How do you make a kid鈥檚 that appeals not only to the kids, but the adults sitting next to them? Most movies try to achieve this by throwing in a layer of wink-wink pop culture references that鈥檒l earn a few knowing laughs from parents but fly nicely over the heads of the young ones.
So let鈥檚 credit for not taking the easy way out. Writing and directing (and acting in, and producing) his new kid鈥檚 movie, Krasinski is doing his darndest to craft a story that works organically no matter the age, with universal themes 鈥� imagination, fear, memory 鈥� that just hit different depending on who you are.
Or maybe sometimes, they hit the same 鈥� because Krasinski, who wanted to make a movie his kids could watch (unlike his 鈥淨uiet Place鈥� thrillers), is also telling us that sometimes, we adults are more connected to our childhood minds than we think. A brief late scene that actually doesn鈥檛 include children at all is one of the most moving moments of the film 鈥� but I guess I would say that, being an adult and all.
There鈥檚 only one conundrum: 鈥泪贵,鈥� a story about imaginary friends (get it?) that blends live action with digital creatures and some wonderful visual effects (and cinematography by Janusz Kaminski), has almost too many riches at its disposal. And we鈥檙e not even talking about the Who鈥檚 Who of Hollywood figures voicing whimsical creatures: Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, and the late Louis Gosset Jr. are just a few who join live stars Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming. Imagining a table read makes the head spin.
The issue is simply that with all the artistic resources and refreshing ideas here, there鈥檚 a fuzziness to the storytelling itself. Just who is actually doing what and why they鈥檙e doing it 鈥� what are the actual mechanics of this half-human, half-digital world? 鈥� occasionally gets lost in the razzle-dazzle.
But, still, everything looks so darned lovely, starting with the pretty, brownstone-lined streets of Brooklyn Heights in New York City, where our story is chiefly set. We begin in flashback, with happy scenes of main character Bea as a little girl, playing with her funloving parents (Krasinski and Catharine Daddario). But soon we鈥檙e sensing Mom may be sick 鈥� she's wearing telltale headscarves and hats 鈥� and it becomes clear what鈥檚 happening.
Bea is 12 when she arrives with a suitcase at her grandmother鈥檚 Brooklyn apartment, filled with her old paint sets and toys. Grandma (Fiona Shaw, in a deeply warm performance) offers the art supplies, but Bea tells her: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really do that anymore.鈥�
She says something similar to her father, visiting him in the hospital (it takes a few minutes to figure out that they've come to New York, from wherever they live, so Dad can have some sort of heart surgery.) He tells Bea he's not sick, just broken, and needs to be fixed. Hoping to keep her sense of fun alive, he jokes around, but she says sternly: 鈥淟ife doesn鈥檛 always have to be fun.鈥�
And then the creatures start appearing, visible only to Bea.
We first meet a huge roly-poly bundle of purple fur called 鈥淏lue鈥� (Carell.) Yes, we said he was purple. The kid who named him was color-blind. These, we soon understand, are IFs 鈥攊maginary friends 鈥� who鈥檝e been cut loose, no longer needed. There鈥檚 also a graceful butterfly called Blossom who resembles Betty Boop (Waller-Bridge). A winsome unicorn (Blunt). A smooth-voiced elderly teddy bear (Gossett Jr., in a sweet turn.) We鈥檒l meet many more.
Supervising all of them is Cal (Ryan Reynolds.) An ornery type, at least to begin with, he's feeling rather overworked, trying to find new kids for these IFs. But now that Bea has found Cal living atop her grandmother鈥檚 apartment building, she鈥檚 the chosen helper.
The pair 鈥� Reynolds and the sweetly serious Fleming have a winning chemistry 鈥� head to Coney Island on the subway, where Cal shows Bea the IF 鈥渞etirement home.鈥� This is, hands down, the most delightful part of the movie. Filmed at an actual former retirement residence, the scene has the look down pat: generic wall-to-wall carpeting, activity rooms for CG-creature group therapy sessions, the nail salon. And then the nonagenarian teddy bear gives Bea a key bit of advice: all she need do is use her imagination to transform the place. And she does, introducing everything from a spiffy new floor to a swimming pool with Esther Williams-style dancers to a rock concert with Tina Turner.
The movie moves on to Bea鈥檚 matchmaking efforts. A tough nut to crack is Benjamin (Alan Kim), an adorable boy in the hospital who favors screens and seems to have trouble charging his own imagination (spoiler alert: that鈥檒l get fixed).
There are segments here that feel like they go on far too long, particularly when Bea, Cal and Blue track down Blue鈥檚 now-adult 鈥渒id鈥� (Bobby Moynihan of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥�), now nervously preparing for a professional presentation.
Still, the idea that adults could still make use of their old 鈥淚Fs鈥� at difficult times 鈥� and, to broaden the thought, summon their dormant sense of whimsy, as a closing scene captures nicely 鈥� is a worthwhile one. And by movie鈥檚 end, one can imagine more than one adult in the multiplex running home, checking under the bed, hoping to find a trusted old friend.
鈥泪贵,鈥� a Paramount release, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association 鈥渇or thematic elements and mild language.鈥� Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
