"IF"

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[00:01:36] You are listening to the Next Best Picture podcast and this is our review of F.

[00:01:42] What if I told you imaginary friends are real?

[00:01:47] When their kids grow up, they're forgotten.

[00:01:50] Are any of them scary?

[00:01:53] Worse.

[00:01:54] Desperate.

[00:01:56] Question, why did these kids forget about us in the first place?

[00:02:00] Last week I just started falling apart.

[00:02:03] You're sucking the oxygen out of the room.

[00:02:07] Honestly Doc, if this is how it's going to be, I'm just going to wheel myself back and

[00:02:09] plug in.

[00:02:10] I can make your hands clap.

[00:02:13] We've started a matchmaking agency to help Ifs find new kids.

[00:02:17] Or we just disappear.

[00:02:19] Bloop.

[00:02:20] Happy place, happy place.

[00:02:23] Copy and croissants, copy and croissants.

[00:02:25] All right everyone, you were just listening to the trailer for If and the story is as

[00:02:30] follows.

[00:02:31] After 12 year old Bea experiences some tragic events, she begins to see the imaginary friends

[00:02:36] of dozens of kids who have now grown up and must find them new homes.

[00:02:42] The film stars young Kaylee Fleming as Bea alongside humans Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski

[00:02:49] and Fiona Shaw with an unbelievably stacked cast of voice performers, including but not

[00:02:55] limited to Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lou Gossett Jr., Awkwafina, Bradley Cooper,

[00:03:01] Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Hader, Keegan-Michael Key, Sam Rockwell, Blake

[00:03:06] Lively and apparently Brad Pitt.

[00:03:10] The film was written, produced and directed by John Krasinski.

[00:03:15] If you weren't aware already, I am not Matt Neglia.

[00:03:19] He and our own Josh Parham are off at Cannes this week, so they haven't had a chance to

[00:03:23] see the film.

[00:03:24] I am instead Daniel Howitt and today I'm joined by Giovanni Lago.

[00:03:30] Hello.

[00:03:31] Yeah, this is gonna be fun.

[00:03:33] This is like when you watch a sitcom and like the two random people pair off together for

[00:03:37] an episode.

[00:03:38] That's what we're doing.

[00:03:39] But for If.

[00:03:40] I love it.

[00:03:41] I love it.

[00:03:42] Yeah, it's just the two of us.

[00:03:44] Who better to dive into the world of imaginary friends than the two of us, Gio?

[00:03:49] It's you and me.

[00:03:50] Well, yeah, John Krasinski really broke out as a director with A Quiet Place and its sequel,

[00:03:56] A Quiet Place Part Two.

[00:03:58] Did you ever see his earlier work?

[00:04:00] He did The Hollers, like the family thing.

[00:04:03] I did not.

[00:04:05] It's decent.

[00:04:06] It's like a family dramedy.

[00:04:07] But yeah, he's clearly enamored with, you know, stories centered around family.

[00:04:12] That's kind of what unites all of his filmography here.

[00:04:14] So now with If he's going after this Amblin aesthetic, a big shift from the Quiet Place

[00:04:21] films.

[00:04:22] So that's where If drops into.

[00:04:26] Gio, what did you think about If?

[00:04:28] I really did not like it.

[00:04:32] Unfortunately, I want a preference.

[00:04:35] I think Krasinski is a good guy.

[00:04:36] I dug the Quiet Place movies, especially the first one.

[00:04:39] You know what?

[00:04:40] I even thought the second one was pretty good.

[00:04:42] I don't know if that was like post-COVID euphoria where you're in a theater and you're like,

[00:04:46] oh, thank God we're back and we're seeing movies on this scale.

[00:04:49] And maybe that added some goodwill.

[00:04:51] But no, I thought it was good.

[00:04:52] And then If I remember hearing about, I never had really any interest.

[00:04:59] But I think on a more artistic level, I completely respect him trying to pivot.

[00:05:04] I always support artists wanting to do different and unique things in their careers.

[00:05:08] And I think, you know, Krasinski as a father probably wanted to make a film for his kids.

[00:05:14] You know, and it feels like this film wants to come from a genuine spot, like a genuine

[00:05:20] place from his heart.

[00:05:22] But when I watch it, it just feels so artificial.

[00:05:25] Like I know people have compared it to a live action Pixar movie, and it is that it feels

[00:05:29] like a scrapped Pixar idea thrown together and filmed in live action.

[00:05:35] I think when I watched it also, I think he doubles down on like discount Spielberg comparisons,

[00:05:42] which I think he kind of dabbled in and more so in A Quiet Place Part 2.

[00:05:46] Like the whole prequel sequence when you see the origin of how the aliens attack and everything

[00:05:53] about that felt Spielberg-y, but like in a good way where I was like, okay, yeah.

[00:05:57] And it didn't feel like that the entire film.

[00:05:59] This here feels like, like you mentioned, an Amblin film, like the whole time through.

[00:06:03] And I'm like, okay, dude, what are we doing?

[00:06:06] And weirdly enough, I can't wait to talk about this more.

[00:06:09] This movie is very much like the Fablemans in like for a kid's movie, which I found very

[00:06:13] odd.

[00:06:14] I thought the voice acting for the most part was pretty forgettable.

[00:06:19] I thought there was a few good performances in this.

[00:06:21] You were listing off names.

[00:06:22] I had no idea where in the movie, I did not know Bill Hader was in this movie.

[00:06:26] Like you could have told me that I'm like Brad Pitt was in it.

[00:06:29] Sure.

[00:06:30] Okay.

[00:06:31] I don't know who, but all right.

[00:06:32] But essentially like the main voice performance really is Steve Carell, who honestly I thought

[00:06:36] was pretty obnoxiously annoying in this movie.

