Will Ferrell and Harper Steele were friends from their Saturday Night Live days. Ferrell became one of the breakout stars of the popular sketch comedy show where Steele was the head writer from 2004 to 2008. The two continued to be friends and collaborators, going to games and dive bars and co-writing the glorious Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Steele came out as a transwoman in 2021. âThe biggest question when people come out of the closet is, âWill I still be lovedâ,â she says in their documentary Will & Harper. Ferrell and Steele undertake a road trip from New York to Los Angeles, as a way of coming out to America with Ferrellâs celebrity as a cushion against the slings and arrows of outrage. The road trip is also a way of strengthening the bond between them, to see what, if anything has changed.
Will & Harper (English)
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Cast: Will Ferrell, Harper Steele
Storyline: When Will Ferrellâs friend of 30 years comes out as a transwoman, the two embark on road trip from New York to Los Angeles rediscovering the country and their friendship
Runtime: 114 minutes
The differences are there from the packing stage itself, where earlier as a man, she would pack a couple of tee-shirts, a pair of jeans and underwear, now Steele has a tough time just choosing the shoes to pack! After packing up the road trip essentials, which include, according to Steele, âchairs, a cooler and a natty beer,â the two set off from New York with a stop at SNL studios where they meet their former colleagues and friends including Tina Fey.
On the 16-day trip across America, they meet people in bars and gas stations. At The Grand Canyon, they meet a therapist who poignantly confesses to being unable to help a patient. They also meet Harperâs children and her sister, which has Ferrell asking them how they feel about Steele coming out. The long hours in the car let Ferrell ask Steele questions about dating, surgery and feelings of despair and joy.
There are conversations on how Steele chose her name (her mum went to school with Harper Lee) and how âa lot of transitioning is learning to accept yourselfâ which she does with some difficulty including her âlow male voiceâ. Over the many miles, there is Ferrellâs tantrum to go to a Dunkinâ Donuts, doing laundry when clean underwear has almost run out, analysing comedy (which Steele hates to do), a joke involving Nordstrom Rack and getting beverage jackets for their beer cans, which have been christened Dolores and Cornelius.
While most are welcoming of the duo, the experience in Texas is not so pleasant. You have to, however, take the rough with the smooth, including karaoke to âI Got You Babeâ and trying the unicycle in Harperâs hometown, just like she used to do in her two years of Junior High. The only thing that takes you out of the film is the fact that it is all being filmed; so there is an artificiality to this very real documenting of an intensely personal journey.
At the end of the trip, as Ferrell and Steele sit on the beach, and Ferrell gives Steele a present that is a precious distillation of the journey, lines from âHarper and Will Go Westâ, the theme song Kristen Wiig, is tasked to come up with echo in the mind, âIt takes 3,000 miles to get this close.â
Will & Harper is currently streaming on Netflix
Published – September 28, 2024 03:23 pm IST