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Why is the Rotten Tomato score for this movie so low?

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The Good: From the start of the movie, I realized I would really enjoy this movie. They start the movie off on a serious note, Bea’s mom dying, and they let the serious tone of the movie be felt throughout, but not being the sole feeling of the movie. Bea is still not over her mom’s death, and she doesn’t want anything to happen to her dad, so her imagination runs wild, which is where the fun of the movie is at. Getting to see, meet, and interact with all the IFs was a lot of fun, and they all had a lot of character to them.

I just loved that John Krasinsky was able to find a great blend of humor and seriousness, topping the movie off with dialogue that really portrays the purpose of the movie: You’re never too old to stop imagining and dreaming. I know Krasinsky wrote this film for his kids, wanting them to know that they don’t have to grow up right now. They are young, and they can still be kids having all sorts of imaginations and dreams. That’s what being a kid is all about. Throughout the movie he also tries to make a similar point to adults: Don’t forget your childhood, and don’t forget that you too can dream and have an imagination. All of this together made for an extremely enjoyable film to me.

In addition to the story and themes being great, I also think that the humor was fantastic. I think Ryan Reynolds played such a fun character, and I loved the scenes where his character and Bea would interact. I think they are such an odd, yet fun, duo that bring so much energy and enjoyment to the film. While the revelation about his character and other plot points may have been extremely obvious to some people, it wasn’t to me, and I really loved how the film concluded. I thought the ending was just wonderful.

The Meh: For being a PG movie, I was surprised that they were able to get away with some swearing. I know in the past, PG movies like Shrek were able to get around calling Donkey an “ass,” but I was surprised that this movie had “hell” said twice and “damn” said once. I just think that profanity shouldn’t be used at all in PG movies (may be a personal preference), and I think it could have been a super easy change to have been made in the film.

Overall: This movie has nearly the perfect combination of fun, humor, and serious. I loved how simple, yet sweet, the story is, and I think we need a lot more original, wholesome, stories like this that are fun and thoughtful for both kids and adults. I don’t understand why the Rotten Tomatoes score is so low for this movie.

Rating: 4.5/5