Movie Poster

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

# Review

This movie is loosely based on Tom Junod's life around 1998 when he wrote an article on Mr. Rogers for Esquire. Junod (Lloyd Vogel in the film) views humanity through the lens of cynicism, writng articles on dark subjects such as abortions and rapists. Mr. Rogers (played by Tom Hanks) nevertheless invites Junod/Vogel share and document his life.

The movie follows several events in Vogel's life and several interactions between Vofel and Mr. Rogers. Although I'm too young to have grown up watching Mr. Rogers, from reading many testimonies, it's clear that he had an outsized impact on the lives of his audience.

This movie is very heartwarming and in a way, is kind of like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood but for adults; it deals with adult emotions such as forgiveness and grief.

I really liked Junod's new article on the impact of Mr. Rogers even today; I wonder how Mr. Rogers would have reacted to the world of polarization and Twitter, where people are eager to tear one another down in a “hollier than thou” display of supposed moral superiority. I'd imagine he'd remind us all to be friendly to our neighbors.

# Conclusion

A cathartic film exploring emotions and an amazing individual

# Overall rating: 8.5

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