January 10, 2025 – Not everyone gets Will Ferrell's brand of humor, and Will more or less admits that in this film. He was not regarded as funny by many of those on Saturday Night Live when he joined the cast, but SNL writer Andrew Steele immediately embraced his brand of humor.

I am one of those who are put off by Ferrell's brand of humor, except for a couple of movies he made over the years that I do like, “Old School” (2003) and “Stranger Than Fiction” (2006). Now, “Will & Harper” makes three. This movie is a documentary about two old friends, Will and Harper, on a cross country road trip.

Road trip movies are usually interesting anyway, but this one has more going for it, two comedians in the car, added to the fact that Steele (who changed his first name from Andrew to Harper) has recently decided to become a woman after 60 years as a man. The idea of the road trip is that it is kind of a coming out trip for Steele, as well as a way for Will Ferrell to get used to the idea of Steele as a woman.

Presenting this movie as a road trip of two old friends getting re-acquainted, and exploring the transsexual landscape of America works pretty well, but they can't hide the fact that they decided to make a movie out of this trip. They can't always hide the cameraman, cameras, microphones and everything else that makes this seemingly intimate road trip more public than private.

The idea that you are getting the real reactions of people to the newly-transitioned Harper Steele iss weakened by the fact that the movie crew itself is attracting attention. Will's fame also attracts attention to himself as well as to Harper. This traveling circus attracts quite a crowd at times. Attempts to edit these distractions out of the movie don't always work.

In addition to having two funny guys in the car, you also have what seems to be a genuinely warm reception to Harper wherever he goes on this trip, except for Texas, where he gets the cold shoulder, and a lot of hate Tweets. For most of the trip, people seem willing to accept Harper more or less the way he wants to be recognized.

The relationship between Will and Harper seems to be deep and warm, even if it is a bit awkward at times because of the changes that Harper has been going though on his own, until recently. There is a meeting with Harper's children early in the trip that reveals some of these emotions.

A trip to a house that Harper bought in secret, where he could hide away and be himself is one of the emotional high points of the movie, along with Will apologizing for a restaurant stunt in Texas that did not work as planned. A Native American serenade to Harper at an Oklahoma bar deeply touches Harper. There is also a visit to Harper's sister, who tells him she always wanted a sister.

Will and Harper, and a lot of other people come across as genuinely nice people in this movie. There are some trolls, of course, insulting them from the scummy anti-social media depths of the internet. There are no angry face-to-face confrontations. That would be interesting. Will is a big dude, and he says he knows jujitsu (unless that is just a joke). Harper is pretty big, too. They might give as good as they take.

This is a warm and funny movie about navigating friendship in a changing political and social landscape. It is instructive to a certain extent. I learned some things about what Harper is going through, and got a new appreciation for Will Farrell. I even appreciated Will's extended Dunkin' Donuts joke. This movie rates a B.

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