[00:06:40] Like this weird middle range between like grew on steroids where none of the jokes really

[00:06:45] land.

[00:06:46] I think some of the jokes land due to some of the abilities of the imaginary friends.

[00:06:51] Surprisingly, I will give credit to Krasinski for Ryan Reynolds' performance, who I thought

[00:06:57] was pretty solid.

[00:06:58] He reigns it in a bit back.

[00:07:00] He's not going full Deadpool mode like the entire time, which I thought it was nice.

[00:07:04] And of course the main actress, Kaylee Fleming was good.

[00:07:09] And I think the designs for the creatures are cool.

[00:07:11] But other than that, like it just felt so fake and unfunny.

[00:07:16] And I just did not vibe with it the whole time.

[00:07:19] Amazing.

[00:07:20] Amazing.

[00:07:21] This is going to be a heck of a review.

[00:07:24] Well so before I dive into that, I'll share my thoughts.

[00:07:29] The theatrical live action family film genre has been pretty solidly dead in the streaming

[00:07:35] era because now everything just gets dumped onto Netflix, instead of like capitalizing

[00:07:40] on the family audience that wants to go to see movies.

[00:07:43] And so as a dad, that's just, you know, a pet peeve.

[00:07:46] I love animated movies.

[00:07:48] I think that's well documented on Netflix.

[00:07:50] I mean on Nexus Picture, that I love animated movies.

[00:07:53] But I also want my kids to experience, you know, real people, stories with real human

[00:07:58] beings.

[00:08:00] So I was pretty excited for this one, to be honest.

[00:08:02] My kids were excited to see it.

[00:08:06] And I dig Amblin stuff.

[00:08:09] I heard him say that he was kind of trying to make a live action Pixar movie.

[00:08:13] So all of that had me in.

[00:08:15] I was like, okay, let's check this out.

[00:08:17] So I went to the screening.

[00:08:18] It was a packed screening with lots of families.

[00:08:22] My kids were there, my wife.

[00:08:24] And you know, when I left the theater after my screening of If, I was pretty high on it.

[00:08:30] I had a genuinely good time with the movie.

[00:08:33] It's very big hearted, which I totally acknowledge that some could find a bit like cloying or

[00:08:39] false.

[00:08:41] But I responded well to it.

[00:08:44] The film is kind of split into two portions, essentially.

[00:08:48] There's like, Bea with her dad, who is sick.

[00:08:53] And so it's kind of like her dealing with the humaneness of that, of, you know, she's

[00:08:58] experienced some tragedy.

[00:08:59] This is not a spoiler.

[00:09:00] She lost her mom, and now her dad's in the hospital.

[00:09:03] And then and then the other portion of the movie is, is Bea with the imaginary friends.

[00:09:08] And with that latter portion, I found the movie to be a lot of fun.

[00:09:10] I think the characters are really weird and wild overall.

[00:09:15] I think they make for some genuinely funny moments.

[00:09:18] You can really feel Krasinski like letting himself run wild with the ideas and really

[00:09:23] try to be as imaginative as he can.

[00:09:25] And of course, it's childlike.

[00:09:27] But I that's kind of the point I felt like, you know, when I saw the trailers, I was a

[00:09:32] little bothered by the animation style, because the characters were so very cartoony.

[00:09:38] Like they aren't believable at all and don't really blend into the live action environments

[00:09:42] too well.

[00:09:43] But when I watched the film, I started to realize that that was sort of the point like

[00:09:46] these, these come from the imaginations of kids.

[00:09:49] So it's not supposed to be perfectly believable, I guess at least that's how I took it.

[00:09:55] But it's very, very fun.

[00:09:57] I think they do some things with how the ifs interact with adults that we'll get into that

[00:10:03] honestly was was kind of moving at certain portions.

[00:10:07] I do think your comparison to the fablemans is totally true.

[00:10:12] There was there's one specific scene that I don't know.

[00:10:16] I don't know.

[00:10:17] But we'll talk about it later.

[00:10:18] But that I was like, well, this is this is a little trippy.

[00:10:22] As for the other portion of the movie, everything having to do with with these human counterparts

[00:10:28] and her father.

[00:10:30] That's that's a bit hit or miss more maybe more missed than hit if I'm being honest.

[00:10:36] You know, the movie really does have its heart on its sleeve, which I really, really appreciate,

[00:10:40] especially for kids.

[00:10:42] You know, it kind of it doesn't.

[00:10:44] In some ways, it doesn't shy away from be going through like some genuinely tough stuff.

[00:10:50] Mom dying now down in the hospital, but I, I do really appreciate how they showed bees

[00:10:56] like fear.

[00:10:57] And they showed her creating walls for herself and not really wanting to be a kid.

[00:11:02] So some of that worked and definitely pulled on the heartstrings.

[00:11:05] But there was this weird thing going on where I think Krasinski was trying to kind of like,

[00:11:11] not get into the weeds of what was going on with his character playing the dad.

[00:11:18] And so we don't really know why he's in the hospital, things like that.

[00:11:21] But instead of just clearing out unnecessary details, it actually like didn't give us anything.

[00:11:26] I was just kind of like, why is he in the hospital?

[00:11:30] Like, what's where?

[00:11:31] You know, where was B before moving in with her grandma?

[00:11:35] Like, why does she have no adult supervision ever?

[00:11:40] Like I just I just had a million questions that started to become more and more distracting

[00:11:44] than anything.

[00:11:45] So it diminished the more human side of the movie.

[00:11:48] So all that said, there are definitely downsides to the movie.

[00:11:52] But I can't deny that I had a really good time with it.

