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Will & Harper

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Will & Harper
Release poster
Directed byJosh Greenbaum
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZoë White[1]
Edited byMonique Zavistovski[1]
Music byNathan Halpern[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • January 22, 2024 (2024-01-22) (Sundance)
  • September 13, 2024 (2024-09-13) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Will & Harper is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Josh Greenbaum and following Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as the duo made a 17-day road trip across the United States, the latter having recently completed a gender transition. It was produced by Jessica Elbaum, Ferrell, Greenbaum, Christopher Leggett, and Rafael Marmor.

Will & Harper premiered at the 40th Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2024, received a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 13, and began streaming worldwide on Netflix on September 27.[3] It received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the top 5 documentary films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.[4]

Synopsis

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In 2021, Will Ferrell was filming a movie when he received a most surprising email: his dear friend of nearly 30 years was coming out to him as a trans woman. That friend was Harper Steele, a writer he met on his first day at Saturday Night Live back in 1995. From that fateful first meeting in the halls of 30 Rock, Will knew he had found a match made in comedy, and their friendship and creative partnership would only continue to grow over the next 3 decades.

In 2023, as the documentary begins, Steele and Ferrell briefly meet up with Steele's two daughters at a restaurant before setting out on a road trip. They start in New York City, where they visit Studio 8H and have a reunion with SNL cast and alum Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Colin Jost, Paula Pell, and Tim Meadows.[5] Tim Meadows recalls receiving an email from Steele in which she opens up about being trans, which Meadows initially took as a joke based on what he knew about Steele's humor.

Following is a trip to Washington DC, and a stop at Beech Grove, Indiana. There, they attend an Indiana Pacers game where they encounter Eric Holcomb. Ironically, they hear an announcement that Governor Holcomb has signed into law a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in Indiana in 2023.[6] Additionally, they hear other reports of the 2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States.

In Peoria, Illinois, they meet another woman Dana who has received gender-affirming care at a later stage of life like Harper Steele. Dana explains that she sought counseling to cope with the hardship of the mismatch between her own conception of her female gender and others who were telling her that she was male.

Their next stop is Meeker, Oklahoma. Next, they go to a steakhouse in Amarillo, Texas where the social media comments are revealed to be replete with profanities, mis-genderings, and prejudice against Harper. Will dressed as Sherlock Holmes in the hopes of getting a laugh out of the audience, but as an unintentional consequence also drew the attention to Harper and her trans identity. Though Ferrell now looks back on the encounter as being extremely transphobic, he was unable to resonate with Steele's fears in the moment.[7]

Everyone crowds around Will Ferrell because of his worldwide fame.

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. 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.

Cast

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Production

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Comedian Will Ferrell and writer Harper Steele met at the American sketch comedy television program Saturday Night Live where Ferrell was a cast member for several years;[8] they later co-wrote Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.[9] Steele reached out to Ferrell among other friends during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 to inform them of her intention to go through gender transition. Steele said that "I should've made that decision 40 years ago. But I wouldn't have had you guys; I wouldn't have gotten hired [at Saturday Night Live]. I would have had a completely different life."[10]

Ferrell helped produce the film, documenting a road trip the two subsequently took, alongside Jessica Elbaum, Christopher Leggett, and Rafael Marmor. The filmmakers initially considered deliberately creating comedic moments, but decided to let funny moments occur spontaneously instead.[10]

Release

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The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.[8] In February 2024, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.[11] It was also played at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2024.[12]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 90 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Endearing and heartfelt, Will & Harper is an ode and testament to long-lasting love, acceptance and evolution within a friendship."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]

The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called the film, "A Transcendent Road Trip," and summarized that, "A documentary about Will Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele brought the house down" at the Sundance Film Festival.[15] At Collider, Taylor Gates rated this an 8 out of 10 and characterized it as a "must-watch", praising the principals' openness and the mixture of educational and entertainment elements, but critiquing the pacing.[16] The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon opined that this film will save lives for being "brave and characteristically unusual".[17] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian rated this film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "there are enough earned moments of piercing sadness and shaggy humour that those that feel more engineered can distract, the film trying to force itself into the structure of something it doesn’t need to be, pushing us away just after we’ve been pulled in close".[18] Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter stated that the film "works because, at its core, the doc is a tribute to Ferrell and Steele’s evolving friendship" and that the pair's "level of honesty keeps the conversations grounded and helps the documentary avoid turning Steele into a prop for Ferrell’s education".[19] Lauren Wissot of IndieWire graded this work a B−, stating that the narrative is "admirable and understandable" but "trapped in a mushy middle state, forever prevented from rising to the level of either great drama or great comedy".[20]

