About the film (courtesy of TriStar Pictures):
Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about kindness, love and forgiveness from America’s most beloved neighbor.
Throughout a performer’s career in movies and television, we, in the public, begin to believe that we know him or her. Sometimes our suspicions are validated and, other times, we are thrown for a loop of disbelief. In either case, it gives legitimacy to their talents as an actor and also to those that cast that “perfect piece” of the puzzle. I’ll be the first one to admit that if Tom Hanks ever portrays a bloodthirsty ruthless killer I’d have a hard time believing it.
Then again, he did win an Oscar for his performance as Forrest Gump which in no way reflects the image that I have of him. Maybe if you look up the definition of acting in the dictionary one day you’ll see simply, “The stuff that Tom Hanks does effortlessly every time there’s a role to be played.” And now that a biopic is here that features one of the kindest souls to walk the earth, who in our lifetime would be a better fit for the part? It is truly A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood for Tom Hanks.
Last year’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018) was a magnificent documentary that brought the amazing life and times of Fred Rogers back to the forefront of relevancy and happened to be the top documentary that I saw last year, and maybe one of the tops ever. There was just so much about this man that I never really appreciated at the time and hadn’t really revisited his impact on the world until seeing the documentary. Then came word that Tom Hanks would be portraying the legendary public figure in an upcoming feature length movie and I couldn’t be more excited. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is within our grasps and it does not disappoint.
Tom Hanks is a natural fit to play Fred Rogers, aka Mister Rogers as many remember him. The interesting aspect about this movie is that it’s less about Tom Hanks’ character and more about those in which he’s influenced both directly and indirectly. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is really about a sour skeptic named Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) who is tasked with interviewing Fred Rogers while dealing with all of the issues in his own life.
Lloyd is dealing with being run down at work, overwhelmed at home with a wife (Susan Kelechi Watson) and young child, and then there’s the toxic relationship that Lloyd has with his own father (Chris Cooper). Enter Fred Rogers to bring his calming nature into the lives of those that need him most. It is then that audiences will start to understand what Mister Rogers brought to so many homes year after year.
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is a feel good movie (for the most part) with a few areas of heavy drama that will allow its viewers to join in on a journey of self exploration and recovery. Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Cooper all work as a cohesive unit to bring all of the emotion to the surface that is required to make this movie succeed. You will as if you are right there along side all that is going on. Adding to her impressive resumé of directorial works of The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), Marielle Heller has established herself as someone that knows how to tell a rich story grounded in emotional content.
Whether you are a longtime admirer of Mister Rogers, a devotee the brilliant Tom Hanks or simply a fan of films that will strike you on an emotional level, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is a movie that you won’t want to miss. Hanks has all of the mannerisms down pact and is a true joy to watch. You can check out the beautiful biopic in theaters now. And since it’s rated PG, bring the entire family.
