If you only have time to see one movie this summer, I beg you to make it “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” the gentle documentary about Fred Rogers, the kindly and compassionate human being and host of the long running children’s show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. In these polarizing times, we need someone like Mr. Rogers to bring us together, and I think that may be the point of this film. Mr. Rogers started his show in the infancy of television, where he saw comedians throwing pies into each other’s faces. He thought that the medium had such potential and wondered why it was only being used in such a fashion. He sought to change things. This documentary includes interviews with Fred’s wife (she is just too cute), his two sons, and various people he worked with on the show, including Yo Yo Ma. If you are looking for dirt or something that rings false about the man, you won’t find that here. To tell the truth, he was a genuinely nice man and cared deeply for the well being of children. Did you kow he was a life-long conservative Republican and an ordained minister? Many people thought he was a liberal democrat because of his preaching of inclusion. The film clips that are shown by film maker Morgan Neville will make you want to search for episodes on Youtube. What I liked the most were the quiet moments he had with others. I dare you not to cry when he is talking to a boy confined to a wheelchair or when he meets Koko the gorilla, who wants nothing more than to take off his shoes like she had watched him do so many times on his show. The highlight to me though, was when Fred Rogers went before Congress and convinced a very jaded congressman to not cut funding for public televsion. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood dealt with deep social issues in a way that helped kids to understand and to not be nervous or afraid. I was especially moved when Betty Aberlin (in character as Lady Aberlin) tries to expalin the assassination of Robert Kennedy to a puppet. Another part that really got me was when Francois Clemmons, who is African American and gay, tells his story about playing Officer Clemmons for over 20 years. It is as poignant as it is revealing. You will not leave this movie with a dry eye, but you will leave with a new appreciation of the number 143!!
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