When Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod’s editor assigns him to write a 400-word piece on Public TV star Fred Rogers of the Mr. Rogers program, their meeting is supposed to be a brief interaction. But instead, it turns into a complex, long-term relationship between the two men. Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers and Matthew Rhys, plays Tom Junod, the journalist who wrote the profile of Fred Rogers in Esquire magazine, on which this feature film is based.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Thinking back to my childhood, I saw Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood as a hopelessly sappy program that seemed more like a satire than an actual TV show. But this film is substantive, sometimes compelling, but always entertaining. It gets a See It! rating.

From the beginning writers, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, convey where Fred Rogers’ priorities lie. When a Make-a-Wish Foundation kid visits the set, Rogers leisurely chats with him and his parents, completely indifferent to the resulting delay in the filming schedule. In other words,

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