[00:11:54] I laughed, my kids laughed.

[00:11:57] I sort of got close to tears at the end, so did my kids.

[00:12:00] So honestly, even though I do have some some some definite problems with the movie, I had

[00:12:08] a good movie going experience.

[00:12:10] So so I'm positive overall.

[00:12:12] Okay, round two.

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[00:12:39] So that's where I'm at.

[00:12:44] Let me ask you real quick before we start getting to the nitty gritty, because I've always

[00:12:47] been curious about this, especially with children's movie.

[00:12:49] I'm I'm young, dude.

[00:12:51] I don't have kids, you know, so I always watch through like, the perspective of me.

[00:12:55] You're a father, you have kids.

[00:12:57] You feel that any ways like seeing them get enjoyment is like, okay, that makes me enjoy

[00:13:02] it more.

[00:13:03] Do you ever feel like as your perspective shifts entirely?

[00:13:06] Because like, as a father, you're like, Okay, I get this, this, this more than, you know,

[00:13:10] me, like, I'm just sitting there.

[00:13:12] I'm like, yeah, I mean, like, there's certain things in the human experience that we can

[00:13:16] all relate to no matter what, like the beginning of the movie is something that although it's

[00:13:20] straight up, because he does like a whole up intro for the movie.

[00:13:24] But like, you know, there's certain things we all get.

[00:13:26] But like, there's certain things I'm also not able to get that you could.

[00:13:28] So I feel like I'm very interested to see that, you know, difference when we're talking

[00:13:32] about it.

[00:13:33] Yeah, no, I think that's a great question.

[00:13:34] And a fair question.

[00:13:35] I think yes, and no, I mean, there are some movies that they like that are just terrible.

[00:13:41] So like, it doesn't, you know, if a movie is just awful, it doesn't change my opinion.

[00:13:45] But yeah, I'm watching it, what was especially when I'm watching it with my kids.

[00:13:50] So sometimes I'll see some of these family movies, where the screening isn't at a good

[00:13:54] time.

[00:13:55] So I'm seeing it by myself without my kids.

[00:13:56] And so then I do kind of shut that perspective off a little bit and watch it more just as

[00:14:01] me.

[00:14:02] But when I'm sitting next to both of my kids, I'm watching it in two kind of perspectives.

[00:14:06] One, I'm, I'm feeding off of whatever they're feeling, right?

[00:14:10] If they feel like they're really into it, they're having a really good time.

[00:14:13] That does impact how the time that I'm having, just like if you watch a movie with friends,

[00:14:17] and if they're hating it, that can sometimes ruin the experience for you.

[00:14:20] It kind of has the opposite effect with my kids.

[00:14:23] And then I'm also watching it as a dad thinking through what are the, what is the movie telling

[00:14:29] what is the movie telling my kid?

[00:14:31] You know, what are they receiving from it?

[00:14:33] And like, that's some of the those are some of the places that I really appreciated if,

[00:14:37] for instance, I appreciated some of the hard emotions, even though it doesn't really dig

[00:14:43] too deep into it.

[00:14:45] I like my kids are only five, but so they're still pretty young.

[00:14:48] But I like it when movies, especially live action ones, because they can see real humans

[00:14:55] dealing with tough stuff, you know, dealing with a parent dying, you know, I hope that

[00:15:01] doesn't happen to us.

[00:15:02] But like, that's really like, you know, it's people deal with that.

[00:15:06] And I like them seeing that even things this is such a dad statement I'm about to make.

[00:15:12] But even even things like there was some language in the movie, right?

[00:15:16] Like nothing crazy, but there was some dance and bells.

[00:15:19] And Oh, no, no, no, no, the opposite.

[00:15:22] I was like, Oh, no, I was like, that's great.

[00:15:25] Like, you know, they're only five, but I'm like, I do want them to start watching a slightly

[00:15:32] older stuff.

[00:15:33] You know what I'm saying?

[00:15:34] Like, I'm okay with kind of turning the dial up slightly on the movies that they can watch,

[00:15:39] right?

[00:15:40] Like, slightly older stuff.

[00:15:43] And so, you know, I don't want anything like profane, but like, for them to hear real language,

[00:15:47] you know, stuff like that.

[00:15:49] So just minor things like that.

[00:15:51] You just don't see a lot.

[00:15:52] And that's kind of what I felt Krasinski clearly, you know, maybe you can definitely call it

[00:15:56] a rip off if you want.

[00:15:57] I don't think that's unfair.

[00:15:59] Ripping off, you know, early Spielberg and like Amblin stuff that would really try to

[00:16:04] treat kids as grownups.

[00:16:06] And so, so yeah, so that was a really long winded answer.

[00:16:10] That's kind of my perspective as I was watching If with my kids.

[00:16:14] No, I think that's important because it ties into, we could start diving into that Krasinski

[00:16:19] relationship with his daughter in the movie, which, you know, I thought like, I thought

[00:16:23] it was good and he's very charming in it for like the few scenes he is, but there's just

[00:16:27] so much like they don't intentionally tell you if like why he's in the hospital, especially

[00:16:31] well, I assume we're just going to spoil If.

[00:16:33] Yeah, yeah, that's okay.

[00:16:35] Yeah.

[00:16:36] Okay.

[00:16:37] Spoilers for If.

[00:16:38] So, and it's clear the mom passes away in the beginning, very Pixar coded up.

[00:16:42] And then he's in the hospital and you're given like no reason why.

[00:16:45] And then it's kind of like what you said, like where is the girl staying?

[00:16:50] Like she's just moving in with her grandma, who's Fiona Shaw.

[00:16:55] And you're just like, okay, this makes sense.

