Netflix has released the first trailer for Will & Harper, a documentary that follows Will Ferrell’s road trip with his long-time friend Harper Steele after she comes out as a trans woman.
As Ferrell explains in the trailer, the pair met on Saturday Night Live many years ago when Ferrell joined the sketch comedy series as a performer and Steele as a writer. “I met a guy hired as a writer the same week I was hired. He wrote a bunch of sketches for me, and eventually became the head writer of SNL,” Ferrell said. “And, over the years, he became one of my closest friends. And then one day I got this email. ‘Hey Will, something I need you to know. I’ll be transitioning to live as a woman.’” Cue a road trip across America.
“In this intimate, honest, and heartfelt documentary, Will and Harper hit the open road together to process this new stage of their friendship and reintroduce Harper to the country that she loves – this time, as herself,” reads the official description. “Over 16 days, the two drive from New York to LA, visiting stops that are meaningful to them, to their friendship, and to America. Through laughter, tears, and many cans of Pringles, they push past their comfort zones as they re-examine their relationships to these spaces, and to each other, in this new light.“
Will & Harper premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and our own Chris Bumbray found it to be a hopeful, uplifting story. “[Will & Harper shows] how people across all political and social spectrums react to the trans community. To its credit, no one is especially vicious to Harper’s face outside of a sequence where they read cruel tweets,” Bumbray wrote. “She’s misgendered a few times, but it’s pretty much always by accident, and she never takes it personally – nor does Ferrell. They don’t go around lecturing people; they’re just honestly interested in how people genuinely feel – and for the most part, everyone they meet face to face is tolerant and means well.“
Bumbray continued, “As such, Will & Harper is a hopeful, uplifting film that feels like a story of our time. Director Josh Greenbaum includes plenty of Will Ferrell schtick (he once again takes his clothes off for comic effect) and starry cameos from their real friends (including Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows, and Will Forte, among others). Still, he doesn’t overload the film with comedy. Ultimately, it’s a slice of life that will resonate for many of us.” You can read the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.
Will & Harper will debut in select theaters on September 13th before premiering on Netflix on September 27th.
