Peoria plays a small but significant role in the recently released Netflix documentary Will & Harper. The road trip film features comedian and actor Will Ferrell alongside his longtime friend, Harper Steele.
The two met during their time at Saturday Night Live, where Ferrell performed and Steele worked as a writer. Steele publicly came out as transgender in 2022.
In the documentary, Ferrell and Steele go on a 16-day journey across the U.S., visiting sporting events, dive bars, diners, and tourist attractions from New York to California. These are places Steele once loved but now feels hesitant to revisit.
The road trip becomes not only an opportunity for the pair to reconnect as friends but also a chance for Steele to experience America as her true self.
The film, Will & Harper, was partially shot in Peoria and Pekin in March 2023. During their stop in the Peoria area, Ferrell and Steele visited Maquet’s Rail House in Pekin and The Basket Case in Peoria, both of which are featured in the movie.
The Peoria segment appears about 37 minutes into the film, introduced with the words “Peoria, Illinois” over shots of local streets and signs.
This part of the journey takes place on Day 6 of their trip, between stops in Indiana and Iowa. Though it lasts only about five minutes, it contains one of the documentary’s most powerful and emotional moments.
At the Rail House in Pekin, Ferrell and Steele have a heartfelt conversation with local transgender woman Dana Garber, a retired counselor.
Garber shares stories from her childhood and her transition, recounting her struggles with her identity. One particularly poignant moment comes when Garber recalls a time in her life when she prayed to God, asking, “fix me or kill me — one or the other.”
The trio later head to The Basket Case in Peoria, where Steele expresses gratitude to the crowd for their support. In one touching scene, Ferrell, Steele, and Garber sing Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You, Babe” together.
The Peoria area makes one last appearance in the film when an onscreen map shows Interstate 74, tracing their route from Peoria through Galesburg as they continue on to Steele’s home state of Iowa.
