Will and Harper: Humanizing the Trans Experience
Will Ferrell is not a name commonly associated with the queer community. But, suddenly and unexpectedly, Will Ferrell is the ally that the queer community didn’t know we needed. When his bestie, and head writer of Saturday Night Live, Andrew Steele, dropped a bombshell during the pandemic that he was transitioning to a woman, Will Ferrell stepped up. Will and Harper is the story of Harper’s journey into womanhood, settling into her relationship with her longtime friend, Will, and reconnecting with a country that she isn’t sure wants her anymore.
When Harper Steele comes out to Will Ferrell – and everyone else in her life – via email, Ferrell does what every trans person needs their friends to do when they come out: he puts aside his initial shock and steps right up to the plate, offering nothing but love and support to his friend. Will and Harper is so many emotion-inducing things, but this is what the trans community needs right now – an A-list celebrity that no one associates with the queer community actively and staunchly stepping into public allyship.
And that’s exactly what Will Ferrell does in Will and Harper.
While some of the anti-trans rhetoric that is currently circulating the globe stems from unwarranted, blind hatred and bigotry, some of it is also rooted in a lack of understanding and education, an inability to remember the humanity involved in gender transition, and a disconnect from the community. Nothing shifts a person’s potential to empathize and learn about something they don’t understand faster than a loved one standing in front of you embodying that very thing. For Will Ferrell, his journey into allyship was easy, because even though Harper Steele is now a she, this person means a great deal to Will Ferrell and Harper’s transition didn’t change that.
So, in an effort to reconnect with each other and find Harper’s place in the volatile, anti-trans United States of America, Will and Harper get into a car and road trip to all of their favorite places around the country, re-introducing Harper to those places as her new self. It’s no secret that conservative America is experiencing a violent transgender aggression right now, and a lot of the places that Will and Harper travel to in this documentary include some of the most hostile states for trans people right now. There is a hope that Will Ferrell’s notoriety will soften the blow a little for Harper and everyday people in these communities might be more accepting of Harper if they see Ferrell modeling that behavior first.
And their plan is a thriving success in some parts of the country, but in others, not even Will Ferrell and his A-List celebrity comedy career can protect Harper from the trans discrimination. In Illinois, they connect with another person who transitioned later in life and Harper finds solidarity and community in her, they go to Harper’s hometown of Iowa City and stay with Harper’s sister, Eleanor, who showers them both with love and hospitality. They discuss Harper’s coming out and Harper fondly recounts the moment when she came out to Eleanor.
“Oh good,” said Eleanor. “I’ve always wanted a sister!” And that, folks, is how you respond when a loved one tells you they’re transitioning!
In Oklahoma, Harper goes into a dive bar on her own while Will waits out in the car, ready to jump in for support if she needs it. Pulling up to a dive bar in these parts of the country used to be one of Harper’s favorite things to do before she transitioned, but she’s not sure if it’s a safe activity for her anymore. As Harper enters the bar and gets a beer, she stands off to the side and observes. The bar is full of fierce conservatives and there are pro-Trump and confederate flags on the wall, and it doesn’t look like this is going to end well. But then, a group of people in the bar welcomes her into their circle, and all is right once more.
In Texas, however, things don’t go quite so well. They go to a steak house and make a very public entrance, not trying to hide the fact that Will Ferrell is in the house, and it’s not too long before things turn nasty. The restaurant is bursting at the seams with diners and the air turns sour very quickly. People film them and take pictures, and turn to social media to post hateful and threatening comments about Harper being trans. The whole thing is bile-inducing and a very serious reminder that Harper isn’t safe everywhere in the United States of America.
Throughout Will and Harper, Harper candidly shares the details of her closeted life with Will Ferrell and the emotional turmoil she suffered for so long before she allowed herself to accept that she was trans and actually enter an official transition. And it’s this part of the story that is the most important. Watching Will Ferrell come emotionally unstuck as he listens to his friend’s pain is what the larger community needs to see. It humanizes the entire situation and it’s impossible to ignore that Harper Steele is a person who has been hurting for a very long time. Why would anyone wish that upon another human being?
Trans people are human beings, and trans rights are human rights. Although they don’t explicitly say those words, Will and Harper is a documentary that metaphorically screams that mantra from the rooftops. We commend Will Ferrell for doing the right thing, for stepping up to support his loved one, and for deciding to show the entire world that his support is unwavering. This is what the conservative haters need to see right now. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Will Ferrell just made himself the poster boy for this cause. Harper Steele deserves to be loved and Harper Steele deserves to be safe in the country she loves so much.
Pick up a box of tissues, because this one will make you cry, but everyone everywhere needs to watch Will and Harper right now!
Will and Harper is available to stream on Netflix now. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Netflix.
