A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Review

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Review

This is a delightful, heartwarming movie that is not about Mr. Rogers. The movie is about the journalist Lloyd Vogel witnessing the pure kindness of Mr. Rogers and how his influence changes how he deals with his own personal issues. The movie is framed as an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood with the opening of the show introducing us to Lloyd Vogel.

Throughout the movie, we cut back to this fake episode that is playing out like a dream for Lloyd. The movie deals with the elements of the show, the puppet characters, and even the mailman with the "how it's made" segment. Tom Hanks is so good as Fred Rogers, I loved him as Walt Disney in Savings Mr. Banks, even better here. Matthew Rhys does a great job as the main character, Llyod Vogel. In a small supporting role Susan Kelechi Watson, playing Andrea Vogel, does a wonderful job with the little she's given.

It's a movie about a man with anger and little faith in humanity overcoming those issues after seeing the real pure effect that Mr. Rogers has on the people around him. Through learning that Mr. Rogers is just a person with problems, but learning how to deal with those and overcome them, Lloyd gains a new perspective on his own life and his relationship with his father that abandoned him as a child. A good quote in the movie is when Llyod asks Mrs. Rogers, "what's it like to be married to a living saint?" She responds by saying that she doesn't consider Fred a saint because that makes it seem like who he is, is unattainable, which means that anyone can be a kind, generous, caring humanitarian just like Mr. Rogers, if they are willing to do the work.

Not knowing what to expect with this film, I was surprised how touching and heartwarming it is. I think a lot of people can relate to Llyod's character and his journey of acceptance to his current life situation. It's a powerful message about dealing with your personal problems and treating people with compassion in order to create happiness in your life. This movie makes you appreciate and view the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood show in a way that highlights the values of the show. There was a wonderful documentary called Won't You Be My Neighbor about Mr. Rogers, and this is a great companion piece to that film. I highly recommend it.