Rien n'est impossible

You can tell some really hard work went into this picture and the actors gave it their all. Glad i was able to watch it because I learned some things that I didn't know before. No excuse to blame mainstream society for not covering your community; make a movie on your own terms!

This isn't a great movie. It most certainly is a good movie. And as a first offering from Billy Porter there's some incredible material here. Is it fun? Cute? A nice RomCom? Yep.

It's also one of the more important topics we need to be talking about right now. Basic human decency, and the ability for people to live their truth. It's a movie, that happens to be about a trans youth. It deals with some difficult ideas, which is basically adolescence in a nutshell. If the movie offends you, the problem is not with the movie.

Recently I've seen the most disgusting violence I've ever seen in film and television... but someone falls in love with someone else and you're offended