Line #27 Film/IF2024


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8	''IF'' is a 2024 hybrid live-action/animated fantasy comedy film written and directed by Creator/JohnKrasinski. It stars Creator/CaileyFleming, Creator/RyanReynolds, Krasinski, Alan Kim, Creator/BobbyMoynihan, and Creator/FionaShaw, with the voices of Creator/SteveCarell, Creator/PhoebeWallerBridge, Krasinski, Creator/MattDamon, Creator/EmilyBlunt, Creator/JonStewart, Creator/{{Awkwafina}}, Creator/ChristopherMeloni, Creator/MayaRudolph, Creator/BillHader, Creator/SamRockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Creator/RichardJenkins, Creator/BlakeLively, Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/BradleyCooper, Creator/AmySchumer, Creator/KeeganMichaelKey, Creator/MatthewRhys, Creator/BradPitt, and Creator/LouisGossettJr[[note]]In a posthumous role[[/note]].
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10	The story follows a young girl named Bea who discovers she can see the imaginary friends of others and joins with a man named Cal who has a similar power to help "[=IFs=]" abandoned by the children who outgrew them. The film premiered on May 17, 2024. Not to be confused with [[Film/If1968 the 1968 British film]] or [[Webcomic/{{IF}} the 2020 webcomic based around imaginary friends of the same name]]. Or both movies called ''Film/{{Imaginary}}'' and ''Anime/TheImaginary'' for that matter, although both are under a similar premise with this movie.
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12	'''Previews:''' [[https://youtu.be/el0N_MDcp0Y?si=4Ph2O_gz3xa5Je6T Teaser]], [[https://youtu.be/yV4ruuvPLD4?si=BvpZDwNc6G677usR Trailer]]
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14	!!''IF'' includes examples of the following:
15	* ADogNamedCat: In an extraordinarily confusing example, one of the [=IFs=] is supposedly a violin, is named "Viola", and looks more like a double bass or a cello than a violin or viola.
16	* ActorAllusion: [[spoiler:Creator/BradPitt seemingly "reprises" his role as Vanisher from ''Film/Deadpool2'' as the Invisible IF, Keith.]]
17	* AndStarring:
18	** Creator/SteveCarell gets the "and" credit in the trailer.
19	** [[spoiler:...and introducing Creator/BradPitt as Keith.]]
20	* AnimateInanimateObject: Quite a few of the [=IFs=] are these; there's Ice the glass of ice water, Viola (a stringed instrument), and a nameless marshmallow, just for starters.
21	* BigApplesauce: The film is set in New York City, with the IF retirement community located in a Coney Island amusement park.
22	* BigOMG: Blossom says "Oh God" several times throughout the film.
23	* BlackComedy: During the interviews, Cal, Bea and Lewis have an awkward interview with a flaming, melting marshmallow IF and are struggling not to look him in his eye... which promptly falls off his face.
24	* BusbyBerkeleyNumber: As Bea begins to play around with the dimensions of the retirement home, Blossom gets a synchronized swimming sequence with dopplegangers of herself.
25	* CastingGag:
26	** This isn't Creator/EmilyBlunt's first time voicing a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 unicorn character]].
27	** [[spoiler:Creator/BradPitt is credited as Keith, the invisible IF, making this (allegedly) [[Film/Deadpool2 his second role as an invisible character in a Ryan Reynolds film]].]]
28	** In the Latin America dub, Lewis, a teddy bear-based IF, is voiced by Creator/HumbertoVelez, who is known for dubbing [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh a certain honey-loving teddy bear]].
29	* CastOfSnowflakes: Each of the [=IF=]s looks vastly different and distinctive from one another, ranging from realistic-looking toys like Lewis, friendly-looking monsters like Blue, anthropomorphic inanimate objects, cartoon figures have stylized designs of cartoon eras such as Blossom, and [[spoiler: even a seemingly normal live action actor who initially seems to be a human, such as Calvin]].
30	* CharacterCatchphrase: Cosmo, the trenchcoat IF, frequently yells "Cloak and dagger!" when he makes an exit.
31	* CharacterNarrator: Bea narrates at the beginning and end of the film.
32	* TheChosenOne: Invoked but subverted. When Bea asks how she's able to see the [=IFs=], Blue says she's the chosen one, only for Cal to tell him not to give her a complex.
33	* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: One IF, Cosmo, is a short character in a trench coat and fedora leaving his features in darkness save his eyes. True to the archetype, he's a detective who can find anyone anywhere.
34	* CreditsGag: [[spoiler:Creator/BradPitt is given an "introducing" credit for playing Keith, the invisible IF.]]
35	* DemotedToExtra: Blossom and Blue receive less screen time after reuniting with their creators.
36	* DoubleMeaningTitle: “IF” is stated to be the preferred term for the imaginary friends, but as Blue mentions at one point, “if” can refer to “what if imaginary friends were real?”
