A couple weeks ago during a phone call with my boyfriend we decided to watch a movie; however, per usual, we were struggling to find one that sparked our interest. A few weeks prior, I had stumbled upon a trailer for this documentary with Will Ferrell, about this road trip he takes with his best friend, Harper Steele, who recently came out as transgender. Ever since seeing the trailer I had been itching to watch it, and before I knew it, we started playing it. I knew that this documentary would move me, as I have always been a sucker for films about friendship and love. But nothing could have prepared me for the true work of art that is Will Ferrell and Harper Steele’s documentary, “Will and Harper”.
The film opens up with Will Ferrell and Harper Steele discussing the moment Harper had come out as a trans woman during the COVID-19 lockdown, and how Will received the news via email. Before they knew it, they were making a plan to do a cross-country road trip together, revisiting what used to be Harper’s favorite places, before her transition. They wanted to see how her perception of and experience with these places had changed, if at all.
I think the most emotional piece of the documentary for me, and something that seemed to be scattered throughout the film, was this idea that for Harper’s entire life, she did not feel like she belonged. She would feel free in wearing her sister’s clothes, and her former partner’s clothes. But those were her only moments of air. She was miserable for the 50 plus years she lived as a man, yet the second she came out, she was the happiest version of herself. That is the aspect of this film that still, to this day, struck something in me to the point where I simply had to write about it.
These right-wing, extremely and dangerously conservative politicians are creating laws that restrict transgender people from basically existing. All Harper has ever wanted is to feel comfortable in her own skin. That is all any transgender person has wanted, but these inhumane “leaders” are trying to take that desire and freedom away from them. This film shows us something we should have already known: transgender people should not be vilified for finally having the courage to become the person they have always wanted to be. And I love the ways in which this film beautifully validates the transgender experience.
But the element of the film that really struck an emotional chord for me was friendship, which seems to be the backbone of the entire story. Will and Harper, having met on the set of Saturday Night Live in the beginning of the Will’s career, have clearly always shared a very comedically tied bond with each other. Anyone knows, whether it be watching him in The Office or his unbelievably funny performance in Elf and Daddy’s Home, that Will Ferrell has a true ability to make people laugh. And through this film, I learned that Harper Steele used to be one of the head writers of SNL. She saw something in Will that no one else on that set did; she knew he was funny. Thus, their friendship really started through and due to comedy.
However this film, more than anything, shows that their friendship is so much more than that. I was fascinated to see two comedic beings in a more emotional and vulnerable light, and a scene that to me is the cornerstone of the documentary is a moment after Will and Harper had attended a Pacer’s basketball game. The governor of Indiana (who I now strongly dislike), was also at the game, and was insistent on taking a picture with Will Ferrell. Will even told him what he and Harper were doing in Indiana; how they were on a road trip for Harper’s transgender and post-transition experience. After the fact, they found out that he was anti-trans. When in the car, Will breaks down in tears because he seemed to have felt semi-responsible. You could tell in that moment how much Will just wanted to protect Harper, and how much he truly loved her. I still think about that scene to this day, and was one of the parts that led me here, to write about it.
I strongly encourage that whoever is reading this article, if you haven’t already, to watch “Will and Harper”. I support transgender lives not because I am looking to be applauded, but because I am a decent human being, and wish for everyone to feel fully comfortable in themselves and their identity. And to watch a film that brings light to the transgender experience and gives a transgender woman recognition that all trans lives deserve, left me, like I have said countless times now, thinking and thinking (and thinking some more). I seriously am considering watching the film again tonight. Who wants to join me?!
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