Will Ferrell’s new documentary Will & Harper is almost here. Initially releasing in select theaters on September 13, the film will be available to stream on Netflix on September 27.
Will & Harper follows comedy duo Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on a 17-day road trip across the United States as they explore their friendship and what it means to live in America. In 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Steele reached out to Ferrell and several other friends, coming out and telling them she was transitioning into a woman. The road trip is a beautiful love letter to their friendship where they explore how much they know each other and what Steele’s transition means for them. The duo discuss the realities of being transgender in America, their shared but different life experiences and their regrets. The film has been positively received by those who attended its initial screenings.
Ferrell, a comedian, and Steele, a writer, met while both working on Saturday Night Live and later went on to co-write the comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. With their background, this documentary is of course filled with laughs and the goofiness Ferrell is beloved for. But the documentary is also somber, emotional, and honest.
Why Will & Harper Is Important
While we have progressed in some aspects, it is still very difficult and scary to be transgender in America. With anti-trans hate poisoning social media, anti-trans bills and laws being passed and the everyday violence towards the transgender population, it is a terrifying reality for anyone trans to live in. In an interview with the New York Times, Ferrell and Steele recount a moment during their road trip when they stopped at a steakhouse in Texas for a meal. It quickly became an intense and hostile environment where it was clear Steele was not accepted by the other patrons of the steakhouse. Steele said she felt like she was in a fishbowl everyone was looking at her.
“I said something about passing a trans bill, and the room did a kind of reversal and a little bit of a boo and a woman shouted out, ‘We still love you,'” Steele said. “I hate the phrase. I could be misinterpreting this woman completely, but this is the feeling I had in the room: The ‘still’ is conditional. You still love me when I finally give up being trans and give my life over to Christ. They still love me even though I’m some kind of sinner or something. I felt that.”
This film was able to show firsthand some of the treatment transgender men and women face in this country daily. It has also provided a platform for Steele to share her story and her perspective not only to Ferrell, but to everyone watching.
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