On Thursday, September 19, Netflix held the Los Angeles premiere of the documentary “Will & Harper.”
The film follows Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, close friends who first met 30 years ago while starting at Saturday Night Live together, who reconnect when Steele writes Ferrell a letter telling him that she’s a transgender woman. Together, Will and Harper decide to embark on a two-week road trip across the United States to process this new development in their relationship. The resulting film is an intimate and funny portrait of friendship, transition, and small-town America.
“Will & Harper,” directed by Josh Greenbaum, a friend of Ferrell and Steele’s, and produced by Delirio Films, Warfarer Studios, and Gloria Sanchez Productions, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix shortly following its debut. It has since screened at Telluride and Toronto International Film Festival where GLAAD hosted a panel at the TIFF Industry Conference featuring Steele, alongside other LGBTQ talent, to discuss each of their filmmaking experiences.
TORONTO, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 10 : Andria Wilson Mirza of GLAAD moderates Queer Lens panel at TIFF Industry Conference featuring panelists (L-R) J. Stevens, Alex Farah, Laurie Townshend, Sydney Freeland, and Harper Steele on September 10, 2024 in Toronto, Canada at the . (Photo by Alex Schmider for GLAAD)
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Greenbaum noted the film team’s appreciation for GLAAD being “really helpful in giving [them] feedback as [they were] bringing the film out in the world.”
For The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrell has said support of the film has “blown us away. We’re a little overwhelmed. In our hearts we’re self-loathing comedians, so to have this thing actually work on so many levels and be so funny and have people that we love and like and respect like it so much, it’s been incredible.”
The documentary has received universal acclaim from critics, with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the trans community at large, some of whom attended the premiere in LA, including Bamby Salcedo, Ashlee Marie Preston, Dylan Mulvaney, Jen Richards, Zeke Smith, Sav Rodgers, Leon Wu, Shaan Dasani, and Alex Schmider.
Greenbaum, in reference to the statistic that only 30% of people say they personally know someone who’s trans, “if you don’t know a trans person and you watch this film, now you’ll know Harper and she’s the best.”
At the LA premiere, Steele told the Hollywood Reporter “I don’t know if this movie is going to change hearts and minds, but you have to try to do something with your life and we felt like this might be useful.”
From the reactions and reception so far, the documentary is a strong bet to have major impact.
“Will & Harper” is in select theaters now and premieres Friday, September 27, 2024 only on Netflix.