In 2022, Will Ferrell’s best friend of nearly 30 years, fellow SNL alum and frequent collaborator Harper Steele, came out as trans. Being creative people, this led to Will and Harper hatching a plan to do a cross-country road trip, stopping at dive bars aplenty (a favorite pastime of Harper’s), with a film crew in tow. The resulting documentary from that venture, Will & Harper, premiered at Sundance earlier this year looking for a distributor, which they found in Netflix. Will & Harper began streaming last Friday, and its stars just spoke with The Independent to promote the release. The conversation was frank, affectionate, and yes, funny:

Harper wrote a letter to Will about her transition in 2022: “I just ask you as my friend to stand up for me,” Steele wrote. “Do your best to, if I’m misgendered, just speak up on my behalf, that’s all I ask.” Steele didn’t know what her loved ones would think, or the extent to which she’d be treated differently by them. She was also worried about America — before she transitioned, she’d often travel the country and venture to parts unknown, stumble upon the grimiest of far-out dive bars, and make friends with total strangers. Would this no longer be possible? In search of answers, she and Ferrell decided to hit the road together, taking along with them the filmmaker Josh Greenbaum. The result, a touching if melancholy snapshot of friendship and queerness, is streaming on Netflix from Friday.

Will is asked why transphobia exists: “There is hatred out there,” Ferrell continues. “It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations.” He ponders my original question. “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.” The pair have a gentle rapport — there are lots of appreciative smiles back and forth. “It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her. 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.”

The film isn’t overtly political: Largely missing, too, is acknowledgement of the political climate into which the film is being released. There is one particularly wince-inducing scene in which Ferrell and Steele shake hands with a US politician at a basketball game in Indiana, only to find out later that he had voted for a raft of anti-trans legislation. But it’s an outlier in a film that prioritises the personal over the political. … “We just wanted to address what it’s like for two people who are friends — what all of this means to us, and to our friendship moving forward. I needed him to see the joy I was experiencing.” Steele breaks into a smile. “And I also wanted to demonstrate to my friend here that I was still funny,” she laughs. “And probably funnier than him.” “Well,” Ferrell corrects, puffed up and mock-offended. “I think that’s debatable.”

[From The Independent]

“If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it stems from not being confident or safe with yourself.” Damn, Will really succinctly hit the nail on the (bigoted) head. It just cuts through to the heart of what’s underneath all that hatred and fear. And not to diminish a serious moment, but it is hilarious to me to contrast this thoughtful, eloquent statement with Will as the Mattel CEO in Barbie, who when asked why there are no women in the boardroom, responds “I have Jewish friends!” I’d like to think Will and Harper would also appreciate the absurdism of that dichotomy.

Full disclosure: I haven’t yet watched Will & Harper, as I unexpectedly had a (fur) baby over the weekend. But it’s on my list and I will see it soon! And part of that is to honor the friends’ wishes: Will and Harper have said it was imperative to them that their doc be released before the election, because “We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms.” I mean, I realize I’m not the target demographic for minds/viewpoints they want to reach and, knock wood, open up. But I still want to support them and give them good numbers. And sure, I’m also extremely eager to see more of Harper’s fantastic eye frame collection (the colors!) and to hear her prove how she’s unequivocally funnier than Will.

photos credit: Netflix press