Not like Cannes and Venice, Sundance isn’t a movie pageant that evokes too many standing ovations. However moviegoers on the Eccles Theatre had been moved (greater than as soon as!) to face up and applaud after the premiere of “Will & Harper,” a humorous, heartbreaking and poignant documentary about Will Ferrell taking a street journey along with his longtime good friend, Harper Metal, who transitioned at 61.

“Have a look at this, and that is for a documentary,” Ferrell stated as he greeted the packed home in Park Metropolis on Monday night time. “Wow! If we had been going to be at Sundance, we thought it could be at a ten a.m. screening in somebody’s storage.”

“Will & Harper” chronicles the duo over 17 days as they drive from New York to California, making pit stops at basketball video games, dive bars, “swanky” Las Vegas eating places and different locations the place Metal hopes to really feel extra snug since she got here out as a trans lady in 2022.

Alongside the way in which, they’re greeted by many “Saturday Night time Stay” veterans, together with Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, and Molly Shannon, which is becoming as a result of Ferrell and Metal met whereas engaged on “SNL” — as a performer and author, respectively — within the ’90s. (“They had been vital to my transition; they’re my household,” Metal stated of his “SNL” buddies.)

“The love these two buddies have for each other fills me up,” a misty director Josh Greenbaum stated throughout a post-screening Q&A. “I’m so grateful for this second. I’m going to get it collectively and –”

“Reply the query,” Ferrell, who wiped away tears as he took the stage, jokingly interjected.

Though Greenbaum is thought for kooky comedies like “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar” and “Strays,” Metal stated the director felt like the suitable match to deal with this documentary with love, care and sensitivity. “Will & Harper” captures critical and emotional conversations about being transgender, however there’s loads of levity from comical moments involving Pringles, wacky costumes and a fateful journey to Dunkin Donuts.

“We’re comedy writers, so we got here up with loads of dangerous concepts at first. We deliberate setups, and it felt bizarre and prank-y, and inauthentic,” Metal stated. “We stated, ‘Let’s get within the automobile and see what occurs.’”

Ferrell, who has endeared himself to America by means of comedies like “Elf,” “Step Brothers” and “Anchorman,” needed to share a extra private facet within the documentary. He broke down in tears greater than as soon as throughout conversations with Metal all through the movie.

“I felt like if we had been going to be part of this and create it with integrity, I owed it to Harper to be as open and emotionally obtainable to what was going to occur,” Ferrell stated.

Metal stated she was impressed to make the documentary at a time when LGBTQ rights within the U.S. have been below assault.

“I had this good friend — that is my privilege — who has made motion pictures that enchantment very broadly. That was the deciding issue… I may abuse this relationship for the nice,” she joked. “I nonetheless don’t assume Will is aware of what he did.”

Ferrell spoke to Selection previous to the movie’s premiere and admitted that he had “zero data” in regards to the trans group earlier than Steele got here out.

“I had met trans folks, however I didn’t have anybody personally in my life,” Ferrell stated. “So this was all new territory for me. It’s an opportunity for us within the cis group to ask questions, pay attention and be there as a good friend to debate this journey.”