Will Ferrell and Harper Steele asked Netflix to release ‘Will & Harper’ before US electon
This past week, viewers on Netflix have been moved by the release of Will & Harper, a brand-new documentary film starring Will Ferrell and Harper Steele. The film itself sees the former Saturday Night Live stars embark upon a cross-country road trip, along the way discussing Steele’s recent transition and coming-out as a transgender woman. The pair approached Netflix and demanded that the film be released prior to the US election on November 5th.
After premiering at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Will & Harper toured around various film festivals before finally being released onto Netflix earlier this week. Although, on a surface level, the film simply follows two comedians as they travel across the United States, the theme of Steele’s transition, and her friends and family coming to terms with that change, are unavoidable.
At the film’s Los Angeles premiere, ahead of its release onto Netflix, Ferrell spoke openly about the documentary and its aims. “When we sat down with Netflix,” he shared to Variety, “we made it clear that we wanted this out before the election.”
He explained, “We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms.”
The topic of transgender people has become a culture war issue within the sphere of American politics. Republican candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken out against transgender rights, and has also vowed to roll back on wider LGBTQ+ rights if elected to office in November.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has spoken in support of the transgender community in the past, but also fought a lawsuit seeking gender affirming care for trans prisoners in California during the 2010s. As a result, many members of the trans and wider LGBTQ+ community feel ostracised by both presidential candidates.
Will & Harper offers an honest view of transgenderism, attaching the issue to real people, like Harper Steele, rather than using the issue as a political buzzword that politicians can use to attract voters in whichever method they see fit.
“We’ve heard from people who say they can’t wait to see this with friends and family who maybe don’t share the same viewpoint and they’re looking forward to watching it all together,” Ferrell shared before adding, “Hopefully it could slowly chip away at some of that.”
The film is now streaming on Netflix, but it is not clear how profound an effect it will have on the US Presidential Election, set to take place on November 5.