Synopsis: In Imagine That, when a successful executive, with little time to spend with his young daughter, starts to have trouble at work he finds help in the strangest of places; from his daughter’s blanky and imaginative spirit.
Release Date: June 12, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Children and Family, Comedy
Film Review
Production
For a film aimed at children and families, Imagine That is incredibly slow to get started and very short on laughs. The majority of Imagine That focuses on Evan’s work life and places his relationship with his daughter Olivia second. For all the ways you want to see the two of men build a strong relationship and have fun together you are never given the opportunity as Imagine That reverts back quickly to the confrontations and decisions he must make for his career. It does redeem itself in the end but only barely and not enough to make you forget the multitude of boardroom scenes you had to sit through to get there.
Chemistry
The father-daughter chemistry that should be present from the beginning of Imagine That and grow from there is nonexistent. There is a great deal of attempting to show the two characters are in fact a great fit as a family but they never quite click on screen. It always feels like they are trying desperately to get to a comfortable point but never quite succeeding.
Comedy Factor
The only really funny scenes in Imagine That are when Evan (Eddie Murphy) has to explain to his clients and/or co-workers the Princesses’ advice, without telling them the Princesses’ are from his daughter’s imagination. This leads to some very funny lines of dialogue that are anything but what a grown man would say to anyone over the age of ten. Even with these moments the laughs only come occasionally in Imagine That and even then are just not very funny.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Karey Kirkpatrick
- Screenwriters: Ed Solomon, Chris Matheson
- Cast: Eddie Murphy (Evan), Vanessa Williams (Lori Struthers), Thomas Haden Church (Whitefeather), Yara Shahidi (Olivia)
- Other Crew: David Moritz, John Lindley, William Arnold, Ruth E. Carter, Mark Mancina
- Country Of Origin: USA
