The Unicorn Scale: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Hello, neighbor! How are you doing today? You’re doing great? Oh, how wonderful. That gives me a good feeling.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) blends two icons of the American media: Tom Hanks and the venerable children’s television personality, Fred Rogers. Many people around the world in the past fifty years could at least sing a few bars from the opening theme of his groundbreaking show — so how would someone make a movie about the cardigan-clad icon? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out. So let’s put on our tennis shoes (“tennies” in our house when I was a kid), feed the fish, and settle in to chat about this tearjerker.

Before I get too carried away, I should lay down some of the ground rules. First and foremost, this review will contain SPOILERS — so if you haven’t caught the movie yet, I highly recommend doing so before continuing with this entry. I should also give a content warning: verbal abuse (don’t worry, it’s not from or about Fred). Oh, and if you need a refresher on what the article is all about, you can take a gander over here.

Got it? Great! And away we go.

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood is a drama focusing on the life of Lloyd Vogel, a hard-hitting journalist who becomes the point man for a puff piece on Fred Rogers. Jaded and disconnected from his wife and newborn son, his editor at Esquire assigns him to interview the TV luminary, noting that he was the only subject to agree to him interviewing him and that it would be good for him. Over a series of interviews with Fred during an intense moment in his personal life, Lloyd is left forever changed.

What I Liked:

Oh my gosh, how can anyone not like the gentle soul that was Fred Rogers? Yes, whole generations grew up with him on their TV set (including myself), so it’s sometimes difficult to brush the branches of nostalgia away from my face to get a clear-eyed view of the man and this character. But I think it’s crucial to do so because, while often think of Rogers as more than an institution and close to a saint, the film works very hard to show that he is devoted to doing good work — both in his craft and in being a kind person.

Rogers by his own admission was bi, and it’s so lovely to see a movie that has such a large bi character that has so little to do with his sexuality. Beautiful Day strives to show that Rogers had his own hobbies, fears, and delights that go far beyond being the kindly man from the TV show — even and especially his growing friendship with Lloyd as he comes to terms with his relationship with his own father. We get to see him both at work and at home in relaxed moments, and even in times of work as a clergyman (Rogers was an ordained minister). 

These are dimensions most straight characters don’t even get to show or express in the run of a typical film, let alone those of a bi one. Even less so for bi men, who are still horribly under-represented in modern storytelling. So to see not just any man, but a bi man who was one of the most famous people of the 20th century get this level of humane treatment — even in a story where he is not a lead, but a crucial supporting player — is a real treat.

What I Didn't Like:

Beautiful Day never uses the term “bi”, either by Rogers or anyone else in the story, which I always find a shame. But it doesn’t bother me that much as it does in other films, because 1) the revelation that Rogers was bi only sort of hit the cultural zeitgeist early in 2019, and 2) the film had been in development for years and finished filming only early in 2019. So I’m giving it a pass.

But there is a small, saving-grace moment in this department, that my tinfoil-hat-wearing self can’t help but read into. During their first interview, Rogers turns the tables and starts asking Lloyd questions, including “What is your spouse’s name?” It’s such a small moment that many would brush over, but Rogers had been friends with friends of every orientation throughout his life, so it was a deliberate choice. While the interview would have taken place in 1998, years before same-sex marriage was made legal in any of the states, it was a small acknowledgment that not everyone lives or loves in the same way, and that he accepted that — perhaps even in a way to acknowledge his own sexuality. Is that a bit of a reach? Maybe. But it’s still very much in line with his immortal credo: “I like you just the way you are.”

The Rating:

Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood is a touching memoir and tribute, not only to Lloyd’s family and how people can change and include the power of forgiveness in their lives, but to Mr. Rogers and his living work itself. Through his interaction with the hardened journalist, it’s clear Rogers truly believed every single person was precious and worthy of love. Hard to find a better message out there this holiday season.