movie with a surprise at the end you may not expect.