after training dragons, why not spend the evening in mr. rogers' neighborhood?

[twoeleven]

the first half-hour of won't you be my neighbor is glacially slow and dull. i usually give documentaries a half-hour to settle into some kind of groove; it seems some simply need the long wind-up.

i was all ready to stop WYBMN at the half-hour mark and declare that it was nominated for an oscar because it's a feel-good documentary and it didn't win because it's nothing beyond that. but the movie suddenly found its voice and its pace, and it turned into a real gem; parts of it were surprisingly affecting.

the rest did what documentaries strive for: provide a lot of information about some subject while telling a good story. WYBMN nailed that: i was kinda young when i watched the show, and had no idea how groundbreaking it was, nor how cleverly put together. nor any idea of its incredible influence on american culture, nor how much of that was simply fred rogers' honesty, intelligence, and persistence. if we had secular saints, he'd deserve to be on the short list for canonization.

so, yeah, go watch this one. i'll probably watch it again, just to see what i missed during the first go-round.

Comments

[threemeninaboat]

I've been watching the show recently and the music is just so good.

[twoeleven]

a number of the regulars are/were professional singers. fred rogers plays a mean piano; i think he performed all of the piano music the show used.