A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I don’t think this comes as a surprise to anyone, but tonight I went and saw “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” which came out almost three weeks ago. Since last year I went with my brother to see the documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I thought it was appropriate to see this movie, seeing how I was surprised they made this. Let’s see if this movie is any good.

“Though of all races, the schoolchildren were mostly black and Latino, and they didn’t even approach Mister Rogers and ask him for his autograph. They just sang.”

If you’ve seen an ad or trailer for Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” you may have noticed the line above said. Monica Castillo said in her review, “At first, even I thought this snippet of the movie was trying too hard to push my nostalgia buttons, but then I found these words in Tom Junod’s exemplary profile of Mr. Rogers, "Can You Say ... Hero?"” It’s the same persona that gives “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” its story, but with a noticeable difference: Mr. Rogers isn’t the main character of the movie.

Made similarly to a Mr. Rogers episode – which includes the show’s soothing piano theme music, miniature sets and the host (Tom Hanks) entering, singing, changing his sweater and shoes – the movie instead is about Lloyd (Matthew Rhys), a sarcastic journalist assigned to write an interview article on the popular kid’s TV show host for Esquire. He thinks that this job is too easy and resents to meet the host, someone so respected, even his wife Andrea, played by Susan Kelechi Watson, asks him not to “ruin her childhood” with a disrespectful article. Castillo mentioned, “But even his dyed-in-the-wool cynicism is no match for Fred Rogers, whose kindness and never-ending prodding questions get Lloyd to talk more about himself, his new foray into fatherhood, his strained relationship with his father Jerry (Chris Cooper) and how it continues to affect him after all these years.”

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” isn’t really a biopic as it is a way to look at the way Mr. Rogers touched generations of children, young and old. If his character looks too easy, it’s likely because that’s how many people saw him, straightforward and detained to his on-screen look. Castillo said, “If his presence seems too good to be true—and trust me, it does many times throughout the film—sometimes, often the scene can be traced back to the article or an old episode.” Obviously, others are noticeably conceived by screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. However, these made up scenes don’t feel so separated from the remade stories. There seem to be some restrictions to Mr. Roger’s niceness.

The movie’s really nice scenes are mainly about Lloyd’s disbelief of that endless niceness. Rhys plays the part of a man hurt badly by his past, his character has restrained certain emotions so he can survive, but that just won’t happen when interviewing Mr. Rogers. Castillo noted, “Heller's film gives him an emotional journey shaped by Mr. Rogers’ philosophy, with his profile subject doubling as a therapist. It’s a storytelling device that sometimes prioritizes his character development over their shared interactions, but it also answers the question of what can adults learn from watching Mr. Rogers.”

Castillo continued, “While not exactly the spitting image of Mr. Rogers, Hanks convincingly imitates the mannerisms of the former minister-turned-childhood staple. He slows his speech to get Rogers’ soothing cadence, gives hugs and holds hands almost too freely, and walks with a vulnerability that reminds us that he’s not just playing a character on a TV show but a person with his own fears and pain. It’s a dream match of two well-known and well-liked personas, one kind actor portraying one of the kindest humans ever to work in entertainment.” Hanks’ energy in the role really gets at what “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” wants to tell.

Castillo noted, “Following on the heels of two darker edged dramedies, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” Heller’s instinct to follow a flawed character—which compared to Rogers, could probably be any one of us—is right on. Along with cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes, Heller balances the well-lit sets of the PBS affiliate where Rogers tapes his shows and the dark rooms where Lloyd does much of his research watching old episodes or reflects on the advice Rogers gives him about his dad.” He’s lonely and dark in these scenes, but when he’s sitting across from Rogers, it feels really light from the host reflects back on the journalist, real literally shining his presence. Castillo noted, “Heller and her team’s devotion to incorporating references to his show and its new incarnation based on one of his favorite puppets, “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” extends throughout the film, like in interstitial scenes of miniature sets of New York and Pittsburgh showing Lloyd traveling between the two cities or Nate Heller’s score which feels to be in conversation with the notes of the show’s theme song. It ties back to the book-end-like set-up of the movie where Hanks as Mr. Rogers speaks directly to the audience and introduces us to his friend, Lloyd, which so quickly reminds of the show millions of us once watched and taps right into those feelings.”

Just like Morgan Neville’s documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, people may cry a lot because of nostalgia or from some things that really feel relatable, but “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” fits as a companion work. Castillo noted, “Where the documentary offers a more complex view of the man in the red sweater and tennis shoes, Heller’s movie is more about the cultural impression Rogers left behind—his almost supernatural ability to calmly connect with so many and de-stigmatize the way we express or discuss emotion. It was a treat to visit Junod’s article after watching the movie just to dispel my own cynical reading, and find out just how much of Rogers’ scenes were quite true-to-life, including one of my favorite upbeat responses from Rogers to Lloyd’s incredulous expression: "Look at us—I've just met you, but I'm investing in who you are and who you will be, and I can't help it."” There’s not been a time when society wasn’t nasty, scary or cruel, but for a time, a lot of people were lucky enough to learn that it didn’t have to be that way. That’s the long lasting image of Mr. Rogers.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is fan of Mr. Rogers and grew up watching his show, like I did. There were a couple of parts that really made me feel like I was going to cry, but if you’re one of those easy criers, then bring the Kleenex. If you saw the documentary and loved it and are curious at how Tom Hanks will play the role, see it. This gets the reward of the most feel good movie I have seen this year.

Thanks for joining in on tonight’s review, stay tuned tomorrow for the next review of “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”