Directed by Marielle Heller
Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster
Starring Tom Hanks, Christine Lahti and Matthew Rhys
Running Time: 1 hour and 48 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG

by Allison Yakulis

When Tom Junod began his profile Can You Say...Hero? on Fred Rogers for Esquire magazine, the very article that this film cites as its source material, he didn’t start it with Mister Rogers’ birthdate or his childhood or his first foray into television as composer and puppeteer on The Children’s Corner or even the birth of the show that would launch him into enduring fame. He instead started with this:

Once upon a time, a little boy loved a stuffed animal whose name was Old Rabbit. (Esquire, November 1998)

The boy was not Fred, it was Tom. Because to get to the heart of why Fred Rogers is important to so many people is not to tell the story of Fred Rogers, it’s to tell how he made us feel, the moments that were important to us personally and the guidance he gave a nation of children that feelings were important and meaningful.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) appears to be employing this strategy as well. Yes, Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) is the first person we see on screen, but he is Mister Rogers, doing his television show, singing his song like he did hundreds of times over the course of 31 years. Trading his blazer for a cardigan, taking his loafers off to put on blue canvas shoes. We look at a picture board with him, and as he points out “my friend Lloyd” , we begin following Lloyd Vogel’s (Matthew Rhys, playing a fictionalized version of Junod) story far more than that of Fred Rogers. But really, that’s ok. A Beautiful Day doesn’t deify Rogers (in one scene it makes a point of reminding you that he was, albeit exceptional, just a man) but it acknowledges the singular talent he had to understand and to reach children, and the importance his silly public broadcast show had to millions.

Viewers who remember Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (and let’s be real, yes you do) will remember other elements from the show as they’re used for scene transitions, especially in the first act of the movie. When we switch locations, the overview is of models of buildings and trees as it is in the beginning of the show (and there is a LOT of model work - New York, Pittsburgh, car travel, airplanes, and so on, and it is all very good). When we go from Mister Rogers’ set to the magazine that Vogel works for, it’s through the magic of Picture Picture first showing us how a magazine is made. And naturally, when Vogel has something of a dream sequence, it takes place in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

It is maybe 30 minutes into the movie (more or less - I left my stopwatch in my other pants) before we are introduced to Fred Rogers instead of Mister Rogers - although even then he doesn’t ever really stop being Mister Rogers, even when the cameras are off. To wit, when Vogel shows up at WQED in Pittsburgh to interview Rogers, he is in the midst of delaying the day’s filming by over an hour as he attempts to connect with a child who keeps hitting his parents with a large plastic sword and evidently cares not that he is in the presence of Mister Rogers. And of course, through the magic of simply being Mister Rogers, his patience, presence, and perseverance prevails and he has a genuine moment with this kid. Connection achieved, the crew breathes a sigh of relief until Rogers spies Vogel and absolutely must greet him warmly and sincerely before any work can resume. It’s just how Rogers is.

In that same vein, I doubt that this film would have worked if it wasn’t for the legacy of the real Fred Rogers. It’s too hokey and contrived when you spell it out. The star of a popular children’s show with puppets and models and a message that “feelings matter” manages to reach a jaded journalist and improve him and his family life? And there’s never a “drop the act” scene or any evidence that it’s emotional manipulation by said star, but instead he’s just honestly and openly really really...nice?

If it were anyone else, I’d call bullshit.

Tom Hanks performs very well - the cadence of this speech mimics Rogers’ aptly, and his small gestures and mannerisms are spot on. It would have to be - he’s not Red Frogers or some other fictionalized entity, he’s supposed to Be. Mister. Rogers.

There’s something about the family Hanks that evidently endears them to this role. Serendipitously, I’d been re-watching Drunk History recently and noted that Tom’s son Colin portrayed Mister Rogers on an episode about that time when Fred Rogers argued against defunding public broadcasting in front of the Senate (Season 5 Episode 6 “Underdogs” which coincidentally originally aired on February 27, 2018 - exactly 15 years to the day after Fred Rogers’ death on February 27, 2003. Spooky, I know). Perhaps it is the Hanks penchant for high and tight haircuts, perhaps it is something in the gravity of their bearing, I can’t exactly put a finger on it - but it does feel right.

Matthew Rhys also does very well as Lloyd Vogel. The character has layers and Rhys navigates this deftly. Vogel is a good writer with a bad habit of pulling no punches with his subjects, making it increasingly difficult for his editor to find willing interviewees once his name comes up. He’s newly a father and is estranged from his own dad for what are initially mysterious reasons, although it leads to quite a dust up at Vogel’s sister’s wedding. Vogel’s wife is struggling with new motherhood and the fact that Vogel hasn’t made any changes to his work/life balance since his son was born, leaving her feeling unsupported and damaging their relationship. Basically, he could come off as a huge dick and little else very easily. However, Rhys shows vulnerability and how hurt Vogel is as a result of old wounds reopened and new challenges wearing him down. He’s not a Bad Guy, but he does need guidance and the will to make changes in his life. While not exactly likeable, Rhys at least makes the character understandable and ultimately sympathetic. This is extremely important, for as I said it’s Vogel’s story we’re following, and through it we understand the impact that Mister Rogers has.

A Beautiful Day comes hot on the heels of last year’s documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018) - both are lines from the opening song of Mister Rogers Neighborhood (but I probably don’t have to tell you that). Both of these films focus heavily on the show and only a bit on the man behind it - although through some cursory research I suppose that is the whole story. Unlike many now-sullied children’s entertainers, Fred Rogers by all reports led a full but simple life, unmarked by vice or scandal. The rumors that he was a military sniper or that he wore those sweaters to cover tattoos are both patently false. He was a minister and a vegetarian and he absolutely lived for his show and its young audience. If you were planning on learning some new emotionally heightened gossip about Mister Rogers, you won’t get it here or likely anywhere.

The reason you should see A Beautiful Day is for the nostalgia factor. I cried a bit in the theater. I know for a fact that other people did. Feelings do that, I suppose. Mister Rogers would probably have had something poignant and plain-spoken to say about it, if he hasn’t already. But I’m no Mister Rogers, so I’ll just say go to remember a guy who was probably pretty important to you, and know that if you get a little choked up in parts, you’re not alone.