road trip movie underwear

Road Trip is a 2000 film about four friends who take off on an 1800 mile road trip to retrieve an illicit tape mistakenly mailed to a girl friend.

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• [attempts to convince the snake to eat a mouse] Unleash the fury!
• [singing] Tiny salmon swimming in a stream / Tiny salmon chasing that impossible dream / The mynah bird says, "Caw. Ca-Caw" / The chimpanzee says, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" / The friendly owl says, "Hoo, hoo-hoo" / But the salmon can only say, "Bloobloobloobloo. Blooboloobloobloo. Blooboloobolooooo-Blooblooo-Bloobloobloo." / And it's sad.
• Austin? Austin, Massachusetts?
• You're already cheating! Anytime you pass up sex, you're cheating on yourself. Think about it Josh, you're in college. The window of opportunity to drink and do drugs and take advantage of young girls is getting smaller by the day.
• Yep. I'd give us about 20 minutes before our first ass-raping.
• Did you kill a cheetah?
• Hey, it's 10 feet. Bob Hope could jump this in his golf cart. See, watch, I can spit across it.
• Did I say two fingers? Better make that three.
• Barry, hit the lights. It's boner time!
• Corky the Dog: Hey, Old man... I got the fuckin' munchies real bad... what about you?
• Grandpa Manilow: You gonna pass that doobie?
• Jacob: [Text on his T-shirt] "God is awesome."
• Beth: Are there any guys out there who are JUST NORMAL?
• Rubin: It's supposed to be a challenge, it's a shortcut! If it were easy it would just be the way.
• Corky the Dog: Hey, Jack, have that bitch make me some blueberry pancakes... Right now.
• Breckin Meyer — Josh Parker
• Seann William Scott — E.L.
• Amy Smart — Beth Wagner
• Paulo Costanzo — Rubin Carver
• DJ Qualls — Kyle Edwards
• Tom Green — Barry Manilow
• Frank Welker — Acrocanthosaurus

External links

• Road Trip quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Road Trip at Rotten Tomatoes

• 2000s American films
• Teen comedy films
• Sex comedy films
• Road comedy films
• Screenplays by Todd Phillips
• Films directed by Todd Phillips

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In Theaters

• Breckin Meyer as Josh; Sean William Scott as E.L.; Amy Smart as Beth; Paulo Costanzo as Rubin; DJ Qualls as Kyle; Tom Green as Barry; Rachel Blanchard as Tiffany; Anthony Rapp as Jacob

Home Release Date

• Todd Phillips

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Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

In 1999, MTV introduced the teen world to the raunchy comedy of Tom Green. Now Green has taken his lewd antics to the big screen with Road Trip . Tom’s character, Barry, narrates the tale of Josh’s love life at Ithaca University. Josh has a long distance relationship with Tiffany, but his college buddies think he’s a “prude” and mock his faithfulness to a girl who lives so far away. Josh caves in to their taunts and indulges in extracurricular female activity. Enter Beth, a coed who seduces Josh and records their bedroom encounter. There’s only one problem, in a rude comedic mix-up, Josh’s roommate sends the videotape to Tiffany. So Josh and his friends pile into a car and take a “road trip” to try and stop the cassette from reaching its final destination.

Positive Elements: None.

Spiritual Content: Jacob wears a sweater with the logo, “God Is Awesome.” Then, at the end of the film, he becomes the leader of a cult.

Sexual Content: The central theme of the movie is illicit sex. Josh’s friends ridicule him for not cheating on his girlfriend. They tell him, “Anytime you pass up sex, you’re cheating yourself.” Josh folds under the peer pressure. Josh “buys” Beth at a party where women are auctioned off to the highest bidder. The pair winds up back in his dorm room (which is decorated with busty pin-ups) where she turns a video camera on to document her strip tease. The tape roles as Beth takes off everything but her panties and joins Josh in bed. Later, Josh relives the encounter in a dream. Barry fondles two topless women and begs them to kiss. Kyle has sex with a stranger (she puts a condom on him first). The camera leers at nude and semi-nude women in a locker room, exposing moviegoers to brief full-frontal nudity. A traveling companion gives Beth a vibrator, telling her it is “better than a man.” In need of money, Josh and E.L. offer their services at a sperm bank (Josh looks at pornographic magazines, E.L. gets “help” from a female nurse). Barry’s backside makes an appearance. Women parade across the screen in low-cut shirts and bras. And if that weren’t enough, numerous lewd conversations revolve around fornication, masturbation, pornography and sexual anatomy.

Violent Content: A sorority girl beats her boyfriend—and his car—with a bat. A snake sinks its teeth into Barry’s hand and then wraps itself around someone’s neck. A clerk’s head is slammed against a counter. An angry student starts a fistfight with Kyle and Josh. Kyle’s dad pulls a gun on security guards.

Crude or Profane Language: Over 30 obscenities including f-words and s-words (a talking dog is responsible for several of them). Additionally, God’s name is abused and a number of milder profanities arise. Two songs feature foul language.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Rubin declares that “college is a time to do drugs.” At several parties students drink, smoke cigarettes and get high. Rubin tries to buy marijuana from a motel desk clerk. He later smokes weed with an old man.

Other Negative Elements: Gross, lowbrow humor is the rule. Unknowingly, Kyle eats French toast that has been stuck down someone’s pants. Barry puts a rat in his mouth. Objects are knocked off of a table by an old man’s Viagra-induced erection. A blind woman hoists her middle finger at E.L.. He then proceeds to steal a bus from a school for the blind.

Summary: Just like the Scream franchise garnered a host of imitators, the formula of perverted comedy and voyeurism resurrected by American Pie has birthed a raunchy step-child called Road Trip . The new movie’s posters even borrow American Pie ’s scheme of barely-clothed coeds. Amy Smart said she felt good about taking her clothes off in the movie because, “Everything was tastefully done.” She couldn’t be further from the truth. Far from being tasteful , this movie lacks even one drop of morality, tact or respect. It’s one trip to the theater every teen should avoid.

Positive Elements

Spiritual elements, sexual & romantic content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug & alcohol content, other noteworthy elements.

