Billy Porter's version of high school life makes the fashion-forward kids in "Clueless" look like the orphans in "Annie." The Tony and Emmy winning "Pose" star's students in "Anything's Possible" are dressed to impress, sporting fabulous wardrobes that are more Broadway than biology class, even if the senior class looks old enough to be the teaching staff.
That's the case with Kelsa (26-year-old Eva Reign), who is officially the least convincing high schooler since Ben Platt strolled through his cafeteria in "Dear Evan Hansen." But if Porter's surface details are off, "Anything's Possible" gets its emotional core right, and it handles its delicate coming of age story with grace and heart.
Kelsa is trans and she desperately wants to be known as anything but the trans girl. She has trust issues with everyone around her, worried they only want to be her friend for the "woke points," and she constantly barks "law of averages!" at her mother every time she's asked a question that a regular old mom wouldn't ask their regular old teen. She doesn't want to be a symbol or a cause or anyone's charity case. She just wants to be herself.
Her world is somewhat upended when she develops a crush on her classmate Khal (Abubakr Ali), and his feelings toward her are mutual. They're suddenly forced to deal with everyone's reactions to their coupling: Her friend Em (Courtnee Carter) is upset because she thinks she laid claim to him first; his friend Otis (Grant Reynolds) is weirded out because of his transphobia ("she's a dude!" he tells Khal). A villainous plan is hatched that involves limiting Kelsa's access to the school's bathrooms.
And yet, all Kelsa and Khal want is to be together and explore their relationship and figure out what it is for themselves. Porter, making his feature film directorial debut and working from a script by Ximena García Lecuona, sets "Anything's Possible" in his hometown of Pittsburgh and gives the story plenty of Steel City flair; he can't help but include a shot of a Billy Porter mural, you know, just because.
If "Anything's Possible" unfolds in an impossibly heightened version of reality, the heart of the story is rooted in relatable human emotions, and its characters have frank discussions about their feelings, their fears, their hopes and the world around them. That gives the film a solid core to build from and for Porter to dress up any way he wants, and in his world, the louder the better. But while "Anything's Possible" makes plenty of noise, its quiet moments are the ones that linger.
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'ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE'
Grade: B-
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for strong language, thematic material, sexual material and brief teen drinking)
Running time: 1:36
How to watch: On Prime Video Friday
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