‘Will & Harper’ Review: Will Ferrell’s Trans Road Trip Is A Poignant Tale Of Friendship & Acceptance [Sundance]

Unlike other film festivals around the globe, Sundance has been ahead of the curve when it comes to telling LGBTQIA+ stories whether in narrative or documentary form. That was once again evident in 2024 with the festival selecting films such as “Layla,” “Sebastian,” “My Old Ass,” “Stress Positions” and “Ponyboi.” One NEXT slate selection that attempted to cross the lines of both documentary and drama is Jules Rosskam’s “Desire Lines.” Sadly, like many world premieres in its genre this year, it comes up disappointingly short.

Illumination’s “Despicable Me” franchise has grossed a total of more than $4.4 billion worldwide, and given the brand is the biggest global animated franchise in history, you can bet everyone wants more. So, today, Illumination and Universal revealed the first trailer for “Despicable Me 4,” the first film in the franchise in seven years (not counting “Minions” spin-offs and whatnot).

Valerie Wu Intern Gru and the Minions are back, as Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” has released its first trailer. The film, which hits theaters on July 3, 2024, continues the popular animated franchise, which follows the reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) trying to do good and finding family while he’s at it. Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Pierre Coffin also return for the fourth installment.

There’s something magical that happens to most people around the age of 13. For many, that’s when you might have your first real romantic love.

Media representation of disabled people is challenging to get right — too saccharine, and you’re veering towards inspiration porn, too maudlin, and you’re implying that a disabled life might not be a life worth living. “Ibelin,” the newest documentary from “The Painter and the Thief” filmmaker Benjamin Ree, strikes a poignant balance, acknowledging the ways that physical disability can limit a life while showing how one complex man expanded his world nonetheless.

EXCLUSIVE: In a deal that when closed will be worth $15 million, Warner Bros Discovery has emerged as frontrunner to land the Sundance buzz title documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, sources said. The inspirational film is about the late actor best known for playing the Man of Steel. Docu’s focus is on how he found strength and purpose through activism after he was paralyzed in an equestrian accident. I believe that puts the film in precedent setting territory for a docu launched at Sundance. Numerous bidders have been in the mix, but I hear it’s likely to land at the home of the Superman film franchise.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The 40th edition of Sundance proved that despite corporate consolidation, there is still a market for independently made documentaries. While there haven’t been many sales so far, there has been strong buyer interest in two celeb-focused docs — “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Will & Harper,” featuring Will Ferrell — and healthy interest in others. “The market didn’t have a pulse six months ago,” says Submarine Entertainment sales agent Josh Braun, who came to the festival with nine documentaries seeking distribution, including “Daughters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” and “Union.” “So there was a reason to be a little bit fearful coming into Sundance.

Angelique Jackson Amazon MGM Studios is in final negotiations to acquire Megan Park’s sophomore feature “My Old Ass,” starring Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella, following its Sundance Film Festival debut. The high-concept film — which was produced by LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, with Indian Paintbrush’s Steven Rales — made its world premiere on Saturday night in a sold-out screening at the Eccles Theatre in Park City, UT. The deal is for roughly $15 million.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Will & Harper” received emotional standing ovations, while “A Real Pain” and “It’s What’s Inside” defied the odds to score multimillion-dollar deals. As it enters its fifth decade, Sundance hasn’t lost its ability to excite us. But it needs to hustle to keep up with the changing times.

Some movies are Irish. “Kneecap” is Ireland.

As the “peak TV” wave begins to crest, artists are again realizing that not every book needs adaptation as a miniseries. There’s value in the concision and prioritization forced by the feature format.

Jesse Moss’ chilling and engrossing documentary “War Game” begins ominously, moves with urgency, and never lets up. The film begins with two suspicious men surveilling the capitol building in Washington D.C.

Will Ferrell has received praise for his support of the transgender community ahead of the premiere of the new documentary Will & Harper.The film explores the friendship between Ferrell and Harper Steele, a former Saturday Night Live writer, who came out as transgender in 2022. The film received its first official screening at the Sundance Film Festival this week.In a video clip with Variety that has gone viral, Ferrell says: “It was three summers ago in which Harper emailed a lot of her close friends with the headline: ‘Here’s a Weird One’.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Will Ferrell has some pretty cool friends. That shouldn’t come as any kind of surprise to his fans.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Unlike Cannes and Venice, Sundance isn’t a film festival that inspires too many standing ovations. But moviegoers at the Eccles Theatre were moved (more than once!) to stand up and applaud after the premiere of “Will & Harper,” a funny, heartbreaking and poignant documentary about Will Ferrell taking a road trip with his longtime friend, Harper Steele, who transitioned at 61.

Will Ferrell revealed Sunday that he had “zero knowledge” of the trans experience until his close friend of 30 years Harper Steele came out to him in 2022.“I know I’ve met trans people before,” Ferrell, 56, told Variety in a clip posted to the outlet’s social media. “I didn’t have anyone personally in my life.

An exploration of the generational trauma surrounding the “stolen generations” of Aboriginal children by the Australian government, Jon Bell’s feature debut “The Moogai” fits all the criteria of what we would, perhaps pejoratively, describe as “elevated horror.” A fraught term, and one that would need more than the length of this review to dive into, it nevertheless seems apt for a film that so blatantly makes its subtext into text.

The first line of “Winner” says it all: “My name is Reality Winner.” This uninspired introduction to the character, an NSA employee who leaked classified documents surrounding Russian election interference to the media, sets the tone for what’s to follow. Susanna Fogel’s film is not actively bad, just aggressively bland.

A raw examination of labor organization at its most powerful, pure, and fragile, “Union” is a look at union drama uncut and without any guardrails. Verité to a fault, directors Stephen Maing and Brett Story present the documentary with a detached remove that isn’t matched by the framing of the central conflict, and yet morsels of true inspiration still manage to tumble forth.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Will Ferrell touched down at the Sundance Film Festival to world premiere the new documentary “Will & Harper,” which centers on the relationship between the beloved comedian and his best friend Harper Steele as they take a road trip. The two met during their days on “Saturday Night Live,” which Harper wrote for from 1995 to 2008.