By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Rarely does a biopic not only live up to your expectations but exceed them. That’s because “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is not a chronicle of Fred Rogers’ life; instead, it’s almost a fable, illustrating his values, illuminating what made this gentle man who wore Keds and zipped cardigans so beloved.
When his “Esquire” magazine editor assigns skeptical Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) to write a 400-word piece about TV host Mister Rogers (Tom Hanks) for their upcoming “Heroes” issue, he’s perplexed.
“I don’t do puff pieces…I have no idea how to write about a person like Fred,” Lloyd admits. He’d just published a Kevin Spacey expose and was considered a ‘hostile’ investigative journalist, one to be avoided.
“Why Fred made that decision, he never told me,” Lloyd admits. “Fred moved in mysterious ways.”
Despite having a devoted wife (Susan Kelechi Watson) and infant son, Lloyd is consumed with anger toward his father (Chris Cooper) who abandoned the family when Lloyd was just a boy.
While conversing with genial, soft-spoken Fred Rogers, Lloyd’s repressed feelings erupt as the two men forge a genuine connection and uncanny understanding. Seemingly effortlessly, Tom Hanks embodies Fred Rogers’ deep humility, authentic affection and unconditional acceptance.
When asked about the difficulty of playing Mister Rogers, Hanks said “being able to find the quiet spaces inside spaces that had to be filled.
Director Marielle Heller and screenwriters Noah Harpster & Micah Fitzerman-Blue focus on Fred’s real-life friendship with Tom Junod, who wrote the 1998 “Esquire” cover piece, “Can You Say…Hero?” So rather than repeating last year’s documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” it’s a companion piece.
Rogers’ widow Joanne puts it best: “With so much conflict going on in the world, I think people are hungry for kindness. Fred’s legacy reminds us to be kind and to be neighborly, to try and forgive those who have hurt us and try to see the innate goodness in all people.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is a timely 10 – because kindness has never been more relevant.
I didn’t go to see “Charlie’s Angels” when it opened – nor did many people. Elizabeth Banks wrote, directed, produced and starred in this ill-fated version, utilizing a $50 million budget, yet making a mere $8.6 million its opening weekend.
So what went wrong?
According to Banks, “If this movie doesn’t make money, if reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don’t go to see action movies.”
When it was noted that audiences flocked to “Wonder Woman” and “Captain Marvel,” Banks said, “They’ll go to see a comic book movie because that’s a male genre. So even though these movies are about women, they put them in the context of feeding the larger comic book world.”
That’s a glib excuse.
In my opinion, since there was a disappointingly generic marketing campaign, few people lined up at the box-office. Plus, there’s no star power. McG’s versions (2000 & 2003) had Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, and the original (1976) TV series featured Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jacklyn Smith.
With “Twilight,” Kristen Stewart had a big boost but she hasn’t done much recently. Here, she’s used as comic relief and co-stars Ella Balinska and Naomi Scott aren’t famous.
Then there’s John Bosley (Patrick Stewart), the crime-fighting Angels’ boss who promotes a ex-Angel (Elizabeth Banks) to management at Charles Townsend’s Agency when he retires.
The plot revolves around Elena (Naomi Scott), a systems engineer who turns whistleblower when she tries to warn her Brok Industries boss (Nat Faxon) and CEO (Sam Claflin) that their revolutionary Calisto device to create clean energy has an inherent flaw and can be easily weaponized. So Sabina (Kristen Stewart) and Jane (Elena Balinska) recruit Elena to protect her.
But Aaron Spelling’s original concept has become archaic. Writer/director Elizabeth Banks’ choppy script, based on Evan Spiliotopoulos’ and David Auburn’s globe-trotting story, never delineates fully-formed characters; instead, they’re cheeky ‘dress-up’ caricatures aimed a YA audience.
On the Granger Gauge, “Charlie’s Angels” is a feminist 4, frivolously nicknamed “Charlie’s Gayngels” in the LGBTQ community.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
