I must admit I’m not a huge fan of Will Ferrell. I thought he was decently funny on SNL and in the few films I’ve seen him in but I don’t rush out to watch his movies. Lately I’ve been seeing trailers for his new documentary “Will and Harper” where he describes how one of the SNL writers and best friends that he’s known since 1995, Harper Steele, recently transitioned and would be living the remainder of her life as a woman.
Ferrell proposed they cross the country and film a road trip movie visiting all her previously favorite haunts where she often visited in her prior life. Through the trip Ferrell would ask Harper all the burning questions that many cisgender people want to ask trans folks but are unwilling or unable to due to circumstance. Would she feel safe enough to visit that dive bar in the Midwest? How about that steak house in Texas? How would she feel going back to her childhood home in Iowa City?
I was, of course, very curious. Cautiously optimistic, but still curious.
I’d seen a few interviews with Ferrell where he promised that this film was made to counter all the negativity about the transgender community that we’ve been experiencing in the past few years as Republicans have turned us into the Flavor of the Week for their program of demonization for political gain. You know the score, I won’t go into the details but suffice it to say their program of demonization has resulted in 26 states writing anti-trans laws specifically banning gender affirming care for minors and even adults in some states (with a new study reporting that suicide attempts among trans and non-binary youth have increased 72% in those states).
Well the film has been in theaters the past few weeks it just dropped on Netflix a few days ago. Now I’m obviously not a professional film reviewer but as a trans woman living in America in 2024, I have to say that this is the film we need right now.
Will Ferrell obviously loves his friend Harper very much and even though his old friend that he knew for 30 years no longer exists he has truly embraced the “real” Harper Steele that had been hiding all these years. I really resonate with this film deeply as I also consider myself a “late transitioner” even though I was 40 instead of 60. But coming out to family and friends is HARD, I tell you. You never know how they’re going to react and how they will treat you afterwards and this film touches on all those subjects with grace, compassion, and a ton of empathy. And the premise of “Famous comedian travels through America’s Heartland with his newly out transgender friend” is too good to miss.
I won’t spoil any of the film but suffice it to say they do not hide from the vitriol that the two of them attract along the way, including a viral appearance to a Texas steakhouse. Social media truly is a minefield of toxicity for the entire transgender community and both Ferrell and Harper become targets. The scene where they read the mean tweets they’ve attracted are all too familiar to those of us in the trans community.
“There is hatred out there,” Ferrell said. “It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. … But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male. I don’t know why Harper is threatening to me.”
“It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her,” he added. “She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or not you can ultimately wrap your head around that, why would you care if somebody’s happy? Why is that threatening to you? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it stems from not being confident or safe with yourself.”
But truly, I must commend both of them for making this film and especially Harper Steele for putting herself out there for the entire world to see, warts and all. My opinion of Will Ferrell certainly has changed after watching this film and I definitely view him in a different light. They’ve both been doing a lot of interviews in support of this film and I was heartened to read that the film received a long standing ovation recently at the Sundance festival. The film even got a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes and there was only one transphobic comment that I could see in the entire thread of non-professional viewer reviews. Ferrell has stated that he hopes the film sparks compassion and conversation ahead of the election and I hope it will do the same.
Will it change the minds of the people who use the trans community to further their own agendas? I doubt it, but hopefully it will change the minds of regular people who don’t buy into the demagoguery of the MAGAs.
I think I’ll go catch me a few more Will Ferrell films.
