>"What kind of person makes an invisible imaginary friend?" .... >"Hey, Keith."

Genuinly one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had going to see a movie

It was okay. My expectations were not met in this movie, so I may be a bit jaded in my review. I was expecting a cute kids movie that had some things an adult would enjoy. I was in a theater with no children and I’m glad for it. It’s not like it’s a bad movie for kids, it’s just not a great kid movie. The IFs are cute and funny, and he acting is great, it is just sort of out there. I do not imagine my 6 year old granddaughter would enjoy it (although I did try to convince her to go with me) and my 2 year old for sure would not enjoy it. Any adults I know would have appreciated it but not truly enjoyed it. And that’s where I sit. A fine movie, one to see once, but I can’t imagine any of these characters sticking with me.

It was a decent family film, but it felt like it kept its punches, there was so much more to do with the story. However, still a good watch

The movie starts with some family fotage indicating, that the mother has some cancer issues, but all in the child daughter has loving parents and a fine childhood. Then a time jump, the child, Bea. is now 12 and arrives at her grandmother in New York (where Bea has been before and what she‘s done, we don‘t know but the morher might be dead), gets her own room and visits her father at the hospital. He has some heart issues. Till here you might think, it‘s a family drama, and somehow it is, but the family drama gets more and more out of focus and the movie starts to tell another story, about forgotten imaginary friends (of children) and their issues in finding a fitting child for them. The movie is well done, good actresses, actors and voices from well known actresses and actors, good cinematography and a joyful and emotional original score. But: There are some inconsistencies (the movie doesn‘t follow its own rules at the end), some typical Hollywood tropes and some pacing issues that decrease the overall positive experience. The movie is ok, it‘s entertaining and keeps you interested for the fun part, but the drama, especially of the main protagonist Bea and her scenes in the middle part of the movie with her father at the hospital stay superficial and unfortunately somehow forgettable. Bea visits her father just to bring him new flowers and then leaves. She talks more with the boy with the broken leg and hand at the Hospital than with her father. The final scene between Bea and her father is very emotional and good, but their relationship before that is not really the focus of the story and this emotional scene feels forced (or formulaic) than really motivated by Beas fear of losing her father. Bea is 12 and her mother might have died. We don‘t really get to know where Bea has been before her arrival in New York. Her backstory is mysterious. We don‘t get to know about her hobbys or friends. She comes to New York and interacts with her grandmom, her father and most of the time with Cal, the neighbor from upstairs. It‘s more about their relationship than with her family. And the twist about Cal, who he really is, is foreshaddowed and not a real surprise for me as a viewer. But: it‘s very consistent and for me better done than in movies like The Sixth Sense. At the end the movie feels rushed with breaking its own rules.