Jonathan Bartha

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• "Slick, reasonably amusing, never asking its audience to swallow anything too wild for consumption."  Owen Gleiberman : Entertainment Weekly
• "'Road Trip' is mellow and dirty, which is the wrong combination. It's sweet when it should be raunchy, or vice versa, and the result is a movie that seems uneasy with itself (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"  Roger Ebert : rogerebert.com
• "All it wants to do is show its audience a good time. On this level, it fires all cylinders."  Glen Oliver : IGN
• "[It] isn't as smart or as funny as 'American Pie', but there are still some big laughs to be had (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"  James Berardinelli : ReelViews
• "Plotless, tasteless, but wickedly funny. This has all the elements to make it a teen great (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"  Clark Collis : Empire
• "A highly amusing romp of a road movie which has fun with all manner of targets, but always in a spirit of affectionate glee. It is hard to dislike (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"  Michael Thomson : BBC
• 21 My Favorite Teen Movies (44)
• 61 My Top 10 Movies from 2000 (33)

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Road trip (2000).

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The greatest college tradition of all.

After an Ithaca College student films his one-night stand with a beautiful sorority girl, he discovers one of his friends has accidentally mailed the homemade sex tape to his girlfriend in Austin. In a frenzy, he must borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape.

Todd Phillips

Director, Writer

Scot Armstrong

Top Billed Cast

Breckin Meyer

Josh Parker

Seann William Scott

Beth Wagner

Paulo Costanzo

Rubin Carver

Kyle Edwards

Rachel Blanchard

Tiffany Henderson

Anthony Rapp

Earl Edwards

Barry Manilow

Full Cast & Crew

• Discussions 0

We don't have any reviews for Road Trip.

• Most Popular

Status Released

Original Language English

Budget $16,000,000.00

Revenue $119,800,000.00

• crude humor
• politically incorrect
• cross country
• sperm donor
• losing money
• male virgin
• young adult

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E.L.: Think about it Josh, you're in college. The window of opportunity to drink and do drugs and take advantage of young girls is getting smaller by the day.

E.L.: Well, there are these rules that guys have, an understanding as to what exactly constitutes cheating. Take your situation for example: it's not cheating. It's never cheating when you're in a different area code, not to mention a different state.

Kyle: That makes no sense.

E.L.: Hey, don't look at me Kyle, OK, I didn't make up the rules.

Rubin: No no, this is legit, I- I've actually read an article about this. There's a whole bunch of them, it's like- they're like loopholes. Right, for argument's sake, let's say that you were sleeping with two girls at the same time, it- it wouldn't be cheating because they would cancel each other out.

E.L.: Exactly. Or if, uh, you're too wasted to remember- it is not cheating. Because if you can't really remember it, it never really took place.

E.L.: Yep. I'd give us about 20 minutes before our first ass-raping.

Beth: What do you look for in a girl?

Josh: She should be smart, and funny.

Josh: That's good too.

Beth: Do you feel better yet?

Josh: I feel a little bit better, yes.

Beth: What else do you look for?

Josh: She should be nice and attractive and... topless. Topless is good.

E.L.: Did you kill a cheetah?

Rubin: I just said we'd make it across. I didn't say anything about the wheels staying on.

Josh: What the hell are we gonna do now? I'm totally screwed! I don't have time to be walking through the woods right now!

Grandpa Manilow: You gonna pass that dube?

E.L.: Hey, it's 10 feet. Bob Hope could jump this in his golf cart. See, watch, I can spit across it.

E.L.: Did I say two fingers? Better make that three.

E.L.: W-w-w-wait a second. Tell me you mailed the Beth tape to Tiffany.

Josh: Sh*t! Oh, no! Oh, no!

Barry: Hey, hey.

Josh: What?

Barry: Did you make a copy? Because if you made a copy we could watch the copy.

E.L.: I would give my life for one night of consensual sex with her.

Kyle: It's not cheating if you spread peanut butter on your balls and let your dog lick it off.

Kyle: Because it's your dog.

Rubin: Jesus Christ!

Kyle: You know, because it's YOUR dog, get it?

Rubin: Yeah, we've got it.

Beth: Are there any guys out there who are JUST NORMAL?

Barry: This is the Joseph H. Nelson Memorial Library, here. Okay? It was built in the 1600s.

Student in the Tour: 1600s? It says it was built in 1951.

Barry: That's the address. Okay? Wise-ass.

Barry: Austin? Austin, Massachusetts?

Corky the Dog: Hey, Old man... I got the f***in' munchies real bad... what about you?

E.L.: Just copy off someone.

Josh: I can't. It's all essay and stuff. You know, if I fail this, my average is shot, I might lose my financial aid, I could not be allowed on campus next semester.

E.L.: Well, you're f***ed, then. You might as well come to my party tonight, hook up with Beth, and at least enjoy your last week at college.

Josh: I'm not hooking up with anybody, alright? I've made a commitment to Tiffany. I'm invested in this relationship.

E.L.: Invested? Who are you, Charles Schwab? Would you listen to yourself? I would give my life for one night of consensual sex with her.

Rubin: It's supposed to be a challenge, it's a shortcut! If it were easy it would just be the way.

Corky the Dog: Hey, Jack, have that b*tch make me some blueberry pancakes... Right now.

E.L.: Barry, hit the lights. It's boner time!

Barry: Can we please feed Mitch now?

Rubin: No. If he overeats, he could die.

Barry: So? It would be worth it.

Rubin: This is sort of an unusual question, but do you have any marijuana I might be able to buy from you? Our car exploded last night and I'm practically all out of my own.

Motel Clerk: Am I a drug dealer? No, I am not. Thank you for asking, though.

Rubin: No? OK. That's OK. Thanks.

Motel Clerk: Is there anything else I can help you with? Perhaps you'd like an 11-year old prostitute sent to your room. We can do that. Or maybe we can off someone for you. Hunh? How's that sound? I've got it. Why don't we start small? Would you like a fresh towel? Maybe you could roll that up and smoke it.

Rubin: [sotto, walking away] Dick.

