by Lynn Lee
It’s here! The trailer for the much-anticipated Mister Rogers movie, starring Tom Hanks as everyone’s favorite neighbor, dropped Monday…and a million Gen-Xers wept tears of pure nostalgia. But what does the trailer reveal about the film that we didn’t already know? Not a whole lot, as it turns out. Let’s break it down...
YES
- Tom Hanks is the only named player here, and for a reason – he’s just about the only actor today who radiates Mister Rogers-level warmth, wholesomeness, and sheer decency. (though see “No,” below)
- Matthew Rhys finally gets a meaty big-screen role! After “The Americans,” I’ll watch him in anything, and OMG HIS EYES at 1:40
- “Please don’t ruin my childhood.” A droll and canny nod to every viewer’s silent prayer. Not to fear, though: the movie’s apparently based on this 1998 Esquire profile of Rogers by a writer who went from skeptic to convert to the all-conquering goodness of Mister Rogers.
- “This Thanksgiving” – yeeesss. The perfect Thanksgiving movie to see with one’s family; If Mister Rogers can’t magically unite us and the relatives we wanted to throttle at dinner, no one can.
NO
- Like last year’s documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, the movie seems to be giving Rogers the hagiographic treatment, which may be justified but doesn’t make for much dramatic tension.
- Tom Hanks doesn’t look anything like Mister Rogers. (He almost has the voice down, but not quite.) He doesn’t have that birdlike, slightly awkward yet graceful bearing, and his toss of the shoe from one hand to the other lacks Rogers’ effortless fluidity.
- I try not to judge performances from trailers, but what we see of Hanks’ here seems a bit...stilted? Or like he’s trying too hard.
MAYBE SO
- Still…it’s Tom Hanks. He’s built up a ton of cred that at the very least earns him the benefit of the doubt.
- If this movie does get Oscar traction, I think we can all smell major category fraud coming given that Rhys is clearly the lead…or is he? Was Nick Carraway the lead of The Great Gatsby?
- While not the most visually interesting trailer, it’s smart enough to hit us in the feels with its glimpses of a faithfully recreated Neighborhood. And that iconic red cardigan is like a little spot of joy.
- No mention of director Marielle Heller, who brought us the wonderful Can You Ever Forgive Me? and well-received Diary of a Teenage Girl – but if anyone can bring a needed edge and shade to this project, it’s her.
- And even if she doesn’t, couldn’t we all use a heaping dose of sweetness and light right about now?
Despite my reservations, as someone who grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and as a fan of both Hanks and Rhys (and Heller, based on Can You Ever Forgive Me? alone), barring terrible reviews I’m a YES. It’ll be interesting to see if the movie ends up being to Won’t You Be My Neighbor? what the lackluster On the Basis of Sex was to RBG. But I suspect it’ll get a huge boost from the combined star power of Hanks and our collective memory of a real-life hero who exemplified kindness, empathy, and modesty – qualities that are sadly in short supply among our public figures today.