[00:16:57] And then that's how she ends up meeting Ryan Reynolds, who lives in the same apartment building

[00:17:01] as Fiona Shaw, and all the creatures and all the world.

[00:17:04] I just think when you start poking at the logic of this movie, everything just falters

[00:17:09] completely, especially with Ryan Reynolds.

[00:17:12] And I think that's a major problem is just how underwritten everything is.

[00:17:17] Because Ryan Reynolds is good.

[00:17:20] And then he's just completely underwritten because he's the whole curmudgeony.

[00:17:24] Oh, this imaginary friend thing isn't great.

[00:17:27] This sucks.

[00:17:28] You'll see once eventually because she's all curmudgeony because she's like, she's going

[00:17:33] through all this tragedy and she's all, I'm not a kid anymore, blah, blah, blah.

[00:17:36] But as soon as she starts meeting the imaginary friend, she's kind of like, la la la la la

[00:17:40] imaginary friends.

[00:17:41] Happiness is great, which is there's no like gradual change to that.

[00:17:45] It's just like snap, like instantly she's like she goes to the home where she's changing

[00:17:50] everything and it's just like, okay, everything's great.

[00:17:54] And it kind of like, there's no like build up to anything.

[00:17:58] And then Ryan Reynolds, the Ryan Reynolds reveal at the end, I just think is terrible.

[00:18:03] Like I'm sorry.

[00:18:04] It was obvious.

[00:18:05] I mean, I didn't.

[00:18:06] I'm going to be honest, maybe because I would just I went in to watch it.

[00:18:10] I wasn't like I didn't watch the trailers or nothing.

[00:18:12] And I wasn't like in the mindset of just like dialing everything into like break every aspect

[00:18:17] down when it happened.

[00:18:18] I was like, come on, like it doesn't make sense.

[00:18:20] It doesn't make any sense.

[00:18:22] Okay, I disagree there.

[00:18:23] I think it makes sense.

[00:18:24] I will not push back in any way to you calling it underwritten.

[00:18:28] I think that's totally fair, but I think it makes sense because the whole time my wife

[00:18:34] was saying this as we were leaving, she's like, why is she hanging out with a grown

[00:18:38] man?

[00:18:39] It's so weird and creepy.

[00:18:40] But I was like, the whole time I assumed he was an imaginary friend.

[00:18:44] Like that's why it's I mean, you can still call it creepy if you want, but that's why

[00:18:47] it wasn't creepy because I was like, he's clearly an imaginary friend to me.

[00:18:52] That's why I was okay with it.

[00:18:53] Yeah, and I will give Krasinski credit.

[00:18:56] I think in terms of we'll probably talk about this more like the characters itself, like

[00:19:00] the imaginary friends.

[00:19:01] I really enjoyed the designs of each of them.

[00:19:04] They all felt very vividly different and inspired.

[00:19:07] I don't know if he came up with them all or he's just asking his kids or stuff like that.

[00:19:11] But I thought so and it played into some of the funnier humor.

[00:19:14] But then all of a sudden her imaginary friend is just Ryan Reynolds, who's a clown, but

[00:19:18] like he's never dressed as a clown.

[00:19:21] That's like the very big reveal at the end.

[00:19:24] Also they go through this whole thing of like trying to reconnect the imaginary friends

[00:19:29] with their original person.

[00:19:31] At first, you know, they're trying to find like a new child for them and they're not

[00:19:34] working.

[00:19:35] That's what Ryan Reynolds purpose and he's kind of like an adoption agency for imaginary

[00:19:39] friends.

[00:19:40] And then when you know, they set up this whole thing of like, you're having to connect that

[00:19:45] because they don't remember you.

[00:19:47] Like kids grow up, people forget that they can pass.

[00:19:51] And you have to use like these weird things like the whole Bobby Moynihan scene.

[00:19:54] They had to use the smell of the bakery because he was in a bakery and that's how he connected

[00:19:58] to Steve Carell's If.

[00:20:01] But like the whole movie, she sees him.

[00:20:05] She sees him and they don't have the connection thing to the end.

[00:20:07] So like how is she seeing everything?

[00:20:10] If I know it's a kids movie, that's why I'm like, I don't know if it's like maybe I'm

[00:20:13] a dad.

[00:20:14] I just let it slide because my kids are enjoying it.

[00:20:16] But I'm like, this just doesn't make sense.

[00:20:18] Yeah, I mean, I don't disagree with some of the logic of it.

[00:20:22] I think the logic was underwritten.

[00:20:23] I do.

[00:20:24] I do kind of wonder if like the pieces in the movie feel so incredibly separate.

[00:20:29] The imaginary friend stuff and the John Krasinski stuff, it just feels totally disconnected.

[00:20:34] They try to connect it sometimes that, you know, somebody I didn't mention in my intro

[00:20:38] was Alan Kim is is a kid who's, you know, got broken bones, you know, and so, yeah,

[00:20:45] he's stuck in the hospital.

[00:20:47] And so they do some things to try to incorporate the hospital sequence or the hospital storyline.

[00:20:52] But yeah, I do agree that it's very underwritten.

[00:20:55] And so it almost feels like I wonder if, you know, in earlier drafts, the hospital stuff

[00:21:00] wasn't there and maybe bees, both of these parents died, you know, and then if that was

[00:21:07] the case, a lot of it starts to make a lot more sense.

[00:21:10] Like OK, moving moving in with her grandma.

[00:21:13] That makes a lot more sense.

[00:21:15] It makes sense why the stories don't really connect too much.

[00:21:19] So that's what I was wondering, you know, that was my biggest problem with the movie

[00:21:23] is just how separate these two things felt.

[00:21:25] They both had pros and cons, more cons to the human side.

