‘IF' Reportedly Not Being Screened for Many Critics

I really liked what John Krasinski did with 2018’s “A Quiet Place” — he’s got more than decent directing chops. Then again, he also directed 2016’s indie cliche “The Hollars.”

Krasinski’s upcoming “IF” could go either way. Word of mouth will have to play a key role in its success. However, there is a major red flag for this film …

Paramount has decided not to screen “IF” for regional critics, and in some major cities, across the country. This shows a total lack of confidence in the film. A studio should never do this if they truly believe they have a winner. Come to think of it, I haven’t received any press invite either.

We already have a trailer for the film. It also has a prime summer release date, May 17, 2024. A source tells me that Paramount is promoting it as a “family movie” and that they want to “steer away” from critics with this one. If that’s the case, I should point out that the “hype” for this movie seems to be non-existent, and it’s supposed to be released 10 days from now. If it’s a good movie then critics could give it a boost.

The story has a young girl (Cailey Fleming) discovering the ability to see people’s imaginary friends who have been abandoned by the kids they helped. Here’s the official synopsis:

A young girl named Bea, who has been going through a troubling experience in her life, unexpectedly gains the ability to see people's imagianry friends (referred to as "IFs" for short) who have been abandoned by the kids they helped. Bea then discovers that her neighbor, Cal, has the same ability. Together they join forces to reunite the IFs with their former kids.

“IF” has a ridiculous amount of talent behind it, Krasinski, Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carrell, and Louis Gossett Jr.. That’s not even counting the voice-cast which includes the likes of Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Maya Rudolph, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Awkwafina, Jon Stewart, and Richard Jenkins.