Movie Review for “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Synopsis: Based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Lloyd Vogel.
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
Director: Marielle Heller
Extra’s: Commentary, Added and Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel, Everybody’s Neighbor: Fred & Tom, The People Who Make a Neighborhood, Dreaming Big, Building Small, Everyone Makes Mistakes.
Nudity Factor: None
Of Note: Fred Rogers was known to be extremely difficult to interview because he cared more about the person interviewing him than he did about being interviewed and would often use the time to befriend the person interviewing him.
Recommendations:
Review by: Jason Schulte
Rating:
Like a lot of people, I grew up watching Mr. Rodgers. The combination of the positive messages and the fantasy world really reached a lot of people, including me. So when I first learned that this movie was coming out, I was excited. Then, when it was revealed that Tom Hanks would be in the movie, I was excited by that choice. After watching the movie, I can’t imagine a person exists that could have done this role better. The story really follows Lloyd Vogel a journalist that has a reputation. He gets assigned to do a short piece on Mr. Rodgers for an issue Esquire is making around superheroes. It is supposed to be a short piece, but once Lloyd gets to interviewing Mr. Rodgers, he realizes that it is going to need more coverage. Even this journalist with a reputation of being critical of those he interviews is taken in by the kindness Mr. Rodgers shows him. It changes his life, his perspective, and his respect he has for others.
Overall, this is such a powerful movie. It takes you on a wide array of emotions. Yet still finds a way to be uplifting and leaving you wanting to know more about Mr. Rodgers. Wishing he was still blessing us with his abilities to find positives. To be real with kids on topics that are tough. We certainly have enough of them to go around.