[00:21:30] But I did appreciate, like I said earlier, like right towards the beginning as she's

[00:21:34] telling her grandma, like, I'm not a kid anymore.

[00:21:37] You know, I think that is really real for a lot of kids like wanting to be a grown up.

[00:21:41] I'm done with that kid stuff.

[00:21:43] And in some ways losing their imagination.

[00:21:46] And so those are the moments that really kind of spoke to me on the human side, especially

[00:21:52] for kids to see that thing, you know, see the importance of keeping your imagination

[00:21:58] alive and holding on to the things that make us a kid.

[00:22:02] Yes, it's that's great for adults to hear too.

[00:22:05] Obviously, I think there's some intentional trying to tell adults to hold on to that as

[00:22:09] well.

[00:22:10] But for kids to like, don't be in a rush to grow up, like hold on to some of these moments.

[00:22:15] So I like those I just wish they connected a bit more to the imaginary friend side.

[00:22:20] Yeah, speaking of imaginary friends, you know, like, most of that also didn't really get

[00:22:24] me emotional.

[00:22:25] Like I know the Bobby Moynihan thing was trying to and I'm like, I think one genuine it got

[00:22:30] you it got me.

[00:22:32] The one genuine moment for me was really the Louis Gossett Jr. on the boardwalk on Coney

[00:22:40] Island, who by the way, I think it was got the late great Louis Gossett Jr.

[00:22:44] The best in terms of pairing your voice with that character design, because when I think

[00:22:49] of them is just as giant teddy bear with a hat and can I'm like, oh, that's cute one.

[00:22:54] And I think also it lends towards the most emotional scene for me where I'm like, I get

[00:22:59] it like I'm starting to like, see what Krasinski was trying to do.

[00:23:03] And that moment I thought was very pretty and beautiful.

[00:23:07] But other than that, like the Moynihan thing I thought was all right.

[00:23:10] I think also maybe because I just did not like Steve Groves.

[00:23:14] I thought he was just so over that.

[00:23:16] I know his characters over the top, but like I just it got annoying to a bit compared to

[00:23:21] something like Phoebe Waller Bridge, who I thought was pretty good.

[00:23:24] I thought my favorite besides Gossett Jr. is funny enough, Bradley Cooper is the one

[00:23:29] you're trying to make jokes and like everything relating to him melting ice or people trying

[00:23:33] to drink him.

[00:23:34] I thought was funny.

[00:23:35] I thought was also pretty good.

[00:23:37] Oh, totally.

[00:23:38] Yeah.

[00:23:39] The reason Bobby Moynihan thing it didn't work for me at first.

[00:23:41] I was like, what what are we doing?

[00:23:45] And they just it kept going on the wind up to the emotional reveal took a little while

[00:23:50] in that sequence.

[00:23:51] But once it got there, man, I didn't write down I didn't take good notes.

[00:23:55] I didn't write down what they said, but they said something about like, he'll be okay or

[00:24:00] something like that.

[00:24:02] That really spoke to me as as somebody getting older and like losing those parts and wondering

[00:24:06] if I'm going to be okay.

[00:24:07] I was like, you know what this is working for me.

[00:24:10] I do agree, though.

[00:24:12] I'm not a big fan of Steve Carell's performance in this movie.

[00:24:15] That's kind of like what I was saying when I was watching the trailers, some of the super

[00:24:20] cartoony nature of it turned me off a little bit.

[00:24:24] I do think after having seen the movie, it's it is the point that these are from the imaginations

[00:24:30] of kids.

[00:24:31] But I do feel like they missed some opportunity in blending in with the environments and sort

[00:24:37] of like making it a little bit more believable.

[00:24:40] Like you have Ryan Reynolds, who is a human if quite believable, and then you have all

[00:24:47] these others that are, you know, very, very like they almost look hand drawn animation.

[00:24:52] And I don't mean that in a good way in like a very, very separated from the real life

[00:24:56] environment.

[00:24:58] That did, you know, turn me off a little bit.

[00:25:00] Yeah, you know, it's funny you mentioned the Ryan Reynolds thing is funny enough, I thought

[00:25:05] like, I guess I'm kind of the opposite where I thought they were all looking good.

[00:25:09] And then when the humans stand next to them at times, I was like, Okay, but like, when

[00:25:14] it was just the ifs, I was like, you know, this isn't bad, like in terms of like, how

[00:25:17] they're implemented with the CG in the real world aspect.

[00:25:20] We you I can't remember for explicitly said it.

[00:25:23] Oh, yeah, I think I think I did earlier.

[00:25:24] But you know, Krasinski clearly said he wanted to make a live action Pixar movie, which is

[00:25:30] great.

[00:25:31] And I appreciate that as a you know, as a goal.

[00:25:34] And I but this definitely leaned into rip off like, the opening scene with a Michael

[00:25:41] G Aquino score.

[00:25:42] I'm like, guys, yeah, this is what we do.

[00:25:47] It's also a fable.

[00:25:48] But it's like of like the videotape stuff.

[00:25:50] Okay, let's just get into it.

[00:25:52] So Fiona Shaw, her whole thing was that she was a ballet dancer.

[00:25:55] And I can't remember what she said she got hurt or something like that.

[00:25:59] And her career ended.

[00:26:01] Yeah.

[00:26:02] And so there's a sequence where the main character realizes that Phoebe Waller Bridges character

[00:26:08] who's designed after ballet that if is her grandmother's if and she tries to reconnect

[00:26:14] through the music playing and she is dancing in front of the window, the light shining and

[00:26:20] I kid you not, it is straight up the Michelle Williams dance sequence in the fable moments

[00:26:27] where she's dancing in front of the car headlights.

