The road trip Harper Steele takes with her old friend Will Ferrell after telling him she's coming out as a transgender woman is paved with their long-standing, solid friendship and fueled by honesty and love.
Josh Greenbaum's documentary follows them on a journey that sees them explore what, if anything, this changes in the nature of their friendship while also providing Harper with a companion as she enters some male-dominated spaces she hasn't returned to since coming out.
Director: Josh GreenbaumStars: Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, Tina Fey
The fact that Will isn't just any companion, but someone who attracts, often deliberately, significant attention wherever he goes means that it's sometimes hard to tell how genuine all the encounters are. However, the heartfelt nature of the film, coupled with Will's presence, should mean that distributors see plenty of potential for a much wider audience than would normally engage with this topic after its Sundance screenings in the festival's premiere section. their friendship and, to a lesser extent, the everyday problems trans women face while doing their thing, as Greenbaum films them on the road.
There’s a winning intimacy in the exchanges in the car or when they just plop down a couple of camping chairs everywhere from a supermarket parking lot to the edge of the Grand Canyon. The conversation often moves from back-and-forth banter to more serious topics as Harper embraces Will’s curiosity about her life and reveals her own anxieties and hopes for the future.
In addition to chatting, Harper also reads excerpts from journals she kept before her transition, including a particularly grueling encounter with an unsympathetic therapist. Harper says one of the important elements of the trip is trying to visit places like the bars she used to love without having to hide her authentic self. While there’s no question about Will’s commitment or support for his friend, this is where situations occasionally feel forced.
At a barbecue restaurant, for example, Harper, who seems ready for a perfectly normal night out, suddenly finds herself joined by Will in full Sherlock Holmes regalia. While it was no doubt intended as a joke, the result is that they attract far more attention than they surely would have otherwise, especially after Will orders a huge steak that is supposed to be eaten within an hour. To be fair to the comedian, he realises his mistake when even he starts to feel obviously uncomfortable. He breaks down in tears the next day in a touching exchange between him and Harper that illustrates the depth of their friendship. The wave of online abuse they attract is a sad reminder of how conducive social media can be to hate.
It is interesting that when Harper walks into a seedy bar alone, with its pro-Trump signs and Confederate flag, while Will waits anxiously outside, she receives a much more naturalistic welcome. These moments, when Harper is the center of attention and we can see her gain confidence to go it alone, are among the most moving in the film. There is also a touching authenticity in an encounter at the Grand Canyon with a woman who used to be a therapist, who speaks of her own regret at not being more helpful to a trans client.
While the friendship between Will and Harper gives the film its strong momentum, the casual reactions of strangers are also touching. When Harper tells a man at a racetrack how eager she was to see the film again after her transition, he simply replies, “If you enjoy it, come out.” You can’t help but feel that the world would be a better, more authentic place if everyone embraced that view.
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