Written by Kenza Bouhnass-Parra
If you're only able to watch one thing this week, make sure you choose the newly released Netflix documentary Will & Harper (Greenbaum, 2024). Warm, sweet and earnest while being full of depth and nuance, it is a beacon of tenderness that does not shy away from what it means to be a transgender person. From the joyous discoveries and sometimes surprising hopefulness to the complicated discussions and dangerous situations being a transgender person in American society's today.
Audiences follow Will Ferrell and his close friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as a trans woman, as they go coast to coast across the United States. This journey gives Harper the opportunity to rediscover places across the country as her true self, but also for the two friends to have an in depth discussion about their friendship and find their new grounds.
At its core Will & Harper is a documentary about self-acceptance. Yet it is also about the acceptance of others, the openness to change, and learning to rediscover someone without any judgement or holding on to pre-conceived knowledge of this person. Both Will and Harper have questions for one another, both are not quite sure where the other stands nor how they should behave. Should everything remain exactly as it were? Should they rebuild their dynamic from the ground up? As the audience, we are privy to very personal conversations and Harper doesn’t shy away from any subject or question Will might have. The journey to coming out, the fears and shame, the not so admirable things Harper has done to reach a point of accepting herself, hormones, surgery, dating… nothing is spared. Their friendship is dissected to the bone. Yet a deep sense of respect and love remains.
A very interesting aspect of the documentary is the parallel between the exposition they experience because of Harper being a trans woman, and the one they get because of Will Ferrell’s fame. I also could not help but constantly be aware of the cameras following them and think about how different the experience would be if Will wasn’t famous, a situation that they actually tackle and learn to navigate. It is worth noting that the documentary is entirely Harper’s. While Will never disappears, he makes sure the focus is on his friend, where she can express herself fully and wholeheartedly, despite the attention of strangers gravitating towards him. Will, however, also uses his fame to allow Harper to challenge herself knowing that someone has her back.
As they cross the different states, and drive deeper into America, the discussions follow the same paths. The audience accompanies the two friends and joins into their rollercoaster of emotions. Their deep friendship of more than 30 years allows them to quite easily go from tears to laughters, roasts to declarations of love, creating a bubble of safety of comfort.
And when I got out of the screening the only thing I wanted to do was hug my best friend and pray that in 30 years we would have created such deep friendship that I knew she would drive me around the world so I could feel at home with myself.
Will & Harper is now streaming on Netflix!
Photo credits to TIFF, Netflix, Vanity Fair and Los Angeles Times.
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