[00:26:30] And the movie is also shot by Janusz Kaminski.

[00:26:32] Like you cannot tell me that like he did not watch the fablement and he's just sitting

[00:26:36] there is like, Oh shit, that's cool.

[00:26:38] I need to do that.

[00:26:39] Like it is so weird.

[00:26:41] You would think Janusz Kaminski would like say something or not not cross that line.

[00:26:47] It is the same.

[00:26:49] Yeah, you know, not in a nightie.

[00:26:51] Yeah.

[00:26:52] And for a movie very much like the fablements about like Spielberg's upbringing, he chose

[00:26:56] Krzyzewski was like, I'm gonna choose like one of the more psycho sexual moments and

[00:27:01] like devastating moments in that entire movie.

[00:27:04] And I'm going to put it like a kid's kidified version for if and I just remember watching

[00:27:09] I was like, Okay, like, come on, there's no way like you don't know what you're doing

[00:27:13] here at any level.

[00:27:15] Yeah, yeah.

[00:27:18] There were definitely some places where it felt too much like a rip off.

[00:27:21] But I will say the Fiona Shaw moment of her dancing did was was pretty solid.

[00:27:27] Yeah, you know, it worked for the moment.

[00:27:30] I think that was one of the, you know, the least distracting emotional moments because

[00:27:34] there's nothing else going on.

[00:27:36] And so I think I think the emotions of that really worked.

[00:27:39] What did not work for me?

[00:27:40] What was bizarre?

[00:27:41] Tell me if you realize this.

[00:27:43] Fiona Shaw is never in the same room or the same shot as John Krasinski.

[00:27:49] Who like, that was extraordinarily distracting to me.

[00:27:53] It was almost I would I would have thought if John Krasinski hadn't directed this movie,

[00:27:58] I would have thought man they couldn't get they couldn't, you know, coordinate their

[00:28:02] schedules.

[00:28:03] Fiona Shaw was never available on the same day as John Krasinski.

[00:28:06] They couldn't shoot together, except for the fact that he directed this movie.

[00:28:09] Like it was very distracting.

[00:28:11] Like even when they're going to the hospital towards the end.

[00:28:14] Yeah, they literally not a single time in this movie cross paths ever.

[00:28:18] It had me wondering like, is there another twist here?

[00:28:22] Is Fiona Shaw an if or is John Krasinski an if and her dad's actually dead?

[00:28:26] Like what's going on?

[00:28:28] It was very weird.

[00:28:31] That's it's actually a really good point, especially because that's like the his mother

[00:28:35] of his child's mother.

[00:28:36] Like that's your mother in law.

[00:28:37] That's your child's grandmother and you're just they don't have one moment together.

[00:28:41] They don't interact.

[00:28:42] Wow, you just like I just realized.

[00:28:46] I couldn't stop thinking about that in this movie.

[00:28:48] I was like, what are we doing?

[00:28:50] Why have they not interacted?

[00:28:51] Like or at least make a thing out of it.

[00:28:53] You know, if you make a mother in law thing out of it, you know that you don't want to

[00:28:56] go see him or something like fine, but like that it was never referenced.

[00:29:00] It just didn't happen.

[00:29:01] It was so strange.

[00:29:02] I was gonna say also like with just the hospital stuff.

[00:29:05] I know we keep harping on that, but like I don't know when like I just always think

[00:29:08] of like stuff in the rules of three, you know, like something happens third time.

[00:29:12] Just like very traditional thing in literature and how that's like adapted into like movies

[00:29:16] or whatever.

[00:29:17] But like I was so after like the third hospital visit, I was like, OK, this is the last one

[00:29:20] or the way they kept like emotionally like baiting you kept making it seem like, oh,

[00:29:25] I'm not going to die.

[00:29:26] Don't worry, I'm not going to die.

[00:29:27] And you're like, it's like he's going to die, right?

[00:29:29] Yes.

[00:29:30] And that's going to push her further in the trauma.

[00:29:31] And that's why she needs to use an F to like pull herself out, blah, blah, blah.

[00:29:37] But she just keeps visiting him throughout the movie.

[00:29:39] And it just doesn't really build up to anything besides the fact that Tina from The Bear is

[00:29:45] the nurse.

[00:29:46] So Liza Colones, I like when I saw her, I was like, oh, wow, you could have just told

[00:29:50] me she was in this movie and I would have been like, yeah, OK, I'm in.

[00:29:54] Yeah, that's that's the thing.

[00:29:56] You know, I keep harping on the hospital stuff because it just bothered me so much.

[00:30:01] I was pretty into the imaginary friend stuff.

[00:30:03] My kids were into it.

[00:30:05] And I just don't understand why, why the stuff with John Krasinski himself was so undercooked.

[00:30:12] Like he's telling his daughter, I've just got a broken heart.

[00:30:15] I honestly didn't know like, still right now.

[00:30:18] I know he was like, did he have a heart attack?

[00:30:21] And that's why he says he has a broken heart or does he is he struggling with like suicidal

[00:30:25] ideation?

[00:30:26] You know what I'm saying?

[00:30:27] I didn't know which one it was because and then at some point they said he had surgery.

[00:30:34] I was just I don't I don't know.

[00:30:35] I still don't know if it was a heart attack or like mental health issues.

[00:30:39] You know, who knows?

[00:30:40] I don't know.

[00:30:41] It feels like a lot of stuff in this movie just was undercooked and just like, but look,

[00:30:45] there's the dance sequence and here are just cute animated creatures to distract you and

[00:30:49] you just have to get along with it.

[00:30:51] And I'm like, I don't think that's necessarily what makes it entirely appealing, especially

[00:30:56] like we know he can write a good family dynamic as a whole.

