I have to confess that up to this moment I guess I had never spent much time thinking about the actor/comedian WILL FERRELL. I knew he had progressed from being a cast member of Saturday Night Live to starring roles in Hollywood comedies in which he enjoyed some considerable success. But as this is not a genre that appeals to me personally I guessed a lot of this passed me by.
However now in the space of one smallish indie documentary I am now in serious danger of being a big fan of the man ……if not the actor. Will and Harper is ostensibly a rod trip across America undertaken by two old friends. Ferrell had met former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele some 30 years ago, but now Harper has transitioned and living her authentic life as a woman
The pair had never stopped hanging out together as friends but now, some three years after transitioning , Harper wants to make sure they could still do all the same things together, like going to Lakers games. Also to still go on road trips together which even Ferrell wasn’t sure could continue, However he not only thought they should , but he came up with the notion that would become Will & Harper, a road movie directed by Josh Greenbaum. It would give the pair a chance to reconnect but also to share how the world now would respond and treat the new Harper.
Greenbaum’s statement says it all
What Harper did — coming out and transitioning at 61, reaching out to her friends, agreeing to go on this cross-country road trip with Will, with me, and the cameras — was all incredibly brave. What Will did is incredibly brave as well. He was willing to ask the sensitive questions. He was willing to potentially lose fans who don’t agree with his support of his best friend living her authentic life. He did all that because he knew Harper needed him, and that beyond Harper, Will knows that other people in the trans community who feel othered can use an ally.
This is the most special film I’ve ever worked on because it was so intimate and personal. The love I have for these two incredibly brave, funny, and beautiful people is hard to express in words. I’m grateful that I could, in some way, channel that love into this film.
Will & Harper is a story about friendship, allyship, and the journey to becoming your true self. It’s about identity, America, pain, laughter, and acceptance — both of each other and, more importantly, of ourselves. It’s also about the power of Pringles, cheap beer, and road trips with your best friend.
I feel that this NETFLIX movie ……screening from Sept 26th will end up making my Best FIlms of The Year List. Plus i’ll now be an actual big fan of Will Ferrell too.
ROGER WALKER-DACK Creator, Editor-in-Chief Miami Beach, FL / Provincetown, MA IG @QUEERGURU Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributing Editor The Gay Uk & Contributor Edge Media Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
Labels: 2024, documentary, Harper Steele, Netflix, road trip, trans, Will & Harper, Will Ferrell
