Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

By: Anton Massopust III

“No life is without pain.”- Mr. Rogers

In “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers: everyone’s favorite television host, a wonderful man who taught us how it was okay to be happy and okay to be sad. 

In Mr. Rogers’ wonderful neighborhood of make-believe, Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) a cynical reporter who’s going through some family problems (mainly with his father) toils with his feelings because of anger he has from his father, Jerry (Chris Cooper) who left him and his sister with a sick mother. With all his own personal problems, a very angry Lloyd is assigned to write an article for Esquire Magazine to write a small profile on Mr. Rogers. He usually writes cynical exposés about people who are in the public eye, but this time things are different when he meets Mr. Rogers.

The movie starts just like any episode of “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” as he walks in the door and sings his signature song and puts on one of his very famous sweaters and tells us the story of Lloyd and his problems. When Lloyd meets Mister Rogers, he reveals a little bit about himself, but he also reveals to Lloyd that he doesn’t have to hide his feelings and he can deal with the anger deal that he has. Lloyd’s father wants to make amends with him, but he just can’t let go of his personal pain.

Tom Hanks nails it completely with his performance of Mr. Rogers. Hanks’ performance is not a parody as comedians have done in the past. Hanks does an acting job showing us how Mr. Rogers truly was and how Mr. Rogers didn’t play a character — Fred Rogers was that person. We understand some of his attributes through his world-famous puppets from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, especially Daniel the Tiger. Mr. Rogers would address issues that children have and bring them to light.

This beautiful well-orchestrated movie is not just a biopic. It is based upon a true story on the 1998 article “Can You Say … Hero?” by Tom Junod, published in Esquire. 

Everyone in the supporting cast is terrific as well, and you understand who Mr. Rogers is. As a companion piece, I also recommend the documentary, “Won’t you be my neighbor.” It talks about all the things that made Mr. Rogers Neighborhood so famous, and the wonder who Fred Rogers was. This could be the Academy Award winner for best picture and Tom Hanks is sure to get an Oscar nod for best actor. Yes, go see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”