What Fame is For

From https://www.abeautifulday.movie/, Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys as Tom Junod.

In “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod (Matthew Rhys) asks public TV children’s show host Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) about fame.

“Fame is a four-letter word,” Fred says. And it all depends on what you do with it. What he did with it was to help the people around him, and you can't watch this movie without wishing it were so for other famous TV figures.

The sweet story of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” did draw me in. I was a bit old for the TV show, but saw it in snippets when I was growing up.

It was never my favorite. The pace was too slow for me, but then again, I was too old for the show.

Mr. Rogers had a way of talking to younger viewers at their level, and from all I’ve heard, not knowing the man, it came from a genuine desire to help children navigate this life.

Hanks is a good choice to play Rogers. He doesn’t imitate too much, but does remind one of the actual Fred Rogers.

The movie makes real life and the Land of Make Believe a bit similar, showing a toy New York. My wife and I both laughed when a toy plane touched down with realistic noises. But that fit, somehow. The idealized version of reality was the world as seen through the lens of the TV show.

And it was a cool movie, partly because it showed what a TV studio looks like and functions. You do feel a bit sorry for the whole crew who has to wait it out while Fred Rogers is being so nice to someone.

If you grew up at all with Mr. Rogers, I think you’ll love this movie. If you like writing and journalism, it’s not a bad portrayal of how life and reporting can interact.

And it will leave you feeling a bit better about this mortal existence. That’s about all a kid’s TV show or movie about it could do, I suppose.