CAN YOU SAY “PERFECT CASTING,” BOYS AND GIRLS?
The first promo clip from the upcoming movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has just been released, and it proves indisputably that this biopic of children’s TV host Fred Rogers has indeed found its ideal leading man. Tom Hanks portrays the soft-spoken, lovable host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the illusion is accepted instantly and totally. Hanks already has portrayed Walt Disney, in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks, and here he’s about to portray an even more beloved children’s TV icon. (And one, by the way, that Tom Hanks’ son, Colin, already has played, by portraying Fred Rogers on an installment of Comedy Central’s Drunk History.) Matthew Rhys from The Americans co-stars in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood as the magazine reporter who is unexpectedly charmed by Rogers’ honesty and inspirational manner, and he, too, seems wonderfully chosen. Speaking of choosing – I’m choosing an additional Video Worth Watching to add here. It’s of the real Fred Rogers, accepting his Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 1997. Prepare to be moved. – David Bianculli