Yes, OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

Regarding Linux distributions, I don’t have a specific recommendation. You might be worse off with a distro that doesn’t include nonfree drivers for wifi, bluetooth, graphics by default. IIRC these MBPs use Broadcom Wifi chips. Ubuntu and derivatives would be my first try. Definitely read up on how to install Linux on MBPs. You probably might have to configure something in OpenFirmware/EFI.