Motel Clerk: By the way, Cheech, that credit card you guys gave me last night was maxed out, so don't go spending all your cash on needles and guns just yet.

E.L.: Barry, fast forward to the horny stuff.

[The tape fast forwards, only to play more of the video message to Tiffany]

E.L.: Is this the kind of sh*t you've been sending Tiffany?

Josh: I thought I told you to mail this yesterday?

Rubin: Yeah, it was on your desk I mailed it this morning.

Josh: [Josh watches for a second, then the reality hits him] OH F***!

[Josh scrabbles on the floor for the video]

[Josh nods]

E.L.: [trying to convince Josh to have sex with Beth] Your dick will never forgive you.

E.L.: [bends down to talk to Josh's dick] What do you think little man? Don't you ever want to experience something new?

E.L.: [pretends to be Josh's dick with squeaky high pitched voice] It ain't easy beings Josh's penis. Nothing has happened for two months it feels like I'm in a coma. I wish I was your dick EL, because this is torture. If something doesn't happen soon, I'm just going to pack up my balls and leave.

Kyle: Well, we had a few drinks, danced a little, and... y'know.

E.L.: No, we don't know. Why don't you tell us?

[Kyle reaches into his bag and pulls out an oversized pair of leopard-print panties]

E.L.: What the hell is that?! Did you kill a cheetah?

Kyle: What? No, these are her underwear! She gave them to me! [puts them up to his face and sniffs them, much to everyone's disgust] I boinked her!

E.L.: ... "boinked"?

[Everyone laughs, including Kyle who is still too proud to care]

Josh: Well, Kyle, I certainly hope you got all the "boinking" out of your system, because we got a lot of driving to do today, guys.

Josh: You can teach ancient philosophy in 46 hours?

Rubin: I can teach Japanese to a chimp in 46 hours. You just have to find a way to relate the material.

Frat member: [Holding up a white hood] Are you in the Ku Klux Klan?

Josh: Whoa whoa, that isn't ours.

Kyle: That's not mine!

Josh: OK, hold on, th-there's obviously some explanation.

Frat member: There is. See your boy here's an evil bigot, and now he's gonna die.

Kyle: [faints]

Barry: [attempts to convince the snake to eat a mouse] Unleash the fury!

Barry: [singing] Tiny salmon swimming in a stream / Tiny salmon chasing that impossible dream / The mynah bird says, "Caw. Ca-Caw" / The chimpanzee says, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" / The friendly owl says, "Hoo, hoo-hoo" / But the salmon can only say, "Bloobloobloobloo. Blooboloobloobloo. Blooboloobolooooo-Blooblooo-Bloobloobloo." / And it's sad.

Jacob: [Text on his T-shirt] "God is awesome."

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What to Know

Some humor is hit or miss, depending on the audience tastes, but the movie is funny overall. Mixed reviews for the cast, especially for MTV's Tom Green.

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Todd Phillips

Seann William Scott

Breckin Meyer

Josh Porter

Kyle Edwards

Earl Edwards

Motel Clerk

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"Pagan Journey to Hell"

What You Need To Know:

(PaPaPa, ABAB, PC, LLL, VV, SSS, NNN, AA, DD, MMM) Strong pagan worldview where one of the major villains wears a shirt saying “God is awesome,” thus mocking Christians who often enjoy proclaiming their faith using pop culture, plus elements of homosexuality & political correctness, an evil anti-Christian ideology created by Marxist provocatuers, who spread it in America in the 1960s, thereby infecting the nation’s political & religious culture; 34 obscenities, 16 profanities, obscene gestures, & other lewd behavior meant to be gross; strong slapstick violence including fighting, car explodes, man tortures mouse, & snake bites; strong sexual content including depicted fornication, implied fornication, stripping for seduction, woman puts on condom, man asks two semi-nude women to kiss each other (which they do), female proctologist masterbates male college student, dogs shown mating, & couples lie in bed together; upper male & female nudity, full female nudity in bathroom scene, college student strips for male student, & men & women in revealing underwear; alcohol use, drunkenness, underage college drinking, & wild fraternity party with alcohol; marijuana use shown & encouraged; and, frequent miscellaneous immorality including students take advantage of awkward student, whom they teach debauchery, reckless behavior & other immoral behavior.

More Detail:

The new movie ROAD TRIP continues the trend of tasteless slob comedies which started in 1978 with NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE. Like last year’s AMERICAN PIE, however, the sex and nudity quotient, not to mention the illegal drug quotient, is on a huge upswing, mostly because of the Farrelly Brothers’ THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.

Compared to ROAD TRIP, ANIMAL HOUSE now almost seems like something out of REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM. In this one, a college student at Ithaca University in New York tapes himself fornicating with a pretty blonde girl who likes him. The tape accidentally gets mailed to his childhood sweetheart whom he thought had ditched him but who actually was attending her grandfather’s funeral. With a couple friends in tow, he drives all the way to Austin, Texas to retrieve the tape before his sweetheart finds it in her dorm room there.

As expected from the advertising for this movie (DreamWorks studio sent condoms to the press as part of its sick campaign for this movie), ROAD TRIP contains numerous instances of foul language, sexual immorality, crude behavior, and graphic nudity. Nearly totally tasteless, it also advocates marijuana use, a completely irresponsible act that will further destroy America’s crumbling public education system. Finally, one of the major villains in the piece wears a shirt saying, “God is awesome.” This mocks Christians who enjoy proclaiming the power of God.

This is not a road to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or even a road to beauty and truth. It’s a pagan journey to Hell.

Happily, the Bible teaches in Psalm 3:8 of the original Hebrew Scriptures that deliverance comes from the Lord. The same Hebrew Scriptures also say, in Psalm 2:12, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

Road Trip (2000)

Directed by todd phillips.

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Description by Wikipedia

A road trip is a journey on roads. Road Trip, Road trip, or Roadtrip may also refer to:

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Buckle Up and Check Out the Cast of Road Trip Then and Now

It's been 20 years since four college kids piled into the car and embarked on a tour of debauchery for a ridiculous cause in todd phillips' feature directorial debut.

