Kelsa (Eva Reign) in high school enjoys talking about the animals she loves on her YouTube channel, and takes solace in the fact that their names are derived from what makes them unique. The detail stands out in actor, singer and author Billy Porter’s pleasing and entertaining directorial debut, “Anything’s Possible,” which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Both intentionally and otherwise, the young adult romantic comedy struggles with — and tries to unravel the implication of — uniqueness.
On YouTube, Kelsa also discusses and documents her transitional experiences, and while nominally at school, she feels most comfortable talking about this facet of her life on camera. Kelsa’s mother (Renée Elise Goldsberry) loves and supports her, but fearing that her transgenderness will define her or that she will be instrumentalized for “wake points,” she usually avoids talking about it.
That starts to change when she meets a cool, cute and sensitive artist boy, Khal (Abubakr Ali). As romance blossoms, their relationship forces them to explore their responsibilities, and what they can and cannot avoid in the real world, where there is friction between self-preservation, alliance, community, and (the implication of) harmful political contexts.
Sometimes it feels like Reign and Ali struggle to make their charming chemistry discernible under Porter’s internet-related but unobtrusive hand. Both can of course play for the camera, Reign with a mesmerizing grin and Ali with pensive eyes. But what could be sharply defined in their performances is more roughly hewn.
The film gets bogged down in contradiction, like its protagonist: unsure of how central its identity politics and their impact should be, wanting the stakes high enough to be a believable teen watch, but also just wanting the human quality of being story shine. Unlike its main characters, “Anything’s Possible” never quite gets the hang of it whether it’s to be distinctive or just another kid in school.
Everything is possible
Rated PG-13 for language, thematic material, sexual material and short drinking by teens. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. Watch Amazon Prime Video.
