150 Word Review: 'Will & Harper' (2024)
Joy ride
In the moving, loose-limbed documentary Will & Harper, Harper comes out as a trans woman to her old friend Will Ferrell, who she met over thirty years ago on the set of SNL, back when he was a cast member and she was a writer. Will accepts Harper immediately, even if he doesn't fully understand her journey. So, a bonding cross-country road trip is proposed.
Director Josh Greenbaum mostly gets out of the way of Will and Harper, who are both experienced improvisers. There are moments when their schtick almost wears out its welcome. Eventually, a few powerful scenes emerge: in one, Ferrel is oblivious to Harper's fears during an ill-conceived bit in a Texas steakhouse and, later, the pair visit a dilapidated shack Harper had purchased years before coming out, a remote safe place where she planned to be herself, alone with her secret, far away from loved ones.