Director Josh Greenbaum (STRAYS) has crafted a deeply humane, insightful and beautiful documentary about courage and ally-ship in WILL & HARPER. It stars Hollywood comedian Will Ferrell going on a road trip with his friend of many decades, newly out as a Trans Woman, Harper Steele. The beauty of this film is that it allows us to ask all those uncomfortable awkward questions we don't know how to ask: how bad did it get for you before you were out? Will our friendship change? How do you feel about surgery? How do you feel about your body? There is so much evident love between the two friends that these questions can be broached with sensitivity and love.
We also see the two Americas, but have our prejudices challenged too. We start at dinner in liberal New York with many of Harper's old SNL colleagues showing love and support. As we cross over into red states we are surprised to find a warm greeting at a car rally. Less surprised to see the mood at a steak eating contest turn genuinely menacing. It's interesting to see how Ferrell tries to throw attention away from Harper and onto himself, but how that buffoonery can backfire.
The result is a film that is by turns funny and touching and depressing and scary, which is maybe how trans people experience life. It left me with deep admiration for Harper in sharing her experience in this way, and for Will Ferrell to commit to a project that will undoubtedly help educate and hopefully bring some support to the trans community. Highly recommended.
WILL & HARPER is rated R and has a running time of 114 minutes. It played Sundance and Telluride 2024 and is on Netflix.
