A beautiful day in the neighborhood review

[Westside Steve]

A beautiful day in the neighborhood
Sony
PG                            109 min
I think I’ve said this before but I’ve never been a huge fan of Tom Hanks and I don’t know why. Every time I see the guy I am amazed at what a stellar job he does regardless of the role. As a matter of fact, the only times I thought he fell short were when he does a Southern accent as in FORREST GUMP and the LADY KILLERS..  Maybe I’m being picky but not all actors are great at dialects. He doesn’t use one here though he does do a fair, but not amazing, reflection of the familiar voice. Personally, I’m too old to have been a Mister Rogers Neighborhood aficionado and I don’t have kids so I’ve grown up knowing little more about the show than the fact but it is definitely iconic and his voice and mannerisms are immediately recognizable. (And of course, there’s the National Lampoon Radio Hour parody which is pretty damn funny. )
Still even if you are and always have been a fan you probably didn’t know very much about the guy’s life, trials and tribulations. And to tell you the truth we still don’t.
So far all upward appearances it would seem that Mister Rogers is one of the sweetest and most caring human beings you could ever want to meet. What we will learn from this film does it change that opinion whatsoever, but that’s not what this film is about. What I’d feared was one of those miserable expose like you find on YouTube that start off with “The tragic last years of…” there you fill in the name of the celebrity that drank themselves to death broke miserable etc. Thank God that’s not the direction of this flick. Surprisingly however this isn’t as much about the life of Fred Rogers as it is about the life of Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) a bitter journalist for Esquire magazine whose forte is uncovering dirt on those he profiles. His anger seems to stem from the fact that his father abandoned him, his dying mother his sister many years ago. Now the sister is going through her second or third or whatever marriage to someone else Vogel doesn’t approve of but he decides to attend the wedding anyway. There he gets into a drunken altercation with his estranged pop and spoils the party for everyone. His dismal attitude carries over into own his family life and seems to be causing a rift between himself and his wife. So, what does this miserable son of a bitch have to do with a kids show host? Glad you asked. His editor has ordered him to do a 400-word puff piece on the star and of course Vogel resents the assignment. After 20 minutes of what he’d expected to be a one-hour interview he finds himself intrigued by the mild-mannered Rogers but more important Mr. Rogers becomes intrigued with him and the obvious pain in his life. The interview morphs into a relationship with Vogel and his family and a 400-word piece becomes almost at novella. 
To adopt a cliché this really is the feel-good movie of the year but if I did have to find fault it would be hardly worth mentioning. Tom Hanks can’t really turn into a character like a chameleon changes colors or for example like Gary Oldman picks up the accent the mannerisms and even the look of whoever he’s playing. I would imagine that with a little more effort Hanks might have nailed this character.
Second, I don’t think the audience is able to make an emotional bond with Vogel as strong as it needs to be to make the film fire hot all 8 cylinders. My own empathy for the plight of him his father and his family was lukewarm at best. 
On the other hand, Fred Rogers really comes off as a mythical creature, caring honest and pure of heart. And that’s what shines through the film. 
B
WSS