Movie Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Nothing brings my family together like beloved actor Tom Hanks. Whether it’s my sister quoting the entirety of You’ve Got Mail, my dad referencing Castaway when I need advice, or my mom and me crying through every other scene in Forrest Gump – we’ve been brought up on his work and we’re pretty crazy for the guy. News of his being cast as Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was not lost on us. My mom and I braved the holiday crowds to show our support opening week, and while we didn’t necessarily get what we were expecting, we were far from disappointed.

I was a little shocked to find that I was the youngest person in the theatre – and probably the only one who had never seen the children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. But upon the start of the film, I quickly learned that this was not a biopic about Fred Rogers. The movie is based on the true story of a writer who was assigned to do a profile on him. In hoping to get some dirt on the beloved tv personality, the writer, called Lloyd Vogel in A Beautiful Day, quickly learns that what you see is what you get with the kind, soft-spoken, and empathetic Mister Rogers, and with the help of this newfound friendship, acknowledges and confronts the emotions he’s been suppressing about the way his father handled the death of his mother.

Like I said before, the movie was not what I expected. I feel like it is advertised as the story of the life of Fred Rogers and not Lloyd Vogel’s story. If this is what audiences are expecting and it doesn’t deliver, they may not give the actual plot much of chance when it is, in fact, a good movie. There are parts in which the film is a little slow – mainly the parts where Vogel is bent on exposing Mister Rogers – and once Vogel confirms that Mister Rogers is exactly who he represents himself to be, the rest of the story is predictable. Predictable is not always bad, though, especially when every actor gives an amazing performance, the element of nostalgia is present throughout, and Tom Hanks dressed as Fred Rogers speaks directly to the camera saying, “I like you just the way you are.” This movie feels like a hug. Every affirmation spoken by Rogers, every effort made by Vogel or a loved one to help himself, and every wall that starts to fall as he lets himself feel is received by the audience. Though you can anticipate the reconciliation of Vogel and his father from the beginning of the film, you find yourself cheering for it when it happens.

The movie is one in which I think a viewer can’t help but to reflect on and evaluate their own emotional health and wellbeing as Mister Rogers attempts to get to the heart of Vogel’s issues. Throughout the film, Rogers stresses the importance of talking about feelings and letting oneself feel them completely. The longer Vogel avoids addressing what he feels, the worse things become for him. I think that so many people get caught in the lie that certain things they feel are not valid, important, or even real – so they’re just never addressed. A Beautiful Day does an amazing job of normalizing talking about how you feel and giving yourself or your loved ones the freedom to feel in full. One of the most nostalgic and emotional scenes in the movie is when Vogel becomes the size of Rogers’ puppets and is given the space to say what he hasn’t said the entire movie, “I’m sad.” It is in that moment when he is met with understanding and acceptance by Daniel Striped Tiger, King Friday XIII, Mister Rogers, and his wife in the dress of Lady Aberlin, that he becomes free, and is able to wake up from his dream with the ability to work towards forgiving his father. It is beautiful and well done.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was a pleasant surprise. It comes at an opportune time for those who would benefit from taking 10 seconds with Mister Rogers and thinking of those who ‘loved them into being.’ It is a wholesome film for the holiday season, and a unique introduction, or in my mom’s case, a trip down memory lane, to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I would definitely recommend going to see it while it is in theatres – my only advice being to come with tissues in hand!

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