Ferrell reunites with former “Saturday Night Live” writer and friend Harper Steele for a cross-country road trip during which the duo discuss Steele’s life since coming out as a transgender woman. The feature premiered at Sundance, where it was picked up by Netflix, and later screened at Telluride, among other festivals.
The official synopsis reads: “Two years ago, 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 Will 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 three decades. 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.”
“Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar” and “Strays” helmer Josh Greenbaum directs the documentary, which takes place over 16 days as Ferrell and Steele drive from New York to L.A. Greenbaum has previously directed acclaimed docs “The Short Game,” “Becoming Bond,” and “Too Funny to Fail.” He has collaborated with producers Delirio Films on numerous projects.
And the “Will & Harper” documentary also isn’t the first time Steele and Ferrell have collaborated together on the big screen: Steele co-wrote “Eurovision Song Contest” and other Ferrell films.
“Every day can be, for anyone who is trans in the world, you really just have to take on the day and be comfortable with who you are,” Ferrell said at IndieWire’s Sundance Studio in January 2024. “The film was a chance for me to see what happened with my friend, or if anything had changed. It was a chance for us to take 17 days on the road, one-on-one, to really kind of dig deeper than just our friendship being in comedy as collaborators, and for me to kind of ask all the questions that I had with my friend who was the first trans person who I had intimately known.”
“As a trans woman, the political side of the movie, I projected a lot of fear on my country,” Steele said during the same interview. “I went out there as a trans woman expecting what our media and what politicians are telling us, which is very hyped up. And what we met out there on the road was that Americans by and large either are not confrontational and don’t give an eff about me, or they are happy to talk about it. Thankfully I found that with help, and not everyone gets help, but I was able to find that. There is still danger out there, absolutely. But I just had to balance that fear with a certain reality that gave me more hope for being in that place that I love, which is all over the country.”
Ferrell, Greenbaum, Jessica Elbaum, Rafael Marmor, and Christopher Leggett produce the film.
“Will & Harper” premieres in select theaters September 13 and will stream on Netflix September 27. Check out the trailer below and read the IndieWire review here.
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