How do we top Jason Biggs doing it with a pie...?

Such was surely the question on countless filmmakers' lips after the box office success of  American Pie , which spurred the urge to fill theaters with debauched hi-jinks that young gentlemen especially would find funny.

Todd Phillips  perfected that formula over the course of the 00s, and he started with 2000's  Road Trip , a raunchy gross-out fest cranked up to 11 about a fairly normal college student played by Breckin Meyer who hits the road to intercept a sex tape of him and a one-night stand that was accidentally mailed to his girlfriend, played by Rachel Blanchard , who's at another school. And of course he wouldn't embark on such an important mission alone...

Sex is had between expected and unexpected partners, a prostate is probed, French toast gets a dusting of flop sweat, a mouse is molested by Tom Green . Phillips, who also wrote the story with Scot Armstrong , packed it all in, and even borrowed Stifler from what would soon be a whole  American Pie  franchise for the ride.

"I find the term 'gross-out comedy' sort of dismissive," Phillips, ready to go to bat for whatever he was working on since the beginning, told the BBC in 2000. "It's very easy to be gross, it's very hard to be funny. I think why Road Trip  works is not because of the gross stuff, it's because of the characters."

And since 20 years is a bit of time, definitely enough time for a few twists and turns on everybody's journey, let's get a load of what these miscreants all looked like then vs. now:

After standing out as Travis Birkenstock in  Clueless  and scoring supporting roles in  The Craft ,  Go and  The Insider , Meyer moved into the starring position in  Road Trip as Josh—a cheater (it all works out in the end) but the relatively nice, normal one of the bunch. Next up was the ensemble comedy  Rat Race  and he's the voice of Jon in the  Garfield movies with Bill Murray as the lazy, lasagna-loving cat. A regular in movies and TV, Meyer also starred in the legal dramedy  Franklin & Bash with Mark-Paul Gosselaar  and more recently appeared in Designated Survivor  and  The Fix .

He has two daughters with ex-wife Deborah Kaplan (who directed him in 2001's  Josie and the Pussycats ) and since 2017 he's been in a relationship with  The Bold and the Beautiful  actress Linsey Gofrey after they met on a dating app for people in the industry.

"I always tell him all the time, I'm like, 'I had the biggest crush on you when I was growing up. I loved Travis from Clueless,'"  Godfrey told  Soap Opera Digest   in December 2018. "And I loved him in Road Trip and all that kind of stuff. He thinks that's really funny and I think it's really funny. He was adorable and we both have big crushes on each other. He's the best!"

He had just played Stiffler in  American Pie and would have three more turns as the unhinged but well-meaning party animal down the road, but first—Josh's best friend, the mildly unhinged but well-meaning party animal E.L., in  Road Trip .

Scott dove into his subsequent type-casting with relish, starring in the bromance classic  Dude, Where's My Car?  with Ashton Kutcher and  Final Destination  (both of which also came out in 2000),  The Dukes of Hazzard ,  Mr. Woodcock and  Role Models . He also turned up in  Old School  and  Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back and  provided the voice of Crash in four  Ice Age films. He has also starred in a number of small films, including the ensemble sci-fi thriller-comedy  Southland Tales (audiences didn't really get it either) and the Courteney Cox-directed  Just Before I Go .

He actually hasn't done much TV (his movies have quietly grossed almost $5 billion collectively in the meantime), but in 2018 was cast in Fox's  Lethal Weapon to replace the fired Clayne Crawford as the resident live wire, but the buddy-cop dramedy was canceled at the end of its third season.

Having maintained an impressively private personal life for two decades, Williams married interior designer  Olivia Korenberg  in September 2019.

Beth turned out to be the girl for Josh in the end, never mind the shady cinematic start to their relationship.

After  Road Trip , which was preceded by modeling, starring in  Varsity Blues  and playing Ruby on  Felicity , Smart reunited with Breckin Meyer in  Rat Race and co-starred in  The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher . She has appeared in a slew of films, including  Win a Date With Tad Hamilton , Starsky & Hutch ,  The Best Man ,  Just Friends (as the object of Ryan Reynolds ' long-suffering affection),  The Town and the holiday ABC Family classic  12 Dates of Christmas . Later TV work has included  Maron ,  Law & Order: SVU ,  MacGyver  and the new DC Universe web series  Stargirl with Luke Wilson , which just premiered May 18, 2020.

Smart married HGTV star Carter Oosterhouse in 2011 and they welcomed daughter Flora via surrogate in 2016.

Josh's smart-ass pal Rubin is the reason this road trip was possible, as he's the one who sent the wrong tape (Josh had also been recording innocent video messages in the era before FaceTime and Snapchat) to Josh's girlfriend, Tiffany.

Costanzo went on to co-star in 40 Days and 40 Nights with Josh Hartnett and then landed the technically plum role of Joey 's nephew Michael Tribbiani in the ultimately short-lived  Friends  spin-off. A steadier gig came as a star of the USA dramedy  Royal Pains for eight seasons, after which he had a pivotal role in the HBO series  The Night Of and joined the cast of  Designated Survivor  in season two.

Green's bum isn't on the road trip, but his character—Barry Manilow—serves as narrator and school bard. 2000 was an eventful year for the host of  The Tom Green Show— he chronicled his successful treatment for testicular cancer on his popular MTV show, and then appeared as The Chad in  Charlie's Angels  alongside then-girlfriend Drew Barrymore , whom he was married to for eight months in 2001 before filing for divorce that December.

After  Road Trip , his biggest movie was 2001's  Freddy Got Fingered , but he has written and produced and appeared in all sorts of productions over the years (including Tom Green's House Tonight , an ahead-of-his-time talk show he filmed in his living room, and Tom Green Live ), as well as done cameos and a lot of voice work.

The meek and scrawny Kyle was a sight gag in and of himself, but though he had some lows (eating adulterated French toast being the most memorable), he also ended up with Rhonda's leopard-print underpants as a souvenir from the best night of his life to date.

