By Jeanni Ritchie

It’s fitting that the movie I most looked forward to in May is one that dealt with themes of wanting to return to childhood and believing in a world that exists only in your imagination.

An imagination not only makes a great writer, it’s a free trip of pure escapism if only in your mind.

IF revolves around Bea (an adorable Cailey Fleming), who’s temporarily staying with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) in her Brooklyn Heights apartment while her father (writer and director John Krasinski) awaits his surgery. Having lost her mother to cancer when she was a little girl, Bea grapples with grief, which leaves her emotionally open to encountering the IFs (Imaginary Friends) who start popping up in her orbit — including Blue (Steve Carell), a purple giant named by a colorblind kid.
The connection between the imaginary friends is Cal (Ryan Reynolds), a cranky upstairs neighbor who seems to be the only other person who can see them.

Cal introduces Bea to the world of IFs by taking her to their retirement home, located in Coney Island, in one of the most spectacular scenes in the entire movie. Not only does the home change magnificently one pixel at a time, we see the power of a young girl’s imagination when there are no limits. Cal and Bea decide to try to help the IFs by attempting to reconnect them with the children they once befriended who are now grown-ups.

The late Lou Gossett Jr voices Teddy Bear and delivers one of the most profound lines of the movie: Nothing you love can ever be truly forgotten; they live in memories in your heart.

The adorable IFs are voiced by some of your favorite Hollywood stars- Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, Blake Lively, George Clooney, Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart, Bradley Cooper, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Maya Rudolph.

Catch IF in a theater near you.

Jeanni Ritchie is Louisiana journalist and perennial Peter Pan who can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.