Directed By Josh Greenbaum

Starring – Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, Colin Jost

The Plot – In this intimate portrayal of friendship, transition, and America, Will Ferrell and his close friend (Steele) of thirty years decide to go on a cross-country road trip to explore a new chapter in their relationship.

Rated R for adult language

Will & Harper | Official Trailer | Netflix (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

For the second time in a month, Netflix has touched on a very vulnerable contemporary topic with the kind of grace and attention that it rightfully deserves, especially in the depths of a world that still refusing to change its selfishness towards the happiness of others. Even in 2024, the trans community is still a very touchy subject, but ‘Will and Harper’ offers an insightful introspective towards one woman’s harrowing journey, and the best friend who refused to turn his back on her, regardless of what has changed between them. This fragility initially feels palpable in their reunion, at the beginning of the film, with Will asking a few questions to break the ice of what feels tender to him to talk about, but once that’s broken, Will and the audience come to understand that Harper is very much the same person that she was in her past life, and the two have an unbreakable chemistry of lived-in history that is among the film’s most endearing qualities, specifically with Ferrell, who feels funnier and sincere than he perhaps has ever been. This keeps the documentary from feeling too serious, or too much of a wet blanket on the societal struggles of Harper adapting to homophobic people who they come across, but beyond that a celebration of their thirty year friendship, which begins in their mutual time spent on Saturday Night Live, complete with unfiltered, never-before-seen footage behind the scenes of the show, before venturing out towards many films that the duo have worked on alongside each other. The comedy is certainly integral to the film’s success, as it’s a candid portrait of two people who share a similar personality, but it isn’t everything between them, as the film gracefully switches to seriously dramatic moments when the two encounter unfriendly confines of America’s darkest corridors or the painful persistence of Twitter, which gives an outlook for prejudicial people to spew their incessant venom. These moments were so difficult to watch, especially for Harper’s own confidence towards coming out, where even Will’s own celebrity couldn’t make the transition any easier, as it ultimately becomes a distraction to the message that the two are trying to instill in spreading awareness, defeating the ages old sentiment that celebrities using their platform for good doesn’t always work beneficially if the people they’re communicating to are so close minded. Geographically, their spontaneous stops presents some surprises along the way, not only with the abundance of familiar faces from the Saturday Night Live ensemble conjuring their thoughts on Harper’s transition, but also the balance of its citizens, with some decent people materializing in the deeply conventional Oklahoma, while some disgusting bigots of Texas. This isn’t a knock on those states particularly, as every place has good and bad people alike, but it is a bigger example of the media controlling the narrative in grouping so many of these parties together, and that realization suddenly strikes Will and Harper without the need for them to dive deeper within their own preconceived perceptions, serving to one of the many profound statements that the film musters between two friends and a windshield. For me, the film pushes an urgent awareness towards the ways we talk and address the trans community that, whether intentional or not, feels disrespectful in the way our lack of compassion towards someone different than us keeps us from proper acknowledgement, and it’s in these nuanced moments of a waiter misidentifying Harper, or admirers of Will completely ignoring her, that screamed the loudest with discontent, proving we have such a long way to go as a country, despite still presenting itself as the land of the free. Technically, Greenbaum definitely asserts himself as the fitting party to follow his titular protagonists every step of the way, not only in knowing Will and Harper for most of their friendship, but also in the way he documents their cross country journey, with a variety of angles and spontaneity in conversations that are stitched together wonderfully with editing consistency. For the visuals, the camera work has a fly-on-the-wall perspective that always seems to be in the right place at the right time, with impeccable framing ranging anywhere from a hot air balloon to the front seat of an automobile, that doesn’t sacrifice depiction for claustrophobia. The soundtrack is also a welcoming addition to the proceedings, as Greenbaum and the production have definitely done their homework on buddy road trip movies of the past, assembling many of the tracks that have been used in some of the best of those films to this highly entertaining engagement. Tom Petty, Sonny and Cher, Canned Heat, and Bob Dylan are just a few of the artists tapped to score this warmly radiant friendship, and while each selection instills the kind of personality needed to enhance the tonal plausibility of each sequence it decorates, they’re all second fiddle to Kristen Wiig’s ‘Friendship song’, which concludes the film on such a hilarious-but-sweetly-sincere afterthought that coincides with many of the unused outtakes of the film’s production. As for the dynamic duo at the forefront of the narrative, the friendship between them couldn’t permeate any effortlessly, but singularly each person brings something beneficial to the delight of the audience, which makes the time spent with them a frequent delight. For Ferrell, it’s obvious that his off-the-wall antics are expected in interacting with so many different Americans, but it’s his compassion towards Harper that is most appealing towards the engagement, unlocking a side to the wacky comedian that we’ve rarely ever gotten to access, all in the way of being a supportive and caring friend in ways that can be felt in the ways he looks and speaks to Harper, which glow with so much admiration. For Harper, there is a bit of an adjusting period that comes between reading the journals of the person she was, with the woman you see before us, but Greenbaum’s greatest strength is in outlining that as much that has changed about her, the most important qualities still remain the same, as nothing feels sacrificed or adjusted in the dynamic of the conversations between her and Ferrell, as a result of her newfound status. Like most friendships, it feels like the two pick up where they last left off, and throughout nearly three weeks of touring America together, the conversations between them feel like they strengthen their friendship with introspective insight in ways that ten years together on a TV show simply never could, concluding the film with an unmistakable air of optimism that cemented this delight.

NEGATIVES

Not much to scoff at creatively here, but at nearly two hours, the film definitely could’ve used more of its minutes to educate the audience on the science and specifics of gender transformation surgery, especially since so many of them will feel alien to the feelings and emotions of what’s discussed in the picture. While I certainly loved spending every minute with this charismatic duo, especially as they commentate against some of America’s trashiest institutions and products, I do wish some time was spent away from them periodically, in order to give context to so many of the uphill challenges that transgendered people endure in a surgery that is every bit as scary as them coming out as a new person to such a misunderstanding world. At 113 minutes, it’s a bit long for most of the documentaries that I experience, and with such a magnifying opportunity to put curious audiences in the shoes of those depicted, I wish the creativity of the film took more time to silence some of the misconceived notions that spring forth so much hate and consequential ignorance.

OVERALL
‘Will & Harper’ is a tenderly compassionate examination about evolving friendships, but beyond that an urgency in empathetic understanding for those labeled as different, who very much deserve the right to freedoms and happiness that once made this country great. In the clutches of an affectionate road trip, two friends find that much has changed between them, but the important things that their unbreakable bond was founded on still remain, with endless laughter, courage, and even Dunkin Donuts utilized to celebrate the love that they have for one another.

My Grade: 9/10 or A