Last night I watched an incredible road-trip documentary featuring Will Ferrell and a good friend and former coworker at SNL, Harper Steele. Will knew Harper as a man when they worked together at SNL, but during the pandemic, Harper transitioned. The two friends decided to take a trip together with a film crew recording their excursions and conversations.
I would say that this is a must-see movie. I already knew that it takes an incredible amount of courage to make the choice to transition, but Harper shares a full range of emotions: fear, regret, love, joy, etc, each applicable to different decisions and moments. Harper gave Will free reign to ask any and all questions, leading to some truly poignant moments between two people navigating their friendship as it takes a new shape.
There are many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments in the movie, so I’ll just focus on one specific element that stuck with me. There were multiple times that Harper shared how she struggled to make certain decisions (like her name, which she changed as part of the transition), and for each of those decisions she finally got clarity by asking herself if she was making the choice based on other people or herself. Each time, she found the answer by speaking her truth for herself, not what she thought other people expected of her. I thought that was particularly powerful (and applicable beyond the topic of transitioning).
Will & Harper is a deep movie, but there’s also plenty of humor to balance the tears with laughter. There’s a running gag about Pringles that I particularly enjoyed (and today I actually bought a can of Pringles as a result).
I hope you have the chance to watch Will & Harper–it’s on Netflix now–and I’d love to hear something that stuck with you after watching it.
Hey Jamey, I’m only halfway through Harper and Will, but I’m just amazed at what they are able to communicate with this buddy road trip and their experiences. The filming is so unobtrusive that you don’t really even know there’s a camera-person there. I have a constant gentle weepiness while I watch, because the emotions are so full and present.
I just saw the bar scene in Oklahoma where Harper being honest about her true self brought out the true selves of other people, like the young man who talked about his friends who are bisexual, and the native Americans sang their song for Harper. It was kind of overwhelming how truth brings out truth. And how people want to just be themselves, but we just wear these masks all the time. Harper seems like an amazing person, and I’m so glad we get to spend time with her. Thank you for the recommendation.
Switching gears—Joe and I are two episodes into a romcom tv show called Nobody Wants This (Netflix), and so far I would definitely recommend it. Not in the same league as Harper and Will, but funny, thoughtful, full of chemistry and charm, with a slightly different take on the barriers between people. Hopefully it will keep being good!
Susannah
Thanks for the recommendation, Susannah! I appreciate your thoughts on Will & Harper as well. There’s another encounter that is more difficult to watch, though I’m glad they included a variety of such encounters in the film.