'Will & Harper' is Must See TV

         On September 27, 2024, with a limited theatrical release on September 13, 2024, Netflix releases 'Will & Harper', which has earned rave reviews from critics, currently holding at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the documentary, "When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition." The Critics Consensus reads, "Endearing and heartfelt, Will & Harper is an ode and testament to long-lasting love, acceptance and evolution within a friendship." Read the full review round-up below.

Photo by Frank Okay on Unsplash

        Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast says, "It’s not just that the project is brave and characteristically unusual. It’s that—and please do your best to strip this upcoming phrase from all of its corny, eye-rolling earnestness—the film is an endeavor that could change and even save lives."

       Peter Debruge of Variety notes, "It can sound like a cliché to say that any given movie is what the world needs now, but “Will & Harper” earns that distinction." Concluding, "Over the years, Steele has been the instigator for some of Ferrell’s wackiest gambits, from Spanish-language one-off “Casa de mi Padre” to his 2015 Lifetime movie, “A Deadly Adoption.” Audiences are probably hoping/expecting “Will & Harper” to provide a few zany new scenarios. At one point, when traveling through Texas, the pair stop at a restaurant where Ferrell dons his Sherlock Holmes costume and attempts to finish a 72-ounce steak. It’s not clear what he was thinking, but his idea backfires in a big way. After seeing Ferrell in character, witnesses seemed to confuse what to make of the woman sitting opposite him, attacking the pair on social media (one crank calls Ferrell a “satanic illuminati pedophile,” giving the actor a taste of the hate trans people routinely experience online)."

       Amber Wilkinson of Screen International praises the documentary, stating, "While Will and Harper’s friendship gives the film its strongly beating heart, the casual reactions of strangers often also prove to be moving." Concluding, "It’s interesting that when Harper goes into a dive bar alone, with its pro-Trump posters and Confederate flag, while Will waits anxiously outside, she gets a much more naturalistic welcome. These moments, where Harper is the focus and we can see her gaining confidence to go it alone, are among the film’s most moving. There’s a touching authenticity too, to an encounter at the Grand Canyon with a woman who used to be a therapist, who talks about her own regret for not being more helpful to a trans client....When Harper tells one man at a race track how anxious she was about returning to watch after her transition, he says, simply: “If you enjoy it, come out.” You can’t help feeling the world would be a better and more authentic place, if everyone took that view."