In a capsule review out of Sundance, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praised Greenbaum's direction and continued that the film shows "a pure, true companionship here that should serve as a reminder to call that person in your life who might need someone to talk to".[21] In Rolling Stone David Fear called Will & Harper "a portrait of a friendship and how the fundamentals of a deep and lasting bond doesn’t change even when the people within it do" that is "flawed" but "priceless".[22] Writing for United Press International, Fred Topel ended his review calling this "a touching journey with two friends sharing laughs that can help start more conversations amongst people Steele and Ferrell will never meet".[23] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that "It can sound like a cliché to say that any given movie is what the world needs now, but Will & Harper earns that distinction. Struggling to recognize her own beauty in a society that often seems determined to deny her identity altogether, Steele brings the trans experience down to earth. Meanwhile, by accepting his fledgling gal pal on her own terms—and asking how to make her more comfortable in her own skin—Ferrell sets the best kind of example. We should all be so lucky as to have friends like these."[24] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture ended his review: "The film’s familiarity may well be part of its design. It clearly wants to help change hearts and minds, and find purchase with audiences that would otherwise avoid a movie with a subject like this."[10]

Accolades

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Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Toronto International Film Festival September 15, 2024 People's Choice Award: Documentaries Will & Harper Runner-up [25]
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 10, 2024 Best Documentary Feature Will & Harper Won[a] [26][27]
Best Director Josh Greenbaum Nominated
Best Score Nathan Halpern Nominated
Best Cinematography Zoë White Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 20, 2024 Best Original Score – Documentary Nathan Halpern Nominated [28]
Best Original Song – Documentary Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig & Josh Greenbaum ("Harper and Will Go West") Nominated
National Board of Review December 4, 2024 Top 10 Documentaries Will & Harper Won[b] [29]
Astra Film Awards December 8, 2024 Best Documentary Feature Nominated [30]
Astra Creative Arts Awards December 8, 2024 Best Original Song Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig & Josh Greenbaum ("Harper and Will Go West") Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 8, 2024 Best Documentary Will & Harper Nominated [31]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 9, 2024 Best Documentary Nominated [32]
St. Louis Film Critics Association December 15, 2024 Best Documentary Feature Nominated [33]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle December 15, 2024 Best Documentary Feature Nominated [34]
Seattle Film Critics Society December 16, 2024 Best Documentary Film Nominated [35]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association December 18, 2024 Best Documentary Film 3rd place [36]
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards January 11, 2025 Best Documentary Pending [37]
Cinema Eye Honors January 9, 2024 Audience Choize Prize Pending [38]
The Unforgettables Harper Steele Won
American Cinema Editors Awards January 18, 2025 Best Edited Documentary (Theatrical) Monique Zavistovski Pending [39]
Alliance of Women Film Journalists TBA Best Documentary Film Will & Harper Pending [40]