After  Road Trip , his movie debut, Qualls starred in his own bro comedy, 2002's  The New Guy , but is mainly known for supporting appearances in the likes of Hustle & Flow  and TV shows including  Lost ,  Criminal Minds ,  My Name Is Earl ,  The Big Bang Theory ,  Breaking Bad ,  Supernatural ,  Fargo and  The Man in the High Castle , on which he was a regular for three seasons. 

He also reprised the role of Kylie in 2009's direct-to-DVD sequel  Road Trip: Beer Pong .

After sharing with an audience that he was gay during one of his pal Jim Jeffries ' stand-up shows (in 2013 Qualls starred in  Legit , a sitcom co-created by Jeffries), Qualls took to Twitter in January 2020 to write , "It is 11:20pm. I just came out on stage at a @jimjefferies show in San Diego. Yep, I'm gay. Been gay this whole time. Tired of worrying about what people would think of me. Tired of worrying about what it would do to my career."

None of the aftermath of Rhonda's memorable sex scene, when Kyle's friends tease him, aged well, but Davis made a splash as the confident, sexy-as-hell girl Kyle loses his virginity to on the road. The model and actress went on to a career as a motivational speaker and style consultant before she died at 36 in 2011 from a pulmonary embolism following knee surgery. She was married to comedian Mike Yard from 2008 until her death.

Perfectly nice Tiffany remains none the wiser about Josh's unfaithful ways after the tape turns out  not to be what Josh thought it was, and they amicably split up.

Blanchard, the former child star ( The Kids of Degrassi Street , Are   You Afraid of the Dark? ) who played Cher when  Clueless was briefly a sitcom, has since worked alongside a slew of talented actors, but her most recognizable film since  Road Trip  is the instant-cult-classic  Snakes on a Plane . Up next, however, she's in Adrian Lyne 's thriller  Deep   Water , the film that brought co-stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas together off-camera, due out in November 2020.

Her TV work includes  7th Heaven ,  Peep Show ,  Psych ,  Fargo and Audience Network's  You Me Her , which has been renewed for a fifth and final season.

In 2014, Blanchard told ABC News that anything online saying she had a husband named Adrian Brown and two kids was a lie. "That's a rumor," she said. "I think I have an Internet stalker, who started that and then won't take it down. I keep having it taken down and he keeps putting it back up. But I don't have a husband, I don't have two kids."

She has since married composer Jeremy Turner and they have a daughter, Maxine.

The star of stage and screen who originated the role of Mark in  Rent  and Lucas in If/Then  on Broadway can play a chilling villain, see anti-Semite McGoo in  School Ties  and Josh, obsessive TA turned cult leader, in  Road Trip . He's appeared in numerous indie films over the years, as well as bigger fare such as  A Beautiful Mind  and the 2005 movie adaptation of  Rent , and his more recent TV work includes  Psych ,  The Knick ,  The Good Fight  and  13 Reasons Why . He currently stars on CBS All Access'  Star Trek: Discovery  as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets.

In 2017, Rapp changed the course of a lot of things when he said in an interview that Kevin Spacey had made a sexual advance toward him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26, which triggered a spiral of accusations  that resulted in Spacey being fired from  House of Cards . (Spacey said he didn't remember doing any such thing, but if he did so while drunk, he was deeply sorry.)

"I felt bad for the hundreds of people who were working on the show," Rapp said a year later, reflecting on how swiftly Spacey's career collapsed after he came forward. The actor told BuzzFeed he was "relieved" when  House of Cards returned for another season without Frank Underwood.

In November 2019, Rapp announced that he was engaged to his partner,  Ken Ithiphol .

The before-and-after of the prominent character actor never gets old. Suplee had already excelled at comedy (the only one who can't see the optical illusion in Mallrats ;   a high school bully's strongman in Boy Meets World ) and drama (as  Edward Norton 's racist lump of a friend in  American History X ) by the time he had a small role in Road Trip  as Ed. He was played a high school football player in  Remember the Titans in 2000 and went on to co-star in  My Name Is Earl  from 2005 to 2009. His film resume includes  The Butterfly Effect ,  Cold Mountain , Unstoppable ,  The Wolf of Wall Street ,  Deepwater Horizon and the Norton-directed  Motherless Brooklyn ,   and more recent TV work includes Hulu's  Chance , the new  Twin Peaks , and Netflix's  The Ranch  and  The Santa Clarita Diet .

He has four children with Brandy Lewis , his wife since 2006, and in January 2020—after almost a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and gaining and losing hundreds of pounds—he proudly revealed off his new muscled physique

The  News Radio  star and all-around quirky fellow had a brief cameo as an obviously strange motel clerk.

Amid several arrests over the years, some of them involving indecent exposure and groping other men, Dick has been open about struggling with substance abuse that has had him in and out of rehab. But despite the toxic behavior, he has stayed busy, having his own sketch show,  The Andy Dick Show , on MTV for a couple years; becoming a regular on the dais at celebrity roasts; releasing a few comedy albums; and doing a lot of cameos as an oddball in the likes of  Community , Maron ,  Workaholics and Netflix's  Sense8 . 

Dick has a son from his first marriage, to Ivone Kowalczyk, and a son and daughter with partner Lena Sved—who obtained a restraining order against Dick in 2018, claiming he had gotten belligerent in front of their son, who in turn locked his drunken father out of the house.

As "French Toast Guy," an otherwise unnamed diner cook, he amiably agreed to give Kyle a new plate of French toast  without powdered sugar, and proceeded to remove the sugar in every obscene way imaginable and serve it back to him.

Sanz had joined the cast of  Saturday Night Live  in 1998 and stayed until 2006, while also building a resume of small but standout comedic roles in the likes of  Boat Trip, School for Scoundrels, Lucky You, Step Brothers, Year One and Bachelorette. He's also the voice of Duncan in Wreck-It-Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet . His acting on TV has included  30 Rock ,  House of Lies ,  Parks and Recreation ,  Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ,  Modern Family ,  Scorpion ,  GLOW  and  The Mandalorian .

In 2008 he revealed that he'd lost about 100 pounds, and later said on The Tonight Show that he'd been working out more and cut out alcohol.

