A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2020) - Movie Review

Much like Seberg, the main casting choice behind this feature is one that admittedly is a bit obvious, but is also what this production needed right out of the gate. When you’re dealing with a figure as nigh-on-mythical as Fred Rogers, a person that some to this day still question the authenticity of, you need someone who can sell earnestness triumphant. So with that in mind, they basically picked the closest person we have that is as unabashedly likeable as Mr. Rogers himself: Tom Hanks, someone whose sheer charm has also veered somewhat into cliché.

Knowing that a documentary about Mr. Rogers wound up becoming my favourite film of 2018, I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was at just how good Hanks is as everyone’s favourite nice guy in children’s television. The hushed tone, the endearing timbre, the gentle invitation in his voice that tells you he cares about you and wants to hear what you have to say; the moments with him on-screen genuinely come close to Would You Be My Neighbor? for sheer ugly-crying potential.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018) - Movie Review

Having spent a lot of time reading and watching American content creators, I have heard many a story about the man named Fred Rogers. And as an outsider looking in, his place in nostalgic history always seemed like an anomaly to me. When childhood entertainers like Rolf Harris and Bill Cosby were being exposed as utter human garbage, Mr. Rogers kept coming up as one of the few nostalgic icons that was still good. And not just good, but a kind of good that warmed its way into the hearts of an entire generation.

While Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a well-worn television staple in the U.S., I over here in Australia never really experienced any of the man’s work. I mean, how good could this guy possibly be? A lifelong Republican, a religious minister who cared about making connections with children… maybe it’s just my cynical side peeking through, but how could this be the background of a man this beloved? Well, through the lens of They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead director Morgan Neville, I got my answer. Holy hell, did I get my answer.