Road Trips, Friendships, and Navigating Rural Spaces

Will & Harper is a 2024 documentary directed by Josh Greenbaum that follows Will Ferrel and his friend Harper Steele as the two go on a 17-day road trip across the U.S. The purpose of the trip is to reintroduce Harper to the U.S. after her transition and allow Will to learn more about his close friend post-transition. In 2021, Harper Steele sent out an email to her close friends coming out as a transgender woman. To become more acquainted with this version of his friend, Will offered to go on a road trip across the U.S. with Harper. During this road trip, the two visit “...some places that Steele fears would be unsafe for her to visit alone as a trans woman.” (Gross 2024) For example, the two visit a Mecca and Pacers game in Indianapolis, a bar and dirt track in Oklahoma, and a Texas steakhouse. The two also visit places of importance to Harper and Will, such as Studio 8H, Washington D.C., and Harper's childhood home in Iowa City. 

Before transitioning, Harper frequently traveled by herself across the U.S., visiting bars, small towns, and sports events. However, after transitioning, these things that Harper enjoyed have become unsafe. So, by doing these activities with Will, Harper is able to experience things she previously enjoyed while also having a safety net. As Harper mentions at the beginning of the film, she loves America, she just isn’t sure it loves her back right now. However, over the course of the film Harper learns that although there are some places that remain unwelcoming, there are still places where she can find community. 

The documentary received generally positive feedback, with one reviewer stating the film is “...a revelatory and daringly honest look at the evolving relationship between its two subjects…” (Allen 2024) Many other reviews share this sentiment, highlighting the friendship between Will and Harper as a strong aspect of the film. In November of 2024, the documentary received a Critic’s Choice Documentary Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature, with the film being nominated for several other awards. Like many other reviewers, I found the film to be heartwarming. Harper struggles with connecting to activities she participated in before transitioning, but she faces them head-on. While watching the film, I found her openness about her transition admirable. Whenever anyone asks her or Will about the road trip, they always tell the truth about its purpose: to reintroduce Harper to the U.S. post-transition. If I were in her position, I’m not sure I would be as open. 

While watching the film, I noticed two themes emerging. First, to act as a teaching tool for others, and second, to address queer people and communities within rural areas. As Giroux wrote in his article Breaking into the Movies: Pedagogy and the Politics of Film, films can act as teaching tools for audiences, and Will & Harper is no exception. Audience members are able to learn from the film, specifically through Will’s experience. As Samantha Allen writes in her review of the film: 

“Ferrell may be a celebrity, but he models what many Americans have gone through this past decade, figuring out how to accept a trans loved one with no guidebook. That process, much like the film that was made about it, is beautiful, messy, and perfectly imperfect.” 

Throughout the film, Harper encourages Will to ask her whatever questions he may have about her transition, stating that she’s comfortable answering them because Will is her friend. This gives the message to the audience that it is alright to ask questions, as long as who they are asking questions to is comfortable sharing. 

The second theme of the film is addressing the experiences of being queer in rural areas. While road-tripping before her transition, Harper would often visit small, rural towns and go to the town's bars, chatting with whoever she would meet. However, after her transition, she felt like it would be unsafe to do so. While there are rural areas that are unsafe for queer people, this idea mainly stems from metronormativity. As the In Plain Sight documentary website points out, “Metronormative thinking links welcoming, safe, and liberated with the city and dangerous, homophobic, and closeted with the rural.” This way of thinking is popular, and something Harper struggles with throughout the film. Although some places were unwelcoming, such as the Texan restaurant Will regrets going to (Tietz 2024), other places were surprisingly welcoming. 

For example, there is a scene in the film where Will and Harper visit a small town in Oklahoma. The two decide to head to a bar, with Harper entering alone first, much like Harper would have done before she transitioned, and Will a phone call away in case Harper needs help. When Harper enters the bar, there is an air of tension, something both she and the audience feels. The camera pans to show the bar, which has a confederate flag and a “Fuck Biden” flag on its walls. It is safe to say the tension increases. We assume that the worst is about to come, yet Harper pushes forward, ordering a drink and talking openly with patrons about her transition. Soon, the tension eases, and she begins to talk and laugh with other patrons, and she invites Will in. What we as the audience assume will be a tense and possibly dangerous situation ends up being a surprisingly pleasant one, with other patrons sharing with Will how they have queer friends they are trying to support. This scene goes against metronormative thinking, showing that even in rural, conservative places, queer people can find community. 

Will & Harper is a joyous documentary that is able to bring its audience along on a cross-american road trip filled with teaching moments, both for cisgender and transgender audiences. Will acts as a guide for cisgender audiences who may have transgender friends they want to understand better. And Harper, at least to me, is able to teach transgender audiences authenticity and bravery. Harper’s dedication to being her true, authentic self, even in conservative and rural areas, is something I strive to emulate. Although I am out to my immediate family, I have other family members who live in rural Iowa that I am not out to. My fear of coming out to them is something Harper shares, although her fear is regarding participating in activities she previously did. Both of us are affected by metronormative thinking, wondering if it is safe to be ourselves in these rural areas and with the people who live in these areas. However, as Harper experienced, not everyone in these rural areas are unsupportive. The only way to find out is to put yourself out there, which can be difficult and sometimes dangerous. Having a support system, like how Harper had Will, is a great way to try and navigate rural spaces while still being safe.

Works Cited

Allen, Samantha. “‘Will & Harper’ Is a Daringly Honest Look at Trans Belonging in America.” Them, Them., 12 Sept. 2024, www.them.us/story/will-and-harper-review-will-ferrell-harper-steele-netflix-documentary-review.  

“Concepts and Definitions.” In Plain Sight, www.inplainsightdocumentary.com/concepts-and-definitions. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024. 

Giroux, Henry A. “Breaking into the Movies: Pedagogy and the Politics of Film.” JAC, vol. 21, no. 3, 2001, pp. 583–98. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20866426.  Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Gross, Terry. “‘Will & Harper’ Navigate Transition and Friendship in a Cross-Country Road Trip.” NPR, NPR, 7 Oct. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/10/07/nx-s1-5140106/will-ferrell-harper-steele-transition-road-trip.  

Tietz, Kendall. “Will Ferrell Regrets Awkward Texas Restaurant Visit after Co-Star Booed for Trans Rights Toast.” New York Post, Fox News, 5 Oct. 2024, nypost.com/2024/10/05/entertainment/will-ferrell-regrets-awkward-texas-restaurant-visit-after-trans-co-star-haper-steele/.