{"id":9936,"date":"2024-12-11T17:17:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T22:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=9936"},"modified":"2024-12-11T17:17:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T22:17:40","slug":"a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/12\/11\/a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood <\/strong>(2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 TriStar\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 108 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (some strong thematic material, a brief fight, some mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Marielle Heller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Nate Heller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Jody Lee Lipes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 22, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper, Maryann Plunkett, Enrico Colantoni, Christine Lahti, Wendy Makkena, Tammy Blanchard, Noah Harpster, Carmen Cusack, Maddie Corman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $61.7M (US)\/$68.4M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0I expect a great many people will be put off by A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> so perhaps I ought to tell you that it is NOT a biopic of Fred Rogers, the host of the beloved children\u2019s show that ran on PBS for 33 years. If that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for, allow me to direct you to the wonderful 2017 documentary Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor. It beautifully examines the legacy of Mr. Rogers in a way a traditional biopic never could. Now that I think of it, it\u2019s a brilliant companion piece to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> starring Mr. Nice Guy himself Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers in a performance that deserves at least an Oscar nomination.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Okay, if A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> isn\u2019t about Mr. Rogers, who is it about? It centers on Lloyd Vogel (Rhys, The Americans), a writer for Esquire magazine assigned to write an article about Mr. Rogers for a piece they\u2019re doing on heroes. Vogel is damaged goods. Bitter, jaded and cynical, he can\u2019t let go of the pain caused by his philandering father Jerry (Cooper, American Beauty) abandoning him and his sister while their mother was dying. His deep-seated anger not only affects his marriage to his tough but loving wife Andrea (Watson, This Is Us), it also prevents him from bonding with his newborn son Gavin. He\u2019s afraid of what kind of father he\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Although Jerry wants to make peace, Lloyd refuses to reconcile. At his sister\u2019s wedding (her third!), the two men get into a fist fight that leaves Lloyd with a noticeable nose injury. He goes to Pittsburgh to interview Mr. Rogers on the set of his show. It doesn\u2019t take long for him to zero in on Lloyd\u2019s injury and start asking questions. He genuinely wants to help Lloyd resolve his issues with his dad, but all Lloyd wants to do is prove that his whole nice guy persona is just an act. Never mind that his wife specifically asked him to not ruin her childhood.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I should warn you that if you grew up watching Mr. Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood, and I know many of you did, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> will make you tear up. I know because I got misty at several points starting with Hanks\u2019 spot-on recreation of the show\u2019s opening with Rogers singing the theme while changing into his sweater and sneakers replete with zipper play and shoe toss. It took me back to when I was 7 and Mr. Rogers was the bridge between Sesame Street and The Electric Company. The scene that really got me was when a couple of kids start singing the theme song to Mr. Rogers on a New York subway and all the passengers join in. For a brief moment, all the usual NYC hostilities are forgotten as kids and grown people including two cops relive their childhoods. Naturally, Mr. Rogers thanks them and tells them how wonderful they all are. Just remembering it makes me misty all over again. That, my friends, is a testament to the power of cinema.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I truly believe Hanks deserves another Oscar for his portrayal of an American legend, a characterization I\u2019m sure Mr. Rogers would dispute and dismiss. He may not be the spitting image of Mr. Rogers, but he perfectly captures his essence with his flawless imitation of his mannerisms- e.g. the slow, soothing cadence of his voice, the warm way he greets new \u201cfriends\u201d and the way he carries himself that tells us he has pain of his own. Hanks plays him with a combination of sweetness, understanding, vulnerability and tenacity. He\u2019s determined to break through the defensive wall Lloyd has built around himself. He resists all attempts by the reporter to make him angry, but you can tell it\u2019s sometimes difficult for him not to lose his patience. It really is a brilliant performance, the downside to which is the viewer wanting more of Mr. Rogers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0That\u2019s not to say the rest of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> is inferior. While Lloyd\u2019s story is a fairly standard one, it\u2019s nonetheless affecting thanks to a solid performance by Rhys. He plays the part of a man hurt by his past extremely well. You can feel his pain as he struggles to contain emotions he shut off long ago or so he thought. He\u2019s no match for Mr. Rogers and his limitless supply of kindness, understanding and patience. Even though he doesn\u2019t want it, his association with Mr. Rogers puts him on a sometimes painful emotional journey shaped by the same philosophies he imparts to his young viewers. In a larger scene, Lloyd\u2019s interactions with Mr. Rogers show that adults can also learn a thing or two from his teachings.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What makes A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> truly special is its execution. It\u2019s structured just like an episode of the show with Mr. Rogers entering his on-set house and introducing his \u201cneighbors\u201d to his new friend Lloyd via a picture board. Director Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) periodically shifts back to Mr. Rogers still guiding us through Lloyd\u2019s story. In a real stroke of creative genius, scene transitions are accomplished by way of miniature sets that recall the ones in the show. There\u2019s also a powerful moment set in the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Fans will appreciate the many call-outs to the original show. Look for Mr. McFeely actor David Newell and Mrs. Rogers in the diner scene.<\/p>\n

\u00a0While it may not be the movie promised by the trailer, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> is nonetheless terrific. It incorporates many elements from his show, like his alter-ego puppet Daniel Tiger, to great effect. There\u2019s just so much to love about A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong> that it\u2019s easy to forgive its lapses into conventionality. And to think, I used to mock Mr. Rogers when I was a teen. Now I wish I could go back and watch the show again.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 TriStar\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 108 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (some strong thematic material, a brief fight, some mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Marielle Heller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Nate Heller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Jody Lee Lipes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 22, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/A-Beautiful-Day-in-the-Neig.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9936"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10295,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936\/revisions\/10295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}