Sanz is quiet about his persona life, but he married his wife Jenn in 2015.

A prolific improv comedian and star of  Mr. Show  and  The Larry Sanders Show  long before she became the unflappable IT wiz Chloe O'Brian on  24 , Rajskub had a quick turn in  Road Trip  as school bus dispatcher Blind Brenda whose intuition (and middle finger) works just fine.

Road Trip was just an early stop on the journey for Phillips, who got his start making documentaries ( Frat House put him on the map) and then went on to direct and/or write Old School ,  Starsky & Hutch ,  School for Scoundrels ,  The Hangover  (as well as  Part II  and  Part III ),  Due Date , War Dogs and  Joker . He also produced  A Star Is Born with longtime buddy Bradley Cooper, who in turn was a co-producer on  Joker , which was nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor (as well as every other major award), and  Hildur Guðnadóttir won for Best Original Score.

"I'm writing another comedy," Phillips told the BBC in 2000. "But don't worry, it's not a teen movie at all." Just adults who start a fraternity, that's all, and it's spectacular.

Road Trip made almost $120 million worldwide and put Phillips on the dude-comedy map—though, as he would be quick to point out, each of those dudes has a purpose.

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25 Essential Road Trip Movies of the Last 25 Years

We’re looking down the horizon and beyond for some of the best road trip movies that defined the genre over the last 25 years! To rev up this list, we selected American movies movies, journeys that begin in the States (where they actually finish is part of the fun). The movies celebrate the sights and sounds of the country, or at least will inspire you to pull out that camping gear, putting the convertible top down, and hitting the open road. These rides can be cross-county ( Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle ), on the freeway ( Dog , Sideways ), trekking across a few state lines ( Little Miss Sunshine , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ), hitting a new time zone ( Road Trip ), or even runnin’ coast-to-coast ( Rat Race , Transamerica ). Even the Academy has felt the need for reasonable speed, awarding Best Picture to both Green Book and Nomadland . Carpool lane? Of course: we’ve got an Oscar strapped in the passenger seat!

So whether you’re looking for a map to a long summer drive or fixing a flat in your life, turn to these essential 25 road trip movies of the last 25 years (in chronological order)!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) 51%

The Straight Story (1999) 95%

Tumbleweeds (1999) 82%

Almost Famous (2000) 91%

Road Trip (2000) 57%

Rat Race (2001) 45%

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) 75%

Sideways (2004) 97%

Transamerica (2005) 77%

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) 91%

Cars (2006) 75%

Zombieland (2009) 89%

Away We Go (2009) 67%

Paul (2011) 70%

We're the Millers (2013) 48%

Chef (2014) 87%

Grandma (2015) 91%

Mississippi Grind (2015) 91%

Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016) 83%

Green Book (2018) 77%

Nomadland (2020) 93%

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) 97%

Bad Trip (2021) 79%

Dog (2022) 77%

Joy Ride (2023) 90%

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Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on Their Hopes and Fears for Their Doc Will & Harper

In Netflix’s upcoming documentary Will & Harper, Will Ferrell and his friend of nearly 30 years, former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele, go on a road trip across America. The premise might sound silly: Do we really need to see one of the country’s most famous comic stars wander into an Oklahoma bar or a Texas rest stop, and banter with his fans? This turns out to be the furthest thing from director Josh Greenbaum ’s mind. Will & Harper intimately examines a friendship during a period of nuanced, awkward redefinition, spotlighting that against a complex social backdrop.

The documentary (streaming beginning September 27) begins with Steele informing Ferrell of her gender transition. While Ferrell immediately expresses unconditional support for his friend, with whom he recently cowrote the film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, reality quickly settles in that things will change. The road trip idea materializes from a few angles: Steele loves traveling the country, but understandably fears doing it as an out trans woman, given the bigotry and discriminatory laws in different pockets of the US. And what’s in it for Ferrell? With this much time together, his old friend can educate him on what it means to be trans, why she didn’t come out until later in life, and what life is like for LGBTQ+ people from coast to coast.

Viewers benefit too, of course—both from this empathetic portrait of the trans experience, and from the banter between two of the best comedy minds of their generation. (Oh, and there’s also an original song written and performed by Kristen Wiig. ) Will & Harper premiered to raves at Sundance, and Netflix promptly acquired it. That experience was bittersweet for Steele since, quite literally during the Park City, Utah, festival, state lawmakers passed a bill restricting transgender people from using certain bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity in government buildings, including public schools. This is the reality trans people face in increasingly large swaths of the country.

When I meet Ferrell, Steele, and Greenbaum several months later, however, they’re in much higher spirits. We’re at the Telluride Film Festival, where Will & Harper has been screening to more raves and bubbling Oscar buzz. Our conversation in a Mountain Village suite begins the morning after their premiere night, where Steele received a standing ovation.

Vanity Fair: How was last night?

Will Ferrell: Yesterday was a highlight of my professional life. Two things: The standing ovation for Harper, I love for so many reasons, for the right reasons because it’s just palpable, people’s feelings when they watch this movie. But I love for the wrong reason because she can’t stand it.

Harper Steele: I have to tell you, just over and over again, I think it’s fake. No one likes me that much. I just can’t stand it.

Ferrell: You’re wrong. You’re so wrong.

Steele: I can’t get past it, so those moments are always almost embarrassing. At Sundance, I had my arms crossed up on stage and they were clapping and I was like, “It sucks.”

Ferrell: We were all just being shuffled through the lobby and put in the car. I’m talking to an old high school friend who’s lived here for 27 years. She brought her family and a friend who was almost in tears because her brother had transitioned five years ago. She’s like, “This is my life. You don’t understand.” She almost couldn’t get the words out. Then I look over and there’s Bill Murray. I just heard this voice go, “Will,” but really quiet, and it’s Bill. He just goes, “Great job.”

Josh Greenbaum: I stole a few photos of Bill talking to Harper after the movie, and I think I got some of you as well.

