Movie Details
| Title: | Will & Harper | |
| Director: | Josh Greenbaum | |
| Year: | 2024 | |
| Genre: | Documentary | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 10.28.24 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (0)
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 10.28.24 | Internet | This is a road movie doc about Will Ferrell and his SNL writer friend, recently-transitioned Harper Steele. I think the intent of this film is clear but I was worried that it would come off as virtue signalling, like whoa look at what a nice guy Will Ferrell is to support his friend. I didn't find that. For the most part I found it genuine and heartfelt and affecting. I will say though, several times in the film they talk about how they feel like they're the center of attention. There's even a disguise at one point to avoid the celebrity aspect, but unless this movie was shot on a phone then maybe the people in the restaurant are curious about the people with a camera crew following them around? That might be a little conspicuous? So... I don't know if acknowledging the filmmakers would've made the movie better but I do kinda wish there was a line or something saying "...and we decided to make a movie out of it." Everything else was very insightful and educational in my opinion. It seems like one little side note of the film, especially with some folks in Oklahoma and Iowa, is that political rhetoric aside this country's still full of compassionate kind people just trying to get by (Not Texas though, as usual we come off as the worst). So maybe there's a little unifying spirit to the film which I agree with but also don't see anyone not ok with trans people ever watching this. Instances that quickly come to mind where entertainment has had a sway on broad opinion are usually more of a sneak-it-in approach, like Sydney Poitier in otherwise white-only casts or Pedro Zamorra on season three of The Real World. A whole generation of MTV-watchers got a compassionate view of gay life and saw right to the end what AIDS can do. Not to say projects like this aren't worth doing, I just have a pessimistic view of my country's division at the moment. Anyway, this is good. |
