There’s something really rather admirable about John Krasinski. As one of the breakout stars of The US Office, he was always destined for not necessarily better things, but certainly bigger.

No one could have predicted just how big the actor and now director would get, particularly as one half of one of the most powerful Hollywood couples, married to the equally wonderful Emily Blunt as he is.

But despite all his success as an actor, this is only his fifth film behind the camera, and his inexperience shows.

Moving in with her grandma (Fiona Shaw) in NYC for a bit is 12 year old Bea (Cailey Fleming). She’s there whilst her dad (Krasinski) is in hospital for some issues with his heart.

In the building where her grandma lives, on the floor above, she discovers Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who lives with some interesting characters. He spends time with IFs – imaginary friends – who have long since been abandoned by their original child friend companions, who have since grown up.

Bea visits the home where the rest of the IFs live, only to find that there may well be a job for her, in assigning all these original IFs to new children. But as she soon finds out, it’s not that easy.

You can well imagine that, in the pitch meeting, this concept was pretty much greeted as a home run. It has so many strong, singular elements that it’s difficult to consider it failing, and yet the sum of its parts sadly add up to a truly empty experience.

Its biggest downfall is its script, penned by Krasinski, which lacks any kind of cohesion. It’s tediously slow too, taking far too long to get to the point. And when it does, there’s every chance you’ll just be underwhelmed by it all.

Essentially its Harvey - the original IF film, and still the superior offering – crossed with a watered down Monsters Inc. A number of characters that have been created to be as large as life, and yet their existence in the world is all too flimsy. And the same can be said for Reynolds' character, who could have been played by anybody, with the same result, being a rather tepid performance.

Certainly the young Fleming does well, reacting as you would expect to all the colourful characters around her, but with such a weak narrative, her presence isn’t as commanding as it should have been.

IF is a film that should have been tugging on heartstrings from the off, resonating with all those who had imaginary friends in their childhoods, but it’s presented in such a heavy handed fashion, it struggles to pluck one chord of emotion, making it surprisingly – and disappointingly – dull, giving it about as much heart as a Tesco value Valentine’s Day card.

Krasinski may have taken on too much with this project, which is what the results feels like, but maybe it’s also a case of a studio not saying no to a talent, despite the film’s many, many flaws.

The fact is, he’s only directed one successful franchise, the entertaining A Quiet Place, for which Time magazine named him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in the world, which seems a little premature now.

Krasinski still remains a talent worth watching, but make no mistake, IF is about as magical as a cheap, plastic Christmas cracker trick, that is overly polished, lacking any kind of emotional core whatsoever. And no one needs a friend like that, imaginary or otherwise.