The Will & Harper Scene That Shows the Real Will Ferrell (and Hope for the Future)
Several scenes in Will & Harper reveal the real measure of Will Ferrell, the man, which is an important thing when so much of the culture is turning cruel against the trans community.
Will Ferrell will do anything for the sake of comedy. Wear basketball shorts that ride up to his junk in Semi-Pro? Yup. Dress in a corny Christmas attire to craft a Yuletide classic? Of course! He’ll race cars, mingle with the dinosaurs, and figure skate in effeminate garb just to get a few laughs from the audience at home or in the theater. And yet, nothing Ferrell has done in his career so far has forced him to get as authentically vulnerable as he is when he hops in a public swimming pool with his lifelong friend, Harper Steele, in the last half of Netflix’s new documentary Will & Harper.
The movie follows Will and Harper on a cross-country road trip as the pair rediscover their companionship in the aftermath of Harper’s gender transition from a cis man to a trans woman. Ferrell is willing to learn, listen, and grow as Harper gives him the rundown on the emotional and physical toll of gender dysphoria across the past five decades of her life. Will encourages Harper to be her authentic self, a task that requires an unbelievable amount of susceptibility.
Will levels the playing field, though, when the two stop for a swim by stripping down to an obnoxiously skimpy speedo. This is the first time Harper has been in public so far as a transgender woman in swimwear. Will’s nearly 60-year-old frame is saddled with a pot belly, flabby arms, and unfit legs. The comedian admits he doesn’t like the way he looks but embraces that uncomfortability so Harper can feel at home. You can tell how touched she is by the moment. She knows that Will sees her for who she is now without judgment or condescension. It also allows Ferrell to revel in his typical self-deprecation.
It’s only a two-minute sequence, but it sums up so much of what makes Will & Harper one of the best LGBTQ+ films of this year. Will Ferrell as a transgender rights advocate isn’t something a lot of people would have had on their Hollywood bingo card a decade ago. So much of Ferrell’s humor is embroiled in taboo misogyny and sometimes homophobic rhetoric. Combine that with the actor’s generation (Baby Boomers and Gen X aren’t as accepting of queerness as Millennials and Gen Z), and it makes his efforts to understand something that he typically had never given a second thought before in his life all the more sweet and engrossing for the audience. During a time of intense anti-trans rhetoric, having Will Ferrell as a voice for the victimized is vital.
Will & Harper is coming to audiences during a time when transgender rights are under attack like never before in the United States. 658 anti-trans bills have been legislated across 43 states so far in 2024. Often the people who sign these bills into law have never met a transgender person in their life. Will Ferrell’s journey with Harper Steele should be an inspiration and a template to improve for those who don’t realize how they hurt transgender people with bigotry and hate speech.
During a pit stop in the middle of the film, the duo park some lawn chairs in the sun, and Harper reads some of the most intolerant, despicable social media posts by random people who have seen them making public appearances while filming. “Very important you have another gender bender for the kids to see. It’s so trendy and cool even Will Ferrell’s doing it,” reads one diatribe. “It really sucks that Will Ferrell shows up to his first Pacers game with a trans woman. Who’s that dude?” says another. “Great, a satanic Illuminati pedophile in Iowa,” comes the next.
Harper explains how the cyberbullying of transgender people piles upon itself and results in mental health issues for those on the other end of the hate speech. Will finds it so ridiculous that he doesn’t really have a response to it. How can you answer such vile filth? It’s best to fight bigotry with love and emotional depth. Much like the swimming pool scene, this moment puts Will in the spotlight just as much as it does Harper.
The fans who see the two in restaurants, bars, and sporting events don’t know who Harper is, but they definitely know who Will is. His association with Harper makes him a joke to transphobic America, but the comedian takes it all in stride every time. He possesses strength and courage I certainly didn’t know he had when he’s dressed up as a fake news anchor or voicing Megamind in a DreamWorks classic. That bravery is essential during a time when weaker, ignorant celebrities, such as J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, and tennis legend Martina Navratilova spew negativity toward transgender people on a regular basis on social media.
Will & Harper’s simplistic, yet powerful adventure through America can be symbolized by the humanity in the title. Will Ferrell is one of the most famous comedians in the world. Harper Steele used to be Andrew Steele, who wrote on Saturday Night Live. But in this documentary, they are just Will and Harper. Both people are stripped of their successes and recognition. Instead their appearance reinforces a concept much more real: two friends who love each other. And fans of Will Ferrell finally see a side of him that has been locked away for too long. This is a man who cares deeply about right and wrong. He’s an actor who wants to use his voice to benefit those who can’t be heard. Who’d have thought?
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Shawn is a University of Washington graduate in English Language and Literature. He has been a freelance writer for SUPERJUMP, FanFare, and An Injustice! Mag. He…