37	* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:There are some hints early on to Cal's true identity as Bea's IF.]]
38	** [[spoiler:When Bea first wakes in Cal's apartment, he, Blue, and Blossom all act as though she had been there before.]]
39	** [[spoiler:During their talk with Benjamin for an IF placement, Cal directs Bea to ask the questions for him.]]
40	** [[spoiler:Lewis says that Cal used to be "a real clown" - Bea is seen interacting with a clown when she was younger and her dad has a bookmark made by Bea with a clown.]]
41	** [[spoiler:Bea is shown to be intimidated by Cal's neighbor, an elderly woman. Cal himself refers to her as a "witch".]]
42	** [[spoiler:Despite appearing to be seemingly a normal human, other people do not notice him when next to Bea, or mention his presence, even without Bea there, and he is only seen interacting with Bea and the other [=IFs=], hinting he's not another human working with them, but is actually one of them.]]
43	** [[spoiler:At one point, Bea is rooting around in her closet and the camera shows a volume of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', with the first word of the title being particularly prominent. It was earlier established that Cal is short for Calvin.]]
44	* FreeRangeChildren: Bea travels around New York City on her own, usually to visit her father in the hospital or when helping the [=IF=]s. {{Justified\|Trope}} due to the fact that living there in the past means that she knows her way around the city.
45	* IllTimedSneeze: While trying to get his own placement, Blue lets out a massive, echoing sneeze while with Cal in the room of a sleeping child.
46	* ImaginaryFriend: Or [=IF=] for short. As the trailer shows, the film centers around the abandoned [=IFs=] of children who have outgrown them.
47	* InkblotCartoonStyle: Blossom, a female butterfly IF who looks like a character from the Silent Age of animation.
48	* InvisibleToNormals: [=IFs=] are invisible and silent to anyone other than the child who imagined them unless that child doesn't need them anymore; Cal and Bea have the rare ability to see multiple imaginary friends. [[spoiler:They ''can'' also show up in photos to people who can see them, as seeing Blossom in an old photo of her grandmother is what makes Bea realize Blossom was her grandmother's [=IF=].]] Averted with Keith, an IF who's invisible to ''everybody'', including Cal and Bea.
49	-->'''Cal:''' What kinda kid creates an invisible IF?!
50	* JitterCam: The opening prologue of the film has shaky camera work, most likely to reflect the "home movie" vibe.
51	* LogoJoke: The Paramount logo is presented as a child's painting.
52	* MemoryTrigger: Bea uses these to get [[spoiler:Blossom and Blue's original children, now grown-up, to remember them]].
53	* MissingMom: Bea's mother died from cancer when she was very young.
54	* MonstersAnonymous: When Bea first visits the retirement home for [=IFs=], she passes a support group meeting for [=IFs=] missing their kids.
55	* NoAntagonist: The film's main conflict is [[spoiler:Bea coping with her father undergoing heart surgery and the possibility of losing him the same way she lost her mother to cancer, which is what prompts her to see the [=IFs=] again]].
56	* NonIndicativeName: Blue isn't actually blue; he's purple. He explains that his kid was colorblind.
57	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: [[spoiler:Among the cartoony and fantastical [=IFs=], Cal looks just like a normal human.]]
58	* NotSoImaginaryFriend: [=IFs=] can have tangible effects on the world in some cases, such as Blue's sneezes actually being heard and occasionally knocking people over.
59	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Cal himself is an IF. Specifically, he's Bea's IF.]]
60	* RunningGag: Various other characters tripping over Keith the invisible [=IF=].
61	* SpeciesTitle: ''[=IF=]'' is stated to be short for "Imaginary Friend", with the titular creatures given major focus in the film.
62	* ShoutOut: At one point Bea is rooting through her closet and a volume of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', another piece of media involving a child and their (possibly) imaginary friend, can be seen. [[spoiler: This is also a clue that Cal is actually Bea's IF.]]
63	* TheStinger: [[spoiler:After the main-on-end title, there is a montage of Cal reuniting [=IFs=] with their kids, now grown up and able to see them. It's also revealed that Bea's dad was the one who created Keith, the invisible IF.]]
64	** [[spoiler:The second stinger is a three-clip of Lewis and a dedication to his voice actor Creator/LouisGossettJr.]]
65	* {{Tulpa}}: The [=IFs=] are essentially this, being imagined by a child and given life and free will. They continue to exist long after their child stops believing in them even if that child can no longer see or hear them, though, according to Blue, there is a danger of them disappearing.
66	* YourMindMakesItReal: With her imagination, Bea is able to transform the IF retirement home into a much more lively place, with each IF's room being personalized to their preferences, as well as go back in time to the early days of the amusement park.

Context Film / IF2024