[00:31:00] And I even like you start for like you seen Quiet Place like we know like he can balance

[00:31:04] multiple things well.

[00:31:06] So kind of just seeing it here, just falter.

[00:31:09] I was just wondering like what happens to the guy who made those movies?

[00:31:13] I don't know if it's maybe because of the more the gimmick of like, oh, everything's

[00:31:17] quiet playing with sound and everything or the genre itself or maybe honestly, like I

[00:31:22] feel like if he spent more time writing the script for this film, like it could have been

[00:31:26] far better.

[00:31:27] Like honestly, the direction is pretty solid for a kids movie.

[00:31:30] So I feel like it really all boils down to just how much the screenplay just does not

[00:31:36] work at all, which you know, he didn't write a Quiet Place.

[00:31:40] Now did he write a Quiet Place part two?

[00:31:42] I think he did.

[00:31:43] I can't remember.

[00:31:45] But yeah, I mean, he only directed the first one.

[00:31:49] So maybe that tells you his strength more is behind the camera.

[00:31:52] It could be because that really, that really is the downside of this movie, you know, but

[00:31:57] I do think there are still lots of high points.

[00:32:00] What did you think of the performances like Kaylee Fleming?

[00:32:04] What did you think of Kaylee Fleming?

[00:32:05] I thought she was fine.

[00:32:06] Like she was good.

[00:32:07] I really it's a relatively tough like child performances.

[00:32:12] I felt like it was very serviceable on what she needed to do and like to keep the story

[00:32:16] going.

[00:32:17] She was never at any point like, oh, she's unwatchable.

[00:32:19] Like it's not like she was good.

[00:32:21] Like she's clearly one of the anchors and I thought she played off pretty well with

[00:32:25] Ryan Reynolds.

[00:32:26] Again, like with Ryan Reynolds character being secretly a imaginary friend and they're holding

[00:32:32] like that information away.

[00:32:34] It's like intentional just how underdeveloped he is just so you can have that reveal.

[00:32:39] But like I think their chemistry is like good enough to like keep audiences engaged in their

[00:32:45] friendship.

[00:32:46] So I mean, that at least was good.

[00:32:47] Like I never had a problem with them two at all.

[00:32:49] Every time they were on screen, I was like, I'm entertained.

[00:32:52] Yeah, I agree.

[00:32:53] I think Kaylee Fleming does a does a great job.

[00:32:56] I think she she does the stoicism well.

[00:33:00] And she also, you know, has this even even, you know, as her stoicism is kind of like

[00:33:07] melting a little bit.

[00:33:09] She has this kind of wide eyed, wide eyed adventurous spirit, you know, that I think she she captures

[00:33:16] really well.

[00:33:17] And then you're right.

[00:33:18] You know, you said it earlier.

[00:33:20] Ryan Reynolds, you know, kind of softens that Ryan Reynolds persona a little bit and and

[00:33:26] it helps him be more believable and a little bit more authentic.

[00:33:31] I kind of feel like I've been saying that I feel like almost with all of his recent movies,

[00:33:36] it's been like, hey, you know, he toned down the Ryan Reynolds thing, which maybe we're

[00:33:41] not giving around Reynolds enough credit.

[00:33:42] Maybe he doesn't do the Deadpool thing as often as we think he does, because he was

[00:33:48] fine.

[00:33:49] He was solid here, you know?

[00:33:50] Yeah.

[00:33:51] As we say that right before Deadpool 3 comes out later this summer.

[00:33:56] But yeah, you know, Krasinski doesn't really have enough to really comment on how he did

[00:34:01] I, you know, as a performer, like it was fine.

[00:34:03] Fiona Shaw was good.

[00:34:05] What did you what did you say Bradley Cooper was your favorite voice performance?

[00:34:10] I think due to the comedy in terms of that aspect, he was my favorite.

[00:34:14] But like Louis Gossett Jr.

[00:34:15] I thought had the emotion and I think like his voice paired well with his if I think he

[00:34:20] really brought a nice like grounded center to the film that it needed a lot at times,

[00:34:25] especially when I think a lot of the sentiment, sentimentality just clearly bullshit.

[00:34:31] And for him, I felt like it felt real.

[00:34:33] It felt genuine.

[00:34:34] Yeah, yeah, totally.

[00:34:36] I think it's a really nice.

[00:34:37] I think he's got some other projects coming out.

[00:34:41] So I don't know if this is his final, final film, but it is a nice kind of posthumous

[00:34:46] role.

[00:34:47] I think it's really sweet.

[00:34:48] And I agree.

[00:34:49] I think he did a really, really nice job.

[00:34:51] As far as some of the you know, there's like so many of the tiny characters, tiny ifs.

[00:34:57] And Sam Rockwell does a really good job as like this superhero dog that I thought was

[00:35:02] pretty great.

[00:35:03] But yeah, there were there were a lot of funny ones.

[00:35:06] I thought, what did you think about Keith?

[00:35:08] I don't remember which one was Keith.

[00:35:10] The recurring joke.

[00:35:11] Oh, the dad.

[00:35:12] Yeah, yeah.

[00:35:13] That was actually funny.

[00:35:14] And then like they do an end credit scroll and they reveal like how it came to be.

[00:35:20] And I was like, all right, that's funny.

[00:35:22] Like it's a good bit.

[00:35:23] It's because it's if and you find out.

[00:35:25] And also one of the few times where like Reynolds does like the more over the top, but like

[00:35:29] it works because it's not like overly used.

[00:35:32] It's very sparingly used and well.

[00:35:33] So that's probably like one of three running gags in the movie that I was like, OK, this

[00:35:38] works.

[00:35:39] Perfect.

