It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Like most viewers, we loved this story of a writer's friendship with Mr. Rogers, the late iconic TV host, in the 1990s. This is not a bio-pic about Fred Rogers. For that, check out last year's wonderful documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Matthew Rhys is terrific as prickly columnist Lloyd Vogel, and who better than the lovable Tom Hanks to play the lovable Rogers? In fact, modern technology discovered recently that Hanks and Rogers were actually sixth cousins. Chris Cooper brings conflict as Lloyd's father and Susan Kelechi Watson dissipates it as Lloyd's patient and adoring wife.

I'm going to quote directly from imdb's trivia page here: "This movie is based on the article 'Can You Say..."Hero?"' by Tom Junod, which was published in the November 1, 1998, issue of Esquire Magazine. In 2019, before the release of this film, Junod wrote an article in The Atlantic that was partly about this process. It started, 'A long time ago, a man of resourceful and relentless kindness saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. He trusted me when I thought I was untrustworthy, and took an interest in me that went beyond my initial interest in him. He was the first person I ever wrote about who became my friend, and our friendship endured until he died. Now a movie has been made from the story I wrote about him, which is to say 'inspired by' the story I wrote about him, which is to say that in the movie my name is Lloyd Vogel and I get into a fistfight with my father at my sister's wedding. I did not get into a fistfight with my father at my sister's wedding. My sister didn't have a wedding.'" Here's a link to Junod's article (I have not yet read it).

Marielle Heller directs from a lovely script by Micah Fitzmartin-Blue and Noah Harpster. The latter appears onscreen as Lloyd's sister's groom Todd. The lines about dealing with anger, sadness, and other negative emotions particularly moved me.

The pleasant piano music by the director's brother Nate Heller can be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify

Rhys was last blogged for Burnt (he also played Daniel Ellsberg in The Post), Hanks for Toy Story 4, Cooper for August: Osage County, and both Hellers Can You Ever Forgive Me. Watson is best known for playing adult Beth in 72 episodes of This Is Us. Fitzmartin-Blue and Harpster co-wrote six episodes of Transparent and Harpster appeared in seven, among other acting credits.

Rotten Tomatoes's critics' average is currently 95% and its audiences' 91. See it before the Oscars in February.