Why we need 'Mister Rogers' now more than ever

I don't know if I've ever been moved to tears by a movie as quickly as I was while watching the fantastic new documentary about children's entertainer Fred Rogers, Won't You Be My Neighbor? I think my eyes started welling up before the credits had even finished rolling.

I can't say I am totally surprised, the goddamn trailer had me choking up. Like so many kids of my generation, I grew up watching Mister Rogers, loved him, but perhaps didn't fully understand why. Of course, in later years, cynical people would reduce him to a parody, albeit an affectionate one.

What this film does is make plain what a gentle, dedicated soul Rogers was, but also it champions his greatest message (and gift to my generation): that one does not need to be exceptional to be loved.

It's a message I needed to hear, in these politically and personally unsettling times, and I imagine it's a message a lot of adult audiences will benefit from hearing.

Rogers had a real gift. He was able to channel his own childhood angst and insecurity into his performances, which were subtly complex, even if they were conveyed with crude sock puppets. By allowing himself to be tender and vulnerable, children of all different backgrounds and circumstances were able to relate to him, they gravitated towards him, and by all accounts, he never let them down.

What Won't You Be My Neighbor? does is present a wholly alternative version of what it means to "be a man." In an era where coarseness and cruelty have been exalted as demonstrations of strength, Rogers committed to the opposite track with the fidelity of zealot.

He listened. He allowed for silences. He didn't raise his voice. According to the funny and endearing talking heads in the film, he was the genuine article -- a true sweetheart on-screen and off.

That being said, this film wisely is not worshipful. Rogers can seem pompous and judgmental at times. He believed he was the best judge of what children's television should be, which is debatable. And even he struggled with learning to accept a gay co-star's sexual preference.

In other words, he was a human being. But what a human being! There's his steely, emotional testimony before Congress to save funding for PBS... there's his incredibly moving interview with a disabled young boy who was about to receive major surgery .... there's his remarkably intense interactions with Koko the monkey ... this movie is chockfull of an inspiring life well-lived.

Just like The Florida Project, it's a movie that reminded me to never lose touch with my inner child -- there's a value and purity in that worldview. Kids can often be the wisest, most observant people in the world, and Rogers not only understood that he dedicated his life's work to that very principle.

See this film if and when you can. It left me a wreck emotionally, but also inspired the hell out of me. While Rogers has sadly passed away, we need his brand of optimism, love, and empathy to live on and stand as a counter to the climate we're currently living in.