[00:35:40] Love it.

[00:35:41] Yeah.

[00:35:42] Yeah.

[00:35:43] I thought the key thing was really funny.

[00:35:44] So I was totally into it.

[00:35:45] Yeah.

[00:35:46] Yeah.

[00:35:47] That was that was solid.

[00:35:48] What other did you have any other final thoughts?

[00:35:49] Any other thoughts about if that you wanted to share?

[00:35:51] Don't you know that you're a grown up?

[00:35:54] I'm a grown up.

[00:35:55] Me too.

[00:35:56] Yep.

[00:35:57] Me too.

[00:35:58] But you know, these days being a grown up can really suck.

[00:35:59] Luckily, we're grown ups who grew up in the coolest generation.

[00:36:01] We had video arcades.

[00:36:02] And also some of the best TV and movies ever made.

[00:36:05] We lived the origin of awesome consumer electronics.

[00:36:07] The list goes on and on.

[00:36:09] Yep.

[00:36:10] Generation X.

[00:36:11] Exactly.

[00:36:12] And we're Gen X Grown Up.

[00:36:13] Every week, the Gen X Grown Up podcast explores media, tech, toys, games and more from both

[00:36:18] yesterday and today.

[00:36:20] Through the eyes of generation Xers who absolutely love that stuff.

[00:36:24] You can find us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:36:27] Or find us on our website, GenXGrownUp.com.

[00:36:29] Alright, I think that was good enough.

[00:36:33] I hope so, man.

[00:36:34] I'm tired.

[00:36:35] Who listens to a promo on a podcast and then goes and listens to a different podcast?

[00:36:39] Right.

[00:36:40] I've never done it.

[00:36:43] Again, you know, just because I'm negative on it.

[00:36:47] Who knows?

[00:36:48] Like take your kids because like maybe they'll enjoy it and they'll have a good time.

[00:36:51] And I do think, you know, seeing like a kid's movie that's blending live action animation

[00:36:56] like go to theaters is cool.

[00:37:00] We don't really get like the who made like Mr. Roger Rabbit type films anymore or Looney

[00:37:04] Tunes back in actions.

[00:37:06] We don't really get those anymore.

[00:37:10] I personally wasn't a fan.

[00:37:11] I respect the pivot.

[00:37:13] I hope Krasinski still keeps making movies.

[00:37:15] I hope like whatever he does hopefully feels more in his wheelhouse.

[00:37:23] But you know, it's a good time for kids.

[00:37:25] I thought it didn't work for me, but I also appreciate just seeing Ryan Reynolds like

[00:37:30] back to earth.

[00:37:31] I hope he does that more in the future.

[00:37:34] Yeah, I don't have a lot of other final thoughts to add.

[00:37:37] I think I think it was it was fun.

[00:37:40] You know, I'm very curious.

[00:37:41] My kids already want to see it again.

[00:37:43] And so I might see it again in the next couple days here.

[00:37:46] I'm curious if I like it more or less.

[00:37:50] I could see it going either way that I could see the flaws standing out a lot more on a

[00:37:54] second viewing or I could see them kind of fading away and me just having more fun with

[00:37:58] it.

[00:37:59] So I am I am very curious to see what happens there.

[00:38:02] But overall, I appreciated the swing.

[00:38:05] I appreciate really I'm I am sad that this isn't doing well.

[00:38:10] Critically, we'll see how it does box office wise.

[00:38:11] I have a feeling it won't it won't do amazing box office wise, but I really want more movies

[00:38:18] like this.

[00:38:19] You know, you can say better.

[00:38:20] That's fine.

[00:38:21] I want more live action family films that don't treat kids too much like kids.

[00:38:27] I know there's a lot of goofy stuff in this movie and silly things, which is fine.

[00:38:30] But I like seeing some more, you know, elevated human storytelling in a family package.

[00:38:37] And so that's partially why I like this movie.

[00:38:41] The other reason is just that I had a fun time with it.

[00:38:43] So so that's how I felt.

[00:38:46] I when I left the theater was honestly in like the high seven contemplating an eight

[00:38:53] range for if now as I sat down to write the review, you know, a lot of these problems

[00:39:00] kind of stood out for me a little bit more.

[00:39:03] And so I as I wrote, I really dropped it down to where I'm settling at a six out of 10.

[00:39:09] Do you what do you think?

[00:39:12] I'm at a very light five and I'm being kind of graceful with it.

[00:39:16] It's reality, I think it's four by I think it's a light five.

[00:39:20] Did my love as a dad bring it up to a five for you?

[00:39:23] Yeah, you know what, Daniel, the credit to you.

[00:39:28] Oh, man.

[00:39:29] Well, yeah.

[00:39:31] So you know, mixed reviews here.

[00:39:32] As soon as I left the theater to I was like, this is getting mixed reviews like I you could

[00:39:37] I could totally tell from the start.

[00:39:39] I was like, look, I had a good time.

[00:39:41] Critics are not going to like this movie, which is fine.

[00:39:43] Oscar potential.

[00:39:45] What do you think, Gio?

[00:39:46] Any Oscar potential for if none?

[00:39:49] Yeah, if I'm being generous, I would talk about visual effects possibly contending.

[00:39:57] But you know, maybe if it had gotten rave reviews, it would hang around and contend

[00:40:01] for visual effects.

[00:40:02] But like as it stands now, I mean, maybe there's an outside chance it lands on the short list.

[00:40:08] But but yeah, I don't see it happening.

[00:40:12] I'll say.

[00:40:13] All right, Gio.

[00:40:14] Well, thanks for sticking around, sticking with me for if.

[00:40:19] Thanks everybody for listening to Next Best Picture podcast.

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