Unlike Cannes and Venice, Sundance is not a film festival that elicits too many standing ovations. But moviegoers at the Eccles Theater were moved (more than once!) to stand and applaud after the premiere of “Will & Harper,” a funny, heartbreaking and poignant documentary about Will Ferrell dating his longtime friend Harper Steele road trip, who changed at the age of 61.
“Look at this! And this is for a documentary,” Ferrell said as he greeted the packed house in Park City on Monday night. “Wow! If we were going to be at Sundance, we thought it would be at a 10 a.m. screening in a garage.”
“Will & Harper” chronicles the duo over 17 days as they drive from New York to California, making pit stops at basketball games, dive bars, “swanky” restaurants in Las Vegas and other places Steele hopes to hang out since coming out -out to feel more comfortable as a trans woman in 2022.
Along the way, they're greeted by many “Saturday Night Live” veterans, including Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig and Molly Shannon, which is fitting because Ferrell and Steele met while working on “SNL” — as a cast member and writer, respectively the 90s. (“They were important to my transition; they are my family,” Steele said of her “SNL” friends.)
“The love of these two friends for each other fills me,” said misty-eyed director Josh Greenbaum during a question-and-answer session after the screening. “I am so grateful for this moment. I'll get it together and-“
“Answer the question,” Ferrell jokingly interjected, wiping tears from his eyes as he took the stage.
Although Greenbaum is known for zany comedies like “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar” and “Strays,” Steele says the director felt the right person to treat this documentary with love, care and sensitivity. “Will & Harper” captures serious and emotional conversations about being transgender, but also offers plenty of levity through comedic moments involving Pringles, crazy costumes and a fateful trip to Dunkin' Donuts.
“We're comedy writers, so we had a lot of bad ideas at first. “We were planning setups and it felt weird, jokey and fake,” Steele said. “We said, 'Let's get in the car and see what happens.'”
Ferrell, who made a name for himself in America with comedies like “Elf,” “Step Brothers” and “Anchorman,” wanted to show a more personal side in the documentary. During conversations with Steele throughout the film, he burst into tears more than once.
“I felt like if we were going to be a part of this and do it with integrity, I owed it to Harper to be as open and emotionally ready for what was going to happen,” Ferrell said.
Steele said she was inspired to make the documentary at a time when LGBTQ rights were under attack in the United States.
“I had this friend – this is my privilege – who made films that appealed to a wide audience. That was the deciding factor… I could use this relationship for good,” she joked. “I still don’t think Will knows what he did.”
Ferrell spoke to Variety ahead of the film's premiere and admitted he had “no idea” about the trans community before Steele came out.
“I had met transgender people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life,” Ferrell said. “So this was all new territory for me. For us in the cis community, it’s a chance to ask questions, listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”