Will & Harper 2024 Movie Review
Will & Harper refers to two Emmy award-winning Saturday Night Live alum: Will Ferrell, the comic actor who shot to Hollywood superstardom after leaving the show in 2002, and Harper Steele, the show’s former head writer and Ferrell’s friend for twenty-seven years. This documentary depicts how the duo embarks on their first cross country road trip since Steele came out as a transwoman. Steele is worried that her transition will make her vulnerable, so Ferrell and the cameras act like a celebrity comfort blanket to ensure Steele’s safety and hopefully encourage people to treat those in the trans community kinder than the anti-trans legislation that many of these places promulgate.
Fans of SNL will want to fantasize that the titular buddies are inviting you to an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into their lives. It plays nicely into the pro work-as-life propaganda that most television series play into, from crime dramas like Law & Order to comedies like Parks and Recreation. Ferrell is “on” for most of the documentary, casually serving droll quips that Steele easily lobs back over the net. The pair are seasoned and successful entertainers so maybe they’re always like this but, as enjoyable as it is to watch, it’s hard to believe that the doc is not at least slightly scripted and structured to hit the same beats as any road trip comedy.
Will & Harper frequently references Ferrell’s post-SNL life in Anchorman and Talladega Nights, but he’s not just a funny man. Ferrell also produced films like Vice and The Menu, and is a vocal member of the Democratic Party. In contrast, Steele usually works behind the scenes and revealed that director Josh Greenbaum (Strays) could find little archival footage of Steele, evidence of the strength of her aversion to being perceived mostly owing to gender dysphoria prior to transitioning. There’s an adorable photo of her as a girl on a unicycle, otherwise Steele is suspiciously side-eying the camera. Steele’s demeanor is dramatically different now and, despite some reasonable reservations, is comfortable in any situation. Greenbaum does a superb job of keeping the cameras on the talent, yet off-camera to give the veneer of being natural.
The road trip framing imbues Will & Harper with a spontaneous, impromptu vibe as if things are just unrolling organically. Ferrell interviews Steele about her experience as a trans person to demystify the underrepresented demographic for an unfamiliar heterosexual audience. Steele occasionally questions Ferrell’s feelings about Steele coming out of the closet. In the Midwest, they meet another transwoman to explain her story at a local bar. Bits of humor let the messaging breathe, whether at a Packers game or at a five-star Vegas restaurant. It’s as if Ferrell is testing future characters while spectators play along with his and Steele’s journey. Still, there’s some trepidation as Ferrell and Steele enter situations that feature quiet tension or veiled hypocrisy. Credit to Steele for verbalizing her privilege—not every trans person has a famous friend to function as a social lubricant or a spare house to retreat from everyone she knows.
Will & Harper features special guest appearances from other SNL alum, including Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, and longtime show runner Lorne Michaels. They meet in a few public spaces (nail salons, air balloon fields, and of course, 30 Rock), while the most visible private spaces are Steele’s New York home, wherever Wiig is FaceTiming from, and a single scene where Ferrell and Steele pound beers while playing records in a motel. Though Steele’s adult children and her sister’s Iowa home make appearances, it’s the illusion of peering into a private life without entering any truly private spaces. It sends an unfortunate, unintended message that people from various underrepresented groups are familiar with: people may work with you, and they may socialize with you, but are you welcome into any homes or their private circles?
Will & Harper sends another unintended message which is helpful for the majority but ultimately harmful for the minority: a minority’s life is devoted to educating and comforting the majority, not living. Steele is early on her journey, and it can take a lifetime to recognize that minorities must play patient and doctor and comfort those who hurt them—intentionally or not. Obviously when a friend cries, a good friend would want to console them, which is the case with Steele and Ferrell, but some may walk away with the wrong lesson: every heterosexual friend who unintentionally inflicts harm on their trans friend should expect a shoulder to cry on if they feel bad about it. It creates an unsustainable burden on someone who already bears the brunt of society’s cruelty and frankly, a person who is also fighting against genocide.
Sure, Steele is consciously consenting to using her life to make the world a better place for transpeople with less privilege with heterosexual people as the intended audience. But, a lot of transpeople will also be looking at Steele as an example of how to navigate the world and should not feel obligated to give such blank emotional checks to the people around them. It should not have to extend to some random transphobic therapist who owes an apology to a former patient and needs to put in the work to make amends to that particular person, not just grab the closest trans person to confess their wrongdoing.
Will & Harper teaches a couple of solid lessons. The person with the most privilege bears the public burden of protecting their less privileged friend and correcting others. Ferrell corrects every misgendering with grace. The most revelatory reveal is that the loudest transphobic voice in the room is Steele’s inner voice and hopefully each day of self-condemnation will get shorter. There should still be more than a verbal disclaimer: don’t try this at home. While the documentary presents an America filled with camaraderie and hospitality even in a bar sporting the Confederate flag and Presi-don’t campaign finery, the cameras protect the pair from becoming the next Brandon Teena.
