Will Ferrell’s name may be first in the title Will & Harper. It’s also likely the name that will get viewers to hit play on Netflix. But make no mistake: This is not his story. At least not entirely.
It all started when Ferrell met comedian Harper Steele on Saturday Night Live in 1995. Steele, who was then male-presenting, saw potential in Ferrell that took others years to recognize. As their friendship blossomed, Steele worked her way up to becoming head writer of the show, a position she held from 2004 to 2008. But unknown to Ferrell—and the entire world up until now—Steele was struggling to accept her identity as a transgender woman.
After Ferrell got an email from Steele about transitioning, he came up with the idea of embarking on a road trip together. Steele grew accustomed to traveling all across the country and going to run-down bars as an adult, all while being afraid to present as her true self. Will & Harper, which was released on Netflix after the streaming giant acquired it from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in January, follows the pair’s seventeen-day journey of reconciliation and growth, as Steele finally travels the country in her own skin.
Director Josh Greenbaum, who previously helmed high-farce comedies like Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar, returns to documentary storytelling with a uniquely human approach. While the film’s cinematography style feels too glossy and controlled at times for a documentary, it doesn’t take away from the joy of the central friendship.
Will & Harper is a prime example of the kind of progress that can be made in the world when actors and celebrities with prestige and influence, like Ferrell, use their platform and established fanbase for genuine good.
Ferrell’s involvement and star status even becomes a crucial point of conflict and growth in the documentary itself, which features many scenes of Ferrell and Steele going out to sporting games and bars together. Steele understands that having Ferrell by her side, as well as the documentary crew capturing their conversations, will create safer circumstances for her in the more isolated parts of the Midwest.
“You [Ferrell] sort of running point makes this a fuck of a lot easier than if I was just alone, and I gotta keep that in mind throughout this trip,” Steele tells Ferrell before walking into a basketball game. “Because, obviously, I’m getting a little free pass here.”
Throughout the film, Steele gains the courage to go out on her own, too. Ferrell has to come to terms with this as well. Soon after the transformative road trip, the cameras will stop rolling and Steele has to navigate the world’s perception on her own. At a time when anti-trans legislation is constantly in the headlines and on young voters’ minds with the upcoming presidential election, some of the tenser scenes—like one that follows Steele going to a bar in Oklahoma alone—are especially resonant.
Ferrell told Marc Malkin of Variety that he and Steele pushed Netflix to release the film before the presidential election to start conversations about transgender people and their rights before going to the polls.
“We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms,” Ferrell told Variety.
Will & Harper doesn’t assert any assumptions about the two leads. It simply captures the two as they reconnect and redefine what their friendship means going forward. They learn from each other, laugh together, and ask the tough questions that allow them to get even closer. It’s also refreshing to see a documentary tell the story of an older trans person like Steele, an underrepresented group in the LGBTQ+ community.
With the film being readily available to stream on Netflix and featuring genuine moments of humor and levity throughout, Will & Harper has the potential to spark important conversations and connect different generations during a tumultuous time in history.
As Ferrell does so affectionately in the film, when cisgender people truly open their ears and listen to what the trans and queer people in their lives have to say, tangible progress can really begin.