What’s it rated? R
When? 2024
Where’s it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo and Netflix
TV writer Harper Steele and actor Will Ferrell met at Saturday Night Live. Back then, Will knew Harper by her dead name, Andrew. Unbeknownst to Will, Harper’s life was a complicated web of secrets and desires to dress and live as a woman. Finally, in her early 60s, she sent Will and other friends letters informing them of her transition to live as a woman.
In this tender and heartwarming buddy road trip film, Ferrell and Steele reconnect after years apart. Harper loves the innards of America, the small towns and Midwest and deep South and everything in between. Now, she isn’t sure if the places she loves are going to be willing to love her in return. With Will as a travel partner, she’s ready to dip her toes back into the heart of America.
What the two find is general kindness and compassion, and sometimes, frustratingly, ugliness and othering. This film pulled at my heart in all the best ways. Both Ferrell and Steele are genuine and hilarious and grumpy old friends. This one will bring smiles and tears and affirm hope in a world that can feel very scary, especially for the most vulnerable. (109 min.) ā
This article appears in Oct 17-27, 2024.