“won’t you be my neighbor?” movie review

I hate to admit it now but I was never a Mister Rogers fan. I watched Captain Kangaroo every single day and waited in vain for Miss Louise to call my name on Romper Room, but somehow the soft-spoken Mister Rogers, asking “Won’t you be my neighbor?” in his Dad sweater, just seemed a little too boring for this New York City girl.

Who knew that, in his own quiet way, Mister Rogers was actually shaking things up?

I begrudgingly went to see Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the new documentary about the children’s TV icon, only because everyone was talking about it. And I learned, once again, to stop judging a book by its cover – or a children’s TV icon by his Dad sweater – because, as it turns out, Fred Rogers was a total badass.

Way ahead of his time, he spoke honestly and respectfully to children, trying to help them make sense of the world around them. He answered questions about war and death and grief – subjects that even adults struggle to understand – with facts and compassion, both of which are sorely lacking today.

Director Morgan Neville, who won an Academy Award for the fantastic 20 Feet to Stardom, has created a must-see film that miraculously allows Fred Rogers to continue his work of teaching and inspiring viewers posthumously. Just watching him makes you want to be a better person.

At a time when race relations were at a boiling point, Rogers brought François Clemmons on as Officer Clemmons, making him the first black actor to have a recurring role on a children’s show. In a scene that moved me to tears, Rogers and Clemmons sat together on a hot summer day, simply cooling off their feet in a kiddie pool.

Except it was so much more than “simply.” Without saying a word, Rogers had made a huge statement about integration. And then he went a step further and toweled off Clemmons’ feet, nonchalantly telling his sponge-like young viewers, “Sometimes a minute like this will really make a difference.”

The subtle double meaning of this just blew me away.

Apparently, Rogers had the power to blow away even the coldest audience as evidenced by the fact that, within six minutes of speaking at a Senate hearing to protest the cutting of funds to PBS, he secured $20 MILLION and saved public broadcasting!

Thank goodness he did.

Fred Rogers is very much needed in this surreal world we’re now living in, which is why Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has become a surprise hit.

At this point in history, I’m sure the vast majority of us would answer that question with a resounding, “Yes!”