Review of Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018) by Devaughn B — 01 Jul 2018

Won't You Be My Neighbor? is an absolutely astounding documentary on the life and philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host and creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I finally had the opportunity to catch this doc, and at 3pm on a Monday afternoon, with a full house and not a dry eye in the place.

Such a terrific, deep film, covering not just the positive aspects of Fred Rogers, the things on the surface you may have seen and known, growing up watch his show. This documentary dives into the things we didn't know about Fred Rogers - the extremely tough choices he had to make for his show behind the scenes for decades, battling depression, as well as touching on his discussions of death and assassination, racism, homophobia, politics, war, etc.

There are so many revelations that come to light through his own words, the statements of those around him on his show's crew, and his wife and sons. His messages of love, acceptance and creativity, and how these messages touched people's lives will make you shed tears in this documentary, and not even one moment in particular.

Just the documentary in general, which speaks to how powerful it is. Definitely check this film out if you get the chance, an incredible look at the life of Mister Rogers.