Won't You Be My Neighbor?: Yes, I Definitely Will Be Your Neighbor
Watching Won't You Be My Neighbor? is like coming in to a warm home on a cold winter day. It will wrap you up and make you feel like everything will be okay. Super cheesy, I know, but this movie made me as vulnerable and emotional as the children Fred Rogers speaks to. It is sweet and tender and beautiful and I didn't want it to end. Interviews with Mr. Roger's wife, children, friends and the show's crew members and producers seamlessly blend together to narrate the story of Fred's life and his rise in television. It's a simple and rather straight forward documentary without any twists or shocking revelations and yet I was enthralled by it the entire time. What's remarkable is how Mr. Roger's show touched on the social issues of the time without making overt political statement. Instead, he simply talked about inclusion and the basic act of loving your neighbor. It's a kind of sentiment that could easily come across as disingenuous from anyone else but in the lens that we see Fred Rogers through it's just right. At the core of this movie is a caring and loving man who just wants to influence children's lives for the better and it is refreshing and moving to watch him do so. I'm erring on the side of less is more with this review because the film is so beautiful and well done that singing its praises for three paragraphs somehow feels like it would be both inadequate and overkill at the same time. The bottom line is that it is a joy to watch-I could have listened to Mr. Rogers talk about feelings and love and being a good neighbor for hours more. This film is simply a testament to the best of humanity.