Directed by Billy Porter
Written by Ximena García Lecuona
Starring Eva Reign, Abubakr Ali, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Courtnee Carter
Runtime 96 minutes
Streaming on Amazon Prime July 22

by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer

Anything’s Possible follows Kelsa (Eva Reign), a trans girl in her senior year of high school. She wants to be able to thrive, not just survive. And despite having to put up with a jealous friend who stirs up awful transphobia, Kelsa finds her way to self discovery and a precious love story with Khal (Abubakr Ali). The couple navigate their senior year and all the anxieties involved, including figuring out the future of their relationship. 

It’s a pretty standard plot: Girl and Boy are seniors in high school, anxious about college and their future, only to fall in love and find themselves in the process! But it’s cliche because it’s true and because it’s compelling to watch on screen. We see most of the teen movie staples: the meet-cute, the close proximity, the party scene (which inexplicably seems to be taking place in the middle of the day though, weird), graduation, and so on. There’s tension between Kelsa and Khal and their friends, and some of them aren’t friends by the end, which I like. High school is messy and friendships even more so!

The leads are really what shine here: Kelsa and Khal have great chemistry, and the movie is at its strongest when we’re focused on them. Their relationship developing over the course of the movie is the most captivating part. We get to see two teenagers, who feel like real people, go from strangers to classmates to friends and then to boyfriend and girlfriend. It’s really sweet, and I think the two actors do an amazing job together. They have conflict, but it feels real. Kelsa is insistent that she fights her own battles, and Khal is a kind boyfriend who wants to help, even when he shouldn’t. 

Unfortunately, this movie relies on a lot of voiceover to tell the story, when I think a lighter touch might have been better. There’s a long voiceover at the beginning of the movie, which is a fun introduction to the characters using animal comparisons, as a nod to Kelsa’s interest in nature documentaries. But more VO is used throughout, for both leads. While Kelsa’s YouTube channel and Khal’s Reddit habit are good reasons to have the VO, it doesn’t feel necessary to have quite so much of it in the movie. There were several times where we’re told something about the characters and then later shown in a scene or told in dialogue that same thing. A little more showing and not telling would have been effective.

As to be expected from Billy Porter’s directorial debut, it’s gorgeous to look at. The sequences at the botanical garden are really lovely, both to the eye and in capturing the romantic tension between the characters so well. The elevator scene is beautifully lit and feels intimate for the conversation between Kelsa and Khal. Likewise, while the costume design feels a smidge over the top for high school kids, the outfits are really interesting to look at and feel spot-on for the characters. 

However, some of the side characters are underdeveloped. Most of Kelsa’s friends feel one-note. And while teenagers can be petty, there are turns that feel a bit exaggerated. Because Kelsa’s friend Em (Courtnee Carter) liked Khal as well, she goes full transphobia out of jealousy, then only apologizes because her mom got involved and spouted even worse transphobic comments. I mean, this girl crusades to keep Kelsa out of the girls’ locker room! I’m glad that she apologizes to Kelsa, but it still feels almost too easily resolved for how horrible the comments got. But then, these are teenagers, so emotions are running high!

In contrast, Kelsa’s mom, a lovely turn from Renée Elise Goldsberry, feels very much like a realistically overinvested mother trying to find out all about her daughter’s life. I found her chemistry with Kelsa really believable, and I loved the “law of averages,” as Kelsa’s reminder to keep her mom from being too involved. And I’m a sucker for an apologetic parent scene, so their reconciliation at the end of the movie did me in. 

Overall, this is a really sweet coming-of-age rom-com. It’s about time a trans girl gets to be front and center with a love story all her own. And I loved seeing her journey that, while depicting some transphobia, was not all doom and gloom. Trans joy is important, and we deserve to see it! Kelsa is allowed to be a messy girl, like so many main characters in teen films before her. I’m glad the teen film sphere is widening to show the full spectrum of experience on screen!