Notes

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  1. ^ Tied with Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
  2. ^ This award does not have a single winner, but recognizes multiple films.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Will & Harper". Sundance Film Festival. n.d. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Will & Harper (15)". British Board of Film Classification. August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Buenahora, Andrés (September 5, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Trailer: Will Ferrell's Best Friend Came Out as Transgender, So They Took a Road Trip to Rediscover Each Other". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "2024 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "'Will & Harper': Watch the Emotional, Hilarious 'SNL' Reunion". The Daily Beast. September 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Rodgers, Arleigh (April 5, 2023). "Indiana, Idaho governors sign bans on gender-affirming care". AP.
  7. ^ Marchese, David (September 7, 2024). "Change Can Be Beautiful. Just Ask Will and Harper". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b Sharf, Zack; Donnelly, Matt (January 21, 2024). "Will Ferrell Had 'Zero Knowledge' About the Trans Community. Then His Best Friend of 30 Years Came Out: 'This Was All New Territory for Me'". Film > News. Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Ryan, Patrick (January 23, 2024). "Will Ferrell's best friend came out as trans. He decided to make a movie about it". Movies. USA Today. Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Ebiri, Bilge (January 23, 2024). "In Will & Harper, Two Friends Talk". Sundance 2024. Vulture. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  11. ^ Rubin, Rebecca; Lang, Brent (February 1, 2024). "Netflix Buys Will Ferrell's Sundance Doc 'Will & Harper,' About Road Trip With Trans Best Friend". Film > Festivals. Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  12. ^ "Will & Harper". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Will & Harper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "Will & Harper". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Dargis, Manohla (January 26, 2024). "At Sundance, a Transcendent Road Trip and Other Reasons to Love Movies". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Gates, Taylor (January 24, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Review: Will Ferrell Shows Comedians How It's Done | Sundance 2024". Movie Reviews. Collider. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Fallon, Kevin (January 24, 2024). "Will Ferrell's Road Trip Movie With His Trans Best Friend Will Save Lives". Reviews. The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  18. ^ Lee, Benjamin (January 23, 2024). "Will & Harper review – Will Ferrell's charming trans road trip documentary". Reviews. The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (January 23, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Review: Will Ferrell and Harper Steele Charm Their Way Through an Endearing Road Trip Doc". Movies > Movie Reviews. The Hollywood Reporter. ISSN 0018-3660. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Wissot, Lauren (January 23, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Review: Will Ferrell Gets a Crash Course on Trans People During a Cross-Country Road Trip with One of His Oldest Friends". Film. IndieWire. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Tellerico, Brian (January 23, 2024). "Sundance 2024: Will & Harper, Look into My Eyes, War Game". Festivals & Awards. RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Fear, David (January 23, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Follows Will Ferrell and His Trans Best Friend Harper Steele Across a Divided America". TV & Movies > TV & Movies Reviews. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  23. ^ Topel, Fred (January 23, 2024). "Sundance movie review: Will Ferrell, Harper Steele doc opens trans conversations with laughs". Movies. United Press International. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  24. ^ Debruge, Peter (January 23, 2024). "'Will & Harper' Review: Will Ferrell Goes the Distance for an Old Friend After Learning That She's Trans". Film > Reviews. Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  25. ^ Steve Pond, "‘The Life of Chuck’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". TheWrap, September 15, 2024.
  26. ^ Lewis, Hilary (October 14, 2024). "'Sugarcane' Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  27. ^ Lewis, Hilary (November 10, 2024). "Critics Choice Documentary Awards: 'Super/Man' and 'Will & Harper' Tie for Best Feature". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Willman, Chris (November 6, 2024). "Hollywood Music in Media Awards Noms Led by 'Emilia Pérez' and 'Blitz,' With Elton John, Hans Zimmer and Scores More Among the Nominees". Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  29. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (December 4, 2024). "'Wicked' and Jon M. Chu Win Big with the National Board of Review — See the Full List". IndieWire. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  30. ^ Pond, Steve (November 25, 2024). "'Wicked' Leads Nominations for Astra Film Awards". TheWrap. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  31. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 8, 2024). "The 2024 Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  32. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 6, 2024). "The 2024 San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  33. ^ "The 2024 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "2024 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) Nominations". AwardsWatch. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  35. ^ Josh (December 6, 2024). "Seattle Film Critics Society announce 2024 nominees". The SunBreak. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  36. ^ "Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association – Official site of the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association". December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  37. ^ Lewis, Hilary (November 20, 2024). "Movies for Grownups Awards: 'Conclave' Leads With 6 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  38. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 24, 2024). "Cinema Eye Honors: 'Girls State', 'Ren Faire' Lead Broadcast Nominees; Audience Choice Award Longlist Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  39. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 28, 2024). "Jon M. Chu, Maysie Hoy And Paul Hirsch Set For ACE Eddie Awards Honors". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  40. ^ "The 2024 EDA Award Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
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