Anything’s Possible (2022) Review

Summary

Trans teen Kelsa goes on a journey of self-love and discovery, with the help of her boyfriend Khal.

Anything’s Possible stars Renee Elise Goldsberry (Waves), Abubakr Ali, and Eva Reign. It is Billy Porter’s feature-length directorial debut (also in Fairfax; Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration), with a running time of one hour and thirty-eight minutes. This film is a sweet watch. The hype has been strong on social media, as it has a strong focus on pride and queer happiness.

The film was originally intended for a theatrical release, but with a lower budget, attempting to compete at the box office, the filmmakers had to review this decision. This is why it was streamed on Amazon.

The story surrounds Kelsa, a 17-year-old transgender high-school student, who’s beginning to explore her world with her new identity. Things heat up when Kelsa and Khal, a popular cisgender boy, are partnered up in art class. This slowly blossoms into a romance. Now like all classic love stories, obstacles are put in their way and not everyone in school accepts their queer relationship. But in this modern world, anything is possible.

This film is definitely aimed at the younger generations and represents people who haven’t really had the spotlight, as leads, in previous films. Older generations could learn more about the trans community and what younger generations are progressively going through in high school and life.

What I enjoyed was the focus on queer pride and happiness. Many previous LGBTQ+ films and characters have all focused on trauma, coming-out stories, rejection, and self-hate, and here we have a romantic, fun, cute comedy celebrating the individual and love.

Storyline-wise, the film is a little basic; it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, really. The acting is to a good standard, and there is really good chemistry between the actors, with some strong, heartfelt moments. There is a cute technique the main characters use where they walk and talk as if they are narrating a nature documentary.

This makes everyone around them the spectacle and focus, which mirrors how Kelsa is currently feeling. This makes gentle light of observations and assumptions. There is a powerful argumentative scene between Kelsa and her mum, which I think everyone can relate to.

The film discusses gender with a hint that it shouldn’t. However, without gender, would we have the topics for this film? Genders are important; we just need to accept people for the gender they wish to be. However, I do understand the points the film is trying to make.

Overall, this film is a cute, cheeky, cheesy rom-com about a trans teen dating for the first time. Handled with care and attention, I hope the LGBTQ+ community (and others) enjoys this film as much as I did. You’ll enjoy this film if you like the Sex Education series, the films Love, Simon and Call Me By Your Name, and the musical Hedwig and the Angry Itch.