Steele: He was very Bill-like. He just shook my hand and gave me a look like, “You’ve done a good thing.” He is a comedy hero, but when he hosted SNL , he kind of insulted me, so I’ve always had that there too. [ Laughs ] Thanks, Bill. But I did get a call from Kristen Wiig an hour ago. I was on the gondola and she got a lovely text from Bill Murray saying, “What a beautiful film. What a beautiful song.”

As you’re out here talking about it, people are continuing to encounter you all just as they did in the movie—it’s a unique extension of what the movie is.

Greenbaum: That’s my favorite part of this film. Will was just talking about the number of people who come up and share their personal story, their connection. A lot of times it may be a trans story, but it’s not always. It’s some way of like, “Oh, after I saw this film, I immediately called my best friend. I immediately checked in just to connect and reconnect.” I’m not a huge fan, as a director, of telling people what to take from the film. I know what I took from it, but I love that we made the film and now it’s yours. You hand it off to people, so to see that it’s having this continued life—the story is continuing, I guess of our road trip.

Ferrell: I usually do a really good job of making something and holding on to the feeling and not worrying about what anyone thinks, which is important, I think. But I literally had the BBC on today as I was brushing my teeth, and they had that film reviewer, the guy with the mustache, literally doing a live remote from Downtown Telluride. They’re asking, “What do you think the health of the movie industry is? What’s the slate like?” And he’s talking about how there are more docs this year than usual, and he starts to go, “There’s one documentary in particular…” I was like, “Yes. Yes!” And: “This exquisite piece on John Lennon.” And I’m like, “You’re a fucking asshole.” [ Laughs ] But I can’t go down that road. I’m like, “Don’t get wrapped up in that.” Then I went, “Oh, he doesn’t like it. He didn’t get it,” and then I was like, “What is wrong with me?”

Is that unusual for you, to be so affected by media coverage?

Ferrell: I’ve given that all away. There was a time where you’d get wrapped up in the opening weekend and you’d see the reviews, but I learned to really let go even at SNL . I’m so proud of this and we’re so proud of it that I’ve really found myself leaning in.

Steele: There’s also another level I would assume in that it’s you, Will, not acting as a character. One of the highlights of making this film was when we had to screen the movie, and at various points our families all saw it. Will’s dad came to a screening. He’s a lovely, lovely man, and he was in tears after. He said, “It’s the thing Will’s done that I’m the most proud of, ever.” And he thanked me and said, “That’s my boy up there.” It really hit me. We all have a much bigger emotional attachment here, maybe, than to other things that we’ve made in the past.

Ferrell: Because it’s us.

Harper, are you leaning in as Will is?

Steele: I’m leaning in. We did learn this at SNL : You failed more than you succeeded. I’m not comfortable with failing—I don’t like it—but I’ve put stuff out there in the world and the bad reviews have come in. But this one, I have a lot of hope for it. I’m hanging onto a lot of hope that I wouldn’t really care about as much with something else. I want everyone to see it, so when I hear the bad review—which I haven’t heard yet—it’s like, “Don’t cut off an audience for me, because I need this to be seen.”

There’s a tremendous amount of education in the movie for people watching your journey. As you’ve shared it with people, have you noticed the audience learning rather basic aspects of trans identity?

Steele: 100%.The whole point of the film is not to be polemic or to be polarizing, but to help families, which are basically all of our families in this country—whether people want to acknowledge it or not. There’s a queer universe out there that they’re related to, and this is a great way for them to enter into that.

Ferrell: I’m golfing in LA with a guy who’s probably center-right and he brings it up out of the blue. He says, “My son’s gay, just came out at 18, and he told me about your movie. Tell me about it.” That’s that whole other side of the equation that we hope that there’s an audience for.

Greenbaum: We partnered with GLAAD on this film, and they were really helpful in giving us feedback as we’re bringing the film out in the world…. And Harper’s the fucking best. I guess you can’t say this, but she’s so honest and vulnerable and all the things you love about any person. So it’s not unknown, it’s less scary. She just wants to, as she says in one scene, “get to be in the world.” That’s what she wants.

Will Ferrell and Harper Steele at the Telluride Film Festival.

Transphobia is not exactly in hiding in this country right now. Have you encountered people resistant to the movie, even just its very premise?

Steele: No, actually. I mean, I’ve encountered it online. That’s where you’re going to encounter it the most. A lot of the anger directed at trans people is, for lack of a better word, subterranean. It’s people afraid to confront other human beings directly with this stuff. Politicians and press: Those are the two areas where I always blame the polarization and the anger happening. The press likes the clickbaits and the politicians like to get voted on by whatever contingency they’re going after. [In the movie] we have a run-in with a governor in Indiana who has voted in legislation against trans healthcare for youth. I don’t know how he feels personally. For all I know this person could have a trans kid. I mean, that would be horrific, but it’s not like he didn’t grow up around queer people. This is all absurd. JD Vance had a trans friend in college and now he’s got to appeal to whatever this red-meat world is. You’ve got to feed these people. But when we were out there, it was like, “Are any of these people this angry?”

Ferrell: Right. Are we making these people this angry?

Steele: Like it’s civil war. They made a movie about it! They’re making it sound like we’re one foot away from it, but if you go out there and drive around, which people don’t do who are talking about this, I’m not seeing it as much. Half the people I grew up with in Iowa were conservatives and, well, everyone liked everyone.

Ferrell: I’ll be curious if anyone approaches me once it’s out in the world. With any of the comedy films, if someone doesn’t like a movie, they just don’t say anything. They just go, “Oh, hey!” Or I run into that thing of, “My wife loves you.” I make the joke back to them: “And you are… 50/50?” [ Group laughs ] But this is interesting because it’s a totally different thing for me to be in: challenging subject matter, for some people. I’m just wondering if someone saddles up to me, like, “I’m used to your movies. Why did you make that? Or why did you participate in that?” But if they do, I accept the challenge.

Greenbaum: Harper said [the other day], I think she’s right, unfortunately, that there will be people that go, “I’m never watching his movies again.”

Ferrell: 100%.

Greenbaum: And you knew that from the get-go.

Ferrell: Exactly. I welcome it. If this is the last piece of press I get to do for any creative endeavor, well…!

