Will & Harper Review: A Delightful Buddy Road Trip Of Transness, Flyover States, And Natty Light

Harper Steele is my kind of woman. 

A dyed-in-the-wool Midwesterner, the former "Saturday Night Live" writer is effortlessly funny, has a perfect grasp on the art of lovingly poking fun at her celebrity friends, boasts an enviable collection of fashion eyewear, and finds solace in dive bars, cheap beer, and whatever weird flavor of Pringles she can find. Men in flyover states are constantly clamoring for more women like Steele — women who can hang, so to speak — but Steele is a transgender woman who transitioned later in life, which makes her a pariah in the circles that would otherwise view her as a demigod. This makes it difficult for her to pursue one of her greatest joys, driving cross-country and making stops at hole in the walls along the way.

Fortunately, one of Steele's longest friendships is with Will Ferrell, one of the most recognizable actors in the world. Thanks to characters like Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby, and Buddy the Elf, he's also a hero to Americans across state lines. After coming out to her closest friends, Steele wanted to take another trip to see the country she loves, but one she recognizes might not love her back anymore. But instead of going at it alone and putting herself in legitimate danger, she has her living comedy legend bestie put his allyship money where his mouth is by joining her. The goal is to not only give Steele a chance to do something she loves with a millionaire-shaped security blanket but also allow the titular Will and Harper the opportunity to figure out what their friendship looks like now.

The result is a charming glimpse at companionship, the growing pains of a well-meaning ally having to reckon with what it is like to love a trans person, and a hopeful reminder that supportive voices exist beyond the progressive bubbles of the coasts.

"Will & Harper" is a film catering to those who likely don't know any trans people outside of those they see in the media, a way for them to see themselves as an everyman like Will Ferrell, learning more about transness and how true friendship can exist beyond the barriers of gender identity. This means people will hail this film as "brave" or "inspiring," which to those who need this "Intro to Trans Friendship 101,' it absolutely is. But for the rest of us, "Will & Harper" is most interesting in how willing the film is to show where Ferrell screws up. In their first big outing together, the duo attend an Indiana Pacers game and wind up on the jumbotron. Governor Eric Holcomb goes out of his way to introduce himself to Ferrell, who poses for pictures with him moments after being shown with Harper.

Holcomb is a well-documented anti-trans legislator, meaning Will Ferrell smiled for photos with someone who actively participates in the oppression of his best friend. Ferrell didn't mean any harm but he quickly realizes his mistake and apologizes profusely. This is not the first time he'll unintentionally bring harm to Harper's door, but the film, and Harper, don't admonish him for it, because he's genuinely trying to do right by his friend. For cis people, this movie makes them understand not only what transness looks like, but also the extent of what supporting a trans person looks like.

Accepting that someone you love is trans is not hard but truthfully letting yourself feel the heaviness of how dangerous it is for trans people to exist and knowing that the love you have for them will never be enough to keep them safe ... is an impossible feeling. Considering Will Ferrell is Will Ferrell, the general public sees him and Harper out and about and makes their voices heard online. Harper reads him aloud some of the nastiest comments people make about them, and you can watch his heart break in real-time. Harper isn't the only person transitioning in this film, because in order to be a better support system for her, Will has to transition how he sees the world and his place within it.

There are a few moments like the Twitter Feed of Despair scene that are pretty bleak, but "Will & Harper" also makes it easy to see how the two became friends in the first place and why their friendship has stood the test of time. These two just get each other, and their constant banter and heartfelt conversations in the car are the best parts of the movie. Ferrell is a natural performer but Steele is a gifted comedy writer. I can't help but wonder that had she not been harboring the weight of her transness on her heart until her 60s, perhaps she would have pursued comedy in front of the camera too.

Our heroic pair are also very aware of their privilege, and make no bones about the fact this trip would look very different had Harper gone alone, or had she gone with someone other than one of the most famous men in America. At one point Harper goes alone into a biker bar in Oklahoma with Confederate army and "F*** Biden" flags on the wall. Will waits outside until Harper feels too uncomfortable without the safety blanket, and it's unsurprising but still a little jarring to see how quickly the room warms up to her once Will's presence serves as the "go-ahead" for people to treat her like a human being. At the same time, this is a documentary with folks carrying cameras, so there's no real way to know how much worse the negative situations could or would have been had people not known they were being documented.

But there are genuine moments of surprise, like when a lively karaoke bar in Peoria, Illinois, or a dirt bike track in the middle of nowhere shows Harper unprompted kindness. It's a comforting reminder that as much as the media loves to paint Appalachia, the Midwest, and the South as a bunch of bigoted idiots, that's simply not true.

"Will & Harper" is a sweet little road trip comedy, even if the "spontaneous" appearances of famous faces constantly pull the film into a "celebrities, they're just like us!" realm of faux-documentary authenticity. But as I predicted when the film was first announced as heading to Netflix, "Will & Harper" is an important film that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. It's not just because cis people need to learn to take a page out of Will Ferrell's book, nor is it because Josh Greenbaum directed an incredibly touching tale of friendship. It's because Harper Steele is exactly the person the world needs more of because she defies all stereotypes about what it means to be trans and/or a Midwest Boomer who happens to be living in New York.

Despite being an Emmy Award-winning writer, Harper Steele has far more in common with the average American than her buddy Will Ferrell, down to her love of Natty Light compared to his penchant for 'some craft beer." Whether she's lobbing one-liners, launching off fireworks, accepting that it really is okay to be pretty sometimes or trying to convince her Iowan sister to eat a "gift" of sour cream and onion Pringles, she's a reminder that there's no "one way" to be trans, which means that anyone from anywhere in America can and likely will know a trans person in their lifetime.

"Will & Harper" knows that just as Ferrell's presence made Steele safer in a few of the less-than-affirming stops on their road trip, the average viewer will tune into this documentary because Will Ferrell is in it. And while it seems silly for me to champion Ferrell for doing something I do literally every day of my life as a cis person married to a trans woman, I'm not ignorant enough to act like this documentary isn't coming at a vital moment in time. When the going gets tough, the tough support their trans friends. Or in the case of Kristen Wiig, write an adorably catchy song on the ukulele for the end credits.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Will & Harper" is now streaming on Netflix.