In Imagine That, Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world.
Eddie Murphy's latest is exactly what everyone expects it to be; cliché and predictable, but in Imagine That, a family comedy about a workaholic Dad who finds that fatherhood is as rewarding as finance, it reminded me of how funny Eddie Murphy is without a fat suit or flatulence gags. Murphy is the buttoned-down Evan, a Denver securities analyst so preoccupied at the firm that he forgets to pick up Olivia, his 6-year-old daughter, on custody days. Yara Shahidi, wide-eyed and adorable, is Olivia. She brings out in Murphy what's been missing from films such as Norbit - spontaneous play. Shahidi's and Murphy's scenes together have such warmth, tenderness, and joy that they elevate this cookie-cutter comedy into homemade fun. Evan has two problems. One: Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church), his Native American colleague, is aiming to steal his clients. Two: Olivia, upset by the estrangement of her parents, will not surrender her security blanket at school, where she talks more with her imaginary friends than her real ones. Technically, it’s not that Evan is a bad father; he simply has other priorities than his 7-year-old daughter Olivia, played by newcomer Yara Shahidi (and, for that matter his estranged wife). Priorities like his Blackberry. And his stock portfolios. Befuddled by the responsibilities of fatherhood, Evan ignores Olivia, leaving her to be entertained by her security blanket and her imaginary friends. But when Olivia begins to tell Evan that her imaginary friends have some very strong opinions on which stocks he should buy and sell — opinions that turn out to be spectacularly correct and make Evan a superstar at work where he is being considered as the boss’s successor — Daddy suddenly loves playing make-believe. But is Evan’s sudden interest in Olivia one of paternal esteem or base profit motivation? Imagine That is the most enjoyable film Eddie Murphy has made in years and is certainly the best of his middling, family-friendly films.
It’s been fascinating over the past few decades watching one of the country’s most foul-mouthed comedians morph into a kid-friendly standard bearer. Imagine That allows Murphy to play to his comic strengths without crossing the line into obnoxiousness. He sings and prances and makes funny faces throughout the film, as Evan’s apartment is transformed into a magical wood filled with princesses and fire-breathing dragons. Anyone who has ever played with children will relate. (Refreshingly, Imagine That forces its audience to do just that — imagine. There is no CGI trickery here. Olivia’s imaginary friends are, well, invisible.) In this gentle fantasy from director Karey Kirkpatrick (who wrote the screenplay for the recent Charlotte's Web), it may be that Olivia's imaginary friends are crack stock analysts. And that her security blanket is a "securities blanket" - a magic cloth accurately predicting market outcomes. Thankfully, the fantasy elements are implicit rather than explicit; the movie is not an inventory of special effects, like the recent Bedtime Stories. Thus the audience, like Evan, accepts what Olivia says on faith. Imagine That and its young female star have something in common: they are both adorable. The daddy/daughter sequences are wonderful, particularly a scene in which Evan teaches Olivia how to sing without really singing. The film works the best, produces the most laughs and tugs at our heartstrings the hardest when Murphy is alone with Shahidi engaging in delirious horseplay. The innocent, delectable girl more than holds her own beside Murphy’s crazy antics, giving a performance that is equally funny and enduring. She is an absolute delight without ever being cloying or excessively sweet. Much humor also comes from Thomas Haden Church, who plays Johnny Whitefeather, Evan’s chief rival at work, whose faux-Native American mumbo jumbo is a smokescreen for his ruthless competitive streak. True, the film’s feel-good, Beatles-saturated revelations are all-too-familiar — a workaholic dad who doesn’t spend enough time with his kid; the conundrum of choosing between a critical business meeting and a school production — but Imagine That builds such goodwill through its undemandingly pleasant fantasy and the charming, comic abilities of its stars, that much will be forgiven. This gets a 3 on my "Go See" scale. It's not the best out there right now, but Murphy and Shahidi make this what it is: cute and entertaining to watch.
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