Will & Harper – New old friends

“Will I be making a completely new friend?”

Will & Harper, a documentary directed by Josh Greenbaum, is an interesting odyssey. Two friends take a cross-country road trip. Along the way they rediscover each other with new perspectives. They also encounter America in ways they have never know before. Because one of the friends has now transitioned to live as a woman.

Will Ferrell first met Andrew Steele, when they arrived at Saturday Night Live the same season. Will was an actor, Andrew a writer, who went on to become head writer of the show. Over the next 30 years, the two became close friends. But not long after the COVID lockdown, where they had little contact, Will received an email that Steele (who hadn’t settled on a name yet) shared that she has transitioned to life as a woman. In order to find out what this would mean for their friendship, Will proposed that they do the road trip.

In many ways, it’s just a basic trip. They make sure to take a couple of chairs and a cooler so they can stop for a beer when they want. They do so at a Walmart parking lot, the Grand Canyon, other places along the way and finally on the beach in Santa Monica. They hit a basketball game in Indianapolis, visit Harper’s sister in Iowa, but mostly it’s two friends on a journey.

One the personal level, it gives Will and Harper (her new name) a chance to see what was the same about their relationship, and what had changed. Harper is open to all Will’s questions about what it was like before and after her transition. Harper occasionally shares sections of her journals from those times. Some of those discussions become humorous, some go to some dark times in Harper’s past. Harper is also open about talking about the self-hatred she had to deal with alone.

It also becomes a look at America, its people, and attitudes. As Andrew, Heather would often drive around the country. She says she loves the country and going to small towns and “shitty bars” to meet new people. But she notes as they start this trip, “I just don’t know it loves me back right now.” At the Pacers game in Indianapolis, the governor comes over for a photo op with Will, later they check to discover that he is one who is not supportive of trans rights. They visit a rural bar in Oklahoma filled with Confederate and pro-Trump flags where Harper goes in alone at first, while Will waits outside in case she needs a rescue. It turns out he finds people who are willing to accept her. But, at a steakhouse in Amarillo, tweets reveal a very ugly side of America.

While the film is a chronicle of this two-person odyssey, it is also a trip to which we have been invited. We get to learn about Harper’s personal journey, just as Will does. And perhaps like Will, we will have a new friend.

Will & Harper streams on Netflix.

Photos courtesy of Netflix