A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Review)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is A Movie that We Need Right Now.
These days, it seems like the world has become a pretty ugly place. That’s why the timing of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood couldn’t have been better because we need to be reminded that despite all the ugly out there, there’s still hope and love as well. These sentiments were embodied by the almost saintly Fred Rogers who devoted his life to children and helping them grow up to be decent human beings. However, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is not a Mr. Rogers biopic. In fact, it’s more of a movie about one man’s journey to becoming a better person thanks to the relationship he develops with Mr. Rogers. The film is not at all what I expected, but I think it’s all the better for that.
In 1998 Esquire Magazine ran an issue devoted to heroes and writer Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) was given the task of doing a short write up on Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks). Lloyd seemed like the worst possible choice due to his anger issues and cynicism, and he fought his assignment at first, believing it was beneath him. He’s not given a choice and reluctantly sets out to do a puff piece on a man he doesn’t take seriously at first. How could you? Mr. Rogers is a guy who seems too good to be true. Patient, understanding, sympathetic, gentle, how could any man be all these things and not be hiding some dark secret? Lloyd is determined to find something wrong with Mr. Rogers and expose him as less than. To Lloyd’s surprise however, Fred readily admits that he is just a man and is far from perfect, no matter what people might believe. He’s just a man trying to be as good as he can be, even if he makes mistakes. Through him, Lloyd learns that forgiveness is essential to living a good life and sets out on a journey to forgive himself.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is perfectly cast. Tom Hanks is literally America’s sweetheart and one of the rare celebrities we haven’t heard a peep about in the #metoo era. As if that weren’t enough, Mr. Rogers widow has stated that he’s the perfect actor to play her husband and he’s even related to him! So, of course, he’s brilliant in the part of this incredibly decent man. However, I found myself more impressed by Rhys who seems to be playing the embodiment of any man who comes face to face with perfection. It’s like meeting the Dalai Lama and he can’t help but feel intimidated by Rogers. What’s interesting is his own reaction to being intimidated, because Vogel is a man who struggles with his own feelings. Instead of viewing Rogers with reverence, he is filled with skepticism. He doesn’t take him seriously at first and believes it all to be just an act. However, the more he sees that this is legitimately just the kind of man that Fred is, the more he begins to take his lessons to heart.
One of the few things I didn’t like about A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was that it felt a little gimmicky at times. Director Marielle Heller sets the film up as though it’s an episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, with Fred introducing Lloyd and his issues before telling the story of how he managed to overcome them. That means a lot of transitions are made to look as though the characters are traveling through the miniature locations that the show used for external shots. At one point, Lloyd even descends into a fever dream where he’s sucked into King Friday’s Land of Make Believe as one of the characters. It’s a little much at times and I think it breaks up the flow of the film, undermining some of the more emotional scenes. However, that’s really my only issue with A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Everything else falls into place perfectly.
Times are more tumultuous than ever, and because of that, we need movies about love more than ever. While a lot of movies are about loving each other, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is more about learning to accept and love yourself. Vogel is the perfect person for Fred to work his magic on because he has lost his faith in humanity and has been angry for a very long time to the point where he doesn’t even see how it’s hurting him and those around him. Nonetheless, when confronted with the fact that it’s okay to feel this way, but he has to do something to deal with it, he’s able to grow dramatically as a father, husband, son, and a man. If anyone was the answer to modern-day toxic masculinity, it was Fred Rogers because his whole purpose was helping children find healthy ways to deal with their emotions. Before you scoff and say, “yeah, but I’m not some snot-nosed brat,” just remember that there’s still a snot-nosed brat in all of us and sometimes we need to give that little shit a hug and tell them we love them.
If I had to sum up A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood in one word, it would be pleasant. It might not sound like much, but “pleasant” can change everything. A pleasant conversation can leave a smile on your face, pleasant weather can make the whole day better, and a pleasant movie can lift a weight from your shoulders. While A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is not the movie I was expecting it to be when I walked in, I think the fact that it focused on Lloyd and how he changed after meeting Mr. Rogers which made it such a powerful film. Of course, Fred is as close to perfect as we can get, so there’s no way he could have a compelling character arch, but seeing the effect one person can have on another is a story worth telling. More importantly, it’s a story we can all take to heart.
