Are you ready to watch the most important documentary of the year?
Netflix has released the first trailer and key art for its new documentary Will & Harper, which previously screened at Sundance and Telluride to wide acclaim.
The documentary, directed by Josh Greenbaum, follows actor and comedian Will Ferrell and his longtime best friend, writer Harper Steele, as they get to know each other better by taking a road trip across America after Harper came out and transitioned during the pandemic.
Netflix
The two both started working at Saturday Night Live on the same day back in 1995, Ferrell as a new actor and Steele as a writer. From there, Ferrell became a superstar while Steele became the head writer at SNL, later creative director at Funny or Die, and a screenwriter for several of Ferrell's films.
Will & Harper shows the two friends as they "hit the open road together to process this new stage of their friendship and reintroduce Harper to the country that she loves – this time, as herself," the synopsis reads. "Over 16 days, the two drive from New York to LA, visiting stops that are meaningful to them, to their friendship, and to America. Through laughter, tears, and many cans of Pringles, they push past their comfort zones as they re-examine their relationships to these spaces, and to each other, in this new light."
In the trailer, Ferrell talks about how he got a letter from Steele telling him that she was going to transition. Because she was feeling some fears about whether or not America loved her as a trans woman, Ferrell suggested to Steele that he join her on a cross country road trip.
Mixed in with hilarious jokes and riffing between the two best friends is a touching and moving story about friendship and humanity.
In an election season where trans rights are one of the most hotly contested debates in politics, this movie reminds us that trans people are just normal people; they're your neighbor, they're your cousin, they're your best friend. It encourages people to talk openly and earnestly with the trans people they meet and know. Most importantly, it encourages people to listen.
It couldn't come at a better time.
Netflix
Ferrell and Steele are also the latest cover stars of The Advocate where they talk about their friendship, the film, and how being trans in America has changed since they filmed it.
Will & Harper will be in select theaters September 13 and premieres on Netflix on September 27.