It’s going on Netflix in a few weeks, reaching a very large, immediate audience—which is quite different, even, from a big theatrical release.

Ferrell: We embraced that reach. That’s a big part of it.

And you’re coming out right before the election.

Ferrell: Which is another thing we really pushed for.

Steele: I hope my guy Trump wins. [ Group laughs ] Me saying that might actually help the cause for the Democrats. Transgender writer Harper Steele loves Donald Trump.

What did you learn about the country in making this movie?

Ferrell: There are pockets of deep hatred—which, once again, I’ll always say is fueled by misinformation and not really stopping and thinking about it and asking questions. But I think folks for the most part just want you to live your life. Even if they have a super strong opinion, they’re like, “Well, that’s your business.” It’s all this propaganda and everything being kind of contrived for clicks.

Steele: Let’s not take away from the fact that there’s a lot of violent crimes directed at trans people.

Ferrell: Right, let’s not paint a sunny picture here. It’s definitely harder for people with less advantages than me to navigate the country. And there is still danger there. I would never want to not say that.

This is a documentary about a trans woman driving across the country, but it’s also, inevitably, about Will Ferrell, the celebrity, driving across the country. How did you approach that balance?

Greenbaum: As Harper will tell you, this was not the average trans experience. I know Harper wanted to go places along the way without Will. Certainly, I did my best to keep this crew as small as possible. We never let anyone know who was coming. because otherwise, you do invite the crowds and that’s not what we were looking for. But you have to acknowledge in any documentary work that cameras do change and alter any given situation.

Harper, as someone who’s about to become a significant public figure, do you have any hopes or plans for how to use that platform—whether creatively or politically?

Steele: I would love to take on more of an activist role. I’m political, but I’m not getting on any stumps anytime soon. I’d like to be more involved in the queer community in any way that I can. I resisted it and I was afraid of it and now I’m not. That’s just been a natural progression for me. That’ll happen and it’ll keep going, and then I’ll get more involved in things I feel strongly about—which is a lot of LGBTQ causes.

In terms of my writing, I wasn’t the most bro-y writer as a bro, which I’m proud of. I think I’ll stick to the plan.

Ferrell: You almost made fun of that style of writing, anyway.

Steele: Well, I did. Thinking of Eurovision —If you’ve ever seen a Eurovision, this is just a flat-out queer environment. And that was really important to me when telling the story of that film. Because I read an article… I’m babbling, I’m sorry.

Ferrell: Oh, we’re used to it. [ Group laughs ]

Steele: And Josh is like, “Oh yeah, no, she is babbling.” But no, I read an article right before we went to our first Eurovision from this queer writer who wrote a big Eurovision book, and what he said in this Times article was that Eurovision was what the union was supposed to look like—the freedom of expression and all the countries coming together in a much more friendly environment. That’s why I wanted to do it with Will. Before I was out, I knew I was trans, and I was looking at it going, “This is amazing.” My writing had already gone in that direction.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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The best road trip movies of all time

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Will & Harper – a charming but impersonal road trip movie

Review by Juan Barquin

Directed by

Josh Greenbaum

Harper Steele Will Ferrell

Anticipation.

Two comedians on a road trip? Sign me up.

As fun and boring as any extended car ride.

In Retrospect.

Its casual charm lingers beyond dull educational beats.

Will Ferrell and his best friend Harper Steele embark on a cross-country road trip, reflecting on Steele's experiences as a recently out trans woman, in Josh Greenbaum's meandering but sweet documentary.

I f country roads were designed to take one home to the place they belong, what of those who find themselves at odds with the very roads they once found solace in? This is precisely what Josh Greenbaum’s Will & Harper questions as it follows former SNL writer Harper Steele (a recently out trans woman) and her best friend (Will Ferrell) on a road trip across the USA.

It’s a simple premise for a simple movie – one that spends its runtime serving as something of an extended therapy session for Steele. Or perhaps it’s more reasonable to call it exposure therapy, complete with Steele opening herself up to friends and strangers alike for mildly intrusive questions, plenty of misgendering, and sincerely heartbreaking personal revelations of what existing as closeted did to her.

For Steele, travelling across the country while presenting as male was a source of comfort, taking great pleasure in finding dive bars and seedy joints to vibe with strangers. It’s heartbreaking to watch her explain how much anxiety she has over something she used to love simply because of her transition, but that is exactly why Ferrell is there. He is both a pillar of support and a means of bringing out the laughter and joy that exists in Harper, and there’s something beautiful about the way the two bounce back and forth sometimes.

The thing about Will & Harper is that so much of it feels polished to the point of unbelievability. Ferrell’s fame obviously offers some level of safety net, as does the presence of an unhidden camera, but it extends beyond that. Where casual conversations between the title “characters” come across as honest and playful, as do those with people from Harper’s own life (including her children), many of the set-ups with strangers across America come across as not quite staged, but certainly scouted for safety and sanitized to the point of questioning their veracity. There’s no urgency, no danger, which is certainly better for the trans woman at its core, but it makes these scenes fall flat and there’s not much Greenbaum can do to enliven them.

This kind of neutrality is something that’s perfect for a cis audience inexperienced with anything trans, but it makes one long for more of the highs and lows that the film showcases. An extended bit with another trans woman that Harper met in the past, where the two discuss their experiences, is genuinely lovely and revealing, as is one of Harper’s lowest points where she reveals the lengths she took to initially transition and how much she felt like a monster. All the cameos from former SNL players and writers (save for Kristen Wiig, who is asked by the duo to write a silly little song for their road trip) weigh the film down, but presumably serve as another layer of relatability, or “normalcy”, for an audience “unfamiliar” with trans people.

Its lack of any thesis other than bare-bones education makes Will & Harper a hard film to label. It’s a documentary that feels a little too deliberately manicured for its own good, it’s not enough of a portrait of these small American towns to be considered a travelogue, it’s not especially educational in the way it purports, and it isn’t particularly funny enough to be much of a comedy. As such, it’s just floating in a no-man’s land, a charming but impersonal film about a deeply personal journey.

Published 11 Sep 2024

Tags: Harper Steele Will Ferrell

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