Lloyd Vogel, a cynical journalist for the magazine Esquire has been assigned to profile Fred Rogers, the television idol who was the host of the acclaimed preschool television series, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood - a show praised for its focus on teaching children how to cope with various issues, such as death, divorce, sibling rivalries, war, and anger.
Now, unless you've been living under a rock for the past forever, you know who Mr. Rogers is, even though his show ended an eon ago. All around awesome guy, seriously. He's got a very interesting life and he's up there with Steve Irwin and Bob Ross as one of the most wholesome dudes ever. If you're interested in him, I urge you to watch WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, a documentary about him released in 2018.
I'm not here to review him though, as cool as he is. I'm here to review A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, a drama film centered around not Mr. Rogers, but the struggling journalist who has begrudgingly accepted the assignment to write a small piece on him. Lloyd is having a lot of trouble with his absentee dad, who has reappeared in his life and is attempting to reconnect with his son. Lloyd isn't having any of that, and his feelings of resentment and anger have been stewing in him for years. After finally getting to interview Rogers, he comes to the conclusion that the character of the optimistic, caring, saintly Mr. Rogers is a little fake.
It's important to note here that this movie is NOT about Fred Rogers. It's about Lloyd's life changing after meeting him. Don't watch this if you expect a biography or a neat biopic. That's not what this is. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that Mr. Rogers is more of the antagonist of this movie than he is a main character. You'll see what I mean later.

First of all I'd like to note that the casting in this movie is fantastic. Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers, and god DAMN is he wonderful. He was quite literally born to play this role, same as he was born to play Forrest Gump. He captures the eccentricities and mannerisms of Rogers perfectly. But this won't steal the spotlight, as Matthew Rhys' performance as Lloyd Vogel is also fantastic; he perfectly portrays Lloyd's skepticism as well as his healing later on in the movie. Kinda reminded me of James McAvoy for some reason, not entirely sure. But rest assured, the actors chosen for this movie play it through excellently.
I'd also like to highlight how faithful this is to the original Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood show, and there are countless callbacks in it; as an example, the entire movie is set in the framework of a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood episode, with excerpts throughout the normally-filmed movie switching to the actual set of the show as Rogers comments on the events portrayed in the movie. Transition scenes, rather than being filmed in actual cities, are filmed in the set of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. There's even a really strange dream scene where Lloyd has a bit of a breakdown and imagines himself in the set of the show, even shrinking to the size of Rogers' puppet characters, Daniel Striped Tiger and King Friday XIII. These are really interesting scenes that inform you of the nature of the show really well in case you haven't seen it.
In general the movie kinda feels like a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood episode for adults, a sentiment I have seen made by many fans of the movie. Mr. Rogers and his wholesomeness does not spread to the entire movie, as Lloyd frequently rages to his father, guilts him for his mother's really sad death, and rebukes Fred Rogers' attempts to help quite rudely. Rogers isn't very interested in Lloyd's interview and instead attempts to help heal Lloyd's relationship with his father - this is one of the strongest points in the entire movie, I think. I'd like to place some focus on probably my favorite scene of the movie, where Lloyd, having come to some revelations about himself, talks and apologizes to his girlfriend as he begins to cry. This scene is important to me for a lot of reasons, the biggest being that men crying in movies doesn't really happen, and when it does it is almost always over a death. This scene is really amazing in how it refuses to ridicule or satirize Lloyd for crying to his girlfriend after opening up to her - instead it shows us, just like Rogers would show the kids of past generations, that crying is okay, and feelings are okay. It's okay to feel this way, and it's okay to open up about that. It's a beautiful scene showing that just because Lloyd is grown, jaded, and hardened, this does not mean he is, or has to be, immune to feelings and emotion.
Tons of scenes like this are in the movie, and in the theatre I watched it in, I was drawn to the attention of multiple older men and women watching, who struggled not to get misty-eyed during several scenes. In another of my favorite scenes, Rogers and Lloyd discuss Lloyd's anger towards his father in a diner, and Rogers, in a reference to the real Rogers' Lifetime Achievement Award speech in 1997, asks Lloyd to sit with him in silence for a minute and reflect on the "people who have loved us into being". The movie then literally goes completely silent for a whole minute, as Fred, Lloyd, and eventually the whole diner (filled with cameos by people who acted in the original show) go completely silent, as the camera lingers on their faces. Lloyd himself slowly goes from hardened and irritated, to contemplative and soft, as Rogers suddenly thanks him, and the diner returns to normal after the minute is up. It's a beautiful scene, that really would not have worked in any other movie.
This whole movie is like that, really. The second half especially is filled with moments like these, where Fred gently pulls Lloyd (and his family near the ending) away from the negativity he is comfortable with and introduces him to a world of empathy and understanding. This is what I mean when I say Fred Rogers is the antagonist of this movie. Lloyd's deadset on remaining in his bubble, ignoring his dying father as he attempts to make amends, and scoffing at Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, calling him hokey. Rogers is the force in this movie that provides Lloyd with the film's conflict; not between Lloyd and his father, but between Lloyd and his feelings. Making this into a drama rather than a biopic, which frustrated some people, was a masterful move in my opinion. Watch the documentary if you want a movie on Rogers' life. This is a movie about understanding, forgiveness, and healing in the face of cynicism and brooding hatred.
And this theme is further shown in the excellent ending. Earlier in the film, when asked by Lloyd how he deals with his anger and sadness, Rogers explains that he does things like swim laps, punch clay, or slam his fingers down on all the low notes of a piano. After meeting Lloyd and his family, and being thanked by Lloyd for his help, the film comes back to the Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood set as Fred walks off the set and begins playing a musical piece on a piano. As the lights turn off, Rogers suddenly stops his song and slams down on the piano's low notes, bowing his head for a minute, and then continues to play his song as the movie ends. This is a great way of nailing that theme on the head, showing that even Rogers was capable of feeling these things. What is he angry about? Lloyd's father dying? Old age? The length of this review? It doesn't matter. And that's okay.

Anyway, that's about all I want to talk about here. The only possible cons I can think of here is that the pacing in the middle was slightly off. This is a minor issue that is outweighed dozens of times over by the amazing casting, beautiful theme, and great execution of the film's concept. This is a 9/10 movie that I think is easily one of the best of the 2010s. Please see this movie. Be the guy's neighbor already. He deserves it.