Spoiler Alert & Trigger Warning: This entry discusses scenes from the Netflix film Will & Harper in case you have not watched it yet.
Let me start out by saying that I really did enjoy this film. It was full of heart and very touching, and of course, when you’re dealing with two comedians, quite funny.
There are many people that I love in my life that are part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, in nearly every shape, color, creed, etc., so this is a film that I was never anticipating I would have any issue.
That said, though I liked the film I also found it to be a touch disingenuous as well.
To be clear, I do not apply any of that to Harper’s story. Nothing about her isn’t authenticate and genuine.
But going into a dive bar in the middle of nowhere with a camera crew is not going to get a realistic reaction from people.
Take the scene (I believe they are somewhere in Oklahoma) in a bar adorned with “Trump” and “Fuck Joe Biden” flags. Harper goes in alone to see if she can go into such a place like she used to before she transitioned. There are clips of some of the patrons perhaps giving her the eye, but again, there’s clearly a camera crew there documenting everything. She meets some people and tells them about her transitioning and after several minutes Will Ferrell checks on her and she tells him to come in. More people come over, one telling her that as long as she is happier now that is all that matters.
Honestly, that is all that matters, that she is happier being the whole person she chooses to be.
However, I am dubious as to some of the people in this bar saying such things as Hollywood celebrity and funnyman Ferrell is right there next to them as a camera is rolling.
Later the two go to a restaurant in Texas famous for its massive steaks and the reaction there is a bit more awkward.
Singled out, most people often want to at least put forth the illusion that they are good people, for others to have that perception of them. In Texas things started out quiet enough, but eventually a few people in the restaurant seemed to grumble and over time appeared to escalate. Lost in a mob, someone’s true feelings are easier to display. Case in point: the Twitter posts and responses to Will and Harper being at the Texas restaurant are offensive and disgusting.
I think had Harper gone into that dive bar with a hidden camera we would have witnessed a truer reaction. This isn’t me saying that all people in a dive bar in Nowhere, Oklahoma are inherently transphobic, just that most people do not put on a show when they don’t realize they are being watched.
That’s my only real qualm with the film, other than it being too short.
By that I mean that the film was a good length, but Will and Harper were on their road trip for over two weeks, with hundreds of hours of footage. Granted, there are probably long swaths of time where one of them is driving and the other is sleeping, or reading, or doing something not particularly interesting, but just from the outtakes shown during the credits I have to believe there was enough footage that they could have made several TV episodes.
I would have watched them all.
© 2024 Michael A. Diaz