Anthony Bergamini
Will & Harper is a 2024 documentary following Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as they go on a road trip together after Harper reveals that she is now a trans woman. Harper was a long time writer at Saturday Night Live, where she met Will and started a long friendship. The two make various stops across the United States, all with the goal of embarking on a journey or self discovery, with Harper questioning if Will will still be the same friend he was pre-transition, and Will learning how to navigate his long time friend’s new life. But more than anything else, the film depicts the mental journey that Harper goes on as she sees a very familiar world that she loves, fearing that it is unfamiliar with her and may not love her back. All the while, Will is someone who is scared to offend Harper, yet has no sense of what boundaries exist and when his joking can turn into something negative.
These are rough times for many Americans, with Donald Trump being voted into office for a second term. For many, this was an eye-opening moment, with Trump representing the large number of people in the United States and the world that cannot and will not accept trans people for who they are. Will & Harper is the kind of film that may not depict a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to changing the opinion of those who are ignorant and do not understand, but it does show how the people who truly love you will love you no matter who you are.
Throughout the film, Will goes through a series of trials when it comes to the way he speaks with Harper, and how he chooses to share his friendship with others. One of the first roadblocks he hits is when he and Harper are at breakfast and she is referred to as a man. Will gets authentically worried and is almost shocked at how quickly Harper retorts this, reminding the waitress that she is a woman. Harper explains to Will that arguing pronouns with people has been troublesome, but also says at a later point that it all can depend on someone’s intentions. Are they meaningfully referring to her as a man out of anger, frustration, and willful ignorance? Or do they really just not understand?
This idea comes up again later when Will starts growing more comfortable and starts joking with Harper. Harper’s sentiment here is the same, that she knows when Will’s questions are sincere and are coming from the heart and when he is being the Will she knows likes to make jokes to clear the air. This often comes to pass without any issues; however, in one instance, Will learns that he cannot always use his humor to lighten the mood or make an uncomfortable situation feel better.
At one point on the trip, the two end up in Texas where they Will decides to make an attempt to eat a 72-ounce steak. Will and Harper initially see this as another stop on their adventure, but things turn somewhat sour when Will makes his grand entrance dressed as Sherlock Holmes. Will does this as a point to distract from those staring at his friend, but also to make his presence known instead of having people slowly stare in their direction. Once again, this is done with the best intentions; however, it turns into what Will and Harper describe as feeling like they are in a fishbowl. By the time the two leave, Will acknowledges his mistake. Following this, the screen fills with flurries of posts showing the kind of reaction you would expect from folks in Texas when they see a trans woman.
This moment echos one of the first stops the two make when they go to a Pacers game together. At the basketball game, they run into the state governor who asks them a few questions, takes a few pictures, and then leaves. In the ensuing car ride, Will and Harper learn that this governor has been passing anti-trans legislation and is actively transphobic.
These two incidents kind of form a turning point for Will, where he starts to realize why Harper would even start to question if they were still the same friends after her transition. His attempts to act normal in public and draw attention away from her did the exact opposite, unintentionally leaving them in some dangerous situations. This is when the film starts to acknowledge itself, with Harper exclaiming to Will that their experience together on this road trip is completely different from what would have happened if she was alone. His public star power and recognizable face shielded them from a lot of negative and potentially violence that they would have endured.
All of this harkens back to Harper’s journey, as she struggles to continue to love a nation that often rears its ugly head right when she starts to feel welcome. This climaxes in one of the most poignant parts of the film, where Harper reveals that she almost committed suicide multiple times before transitioning; however, after the transition, all she wanted to do was live. The most heartbreaking part of all of this is that Harper finally found happiness in her life after her transition; however, now she has to explain herself to the whole world.
While the road trip did not start as a way for Will to convince the world to accept trans people, it surely turned into him understanding why this is any kind of plight in the first place. At a couple of points in the film, Harper breaks down crying, (sometimes Will does as well) and these are the moments that really show why this journey was worth taking in the first place. Harper explains how her journey started and how many roadblocks she faced. This leads to the most emotional parts of the film where Will and Harper arrive at a house that Harper had purchased in California. This house was purchased with the singular goal of having a place where Harper could dress as a woman and walk around and feel free. But, as she explains, this was a double-edged sword, because even though this house felt like a new start, there were still neighbors and a world around her. In order to embrace this life, she thought would have worked at the time, she would have to essentially partition herself off from the world, essentially still living a secret life behind closed doors.
By the end, the message is clear, sometimes the way we live may not appeal to others and may offend them due to their own, ignorant minded; however, you have to learn to love yourself before you can expect everyone else to. Harper’s deepest fear was being left behind by all her friends and loved ones, but she still took the plunge and transitioned because she knew that’s who she truly was inside. Did everyone fall in line and accept? Not at all. As evident in the film, this is a nation that will cast you out as soon as you do something that is different from what they think is “correct.” But, the people who truly love you, and the people who truly are your friends will make an honest effort to understand. And for Will, that is his journey, a journey of understanding. Yes, he went into it with more of an open mind than most; however, he went into it wanting to learn. And sometimes that is all it takes, a willingness to learn about something you are unfamiliar with. Maybe, if more people were willing to simply listen and learn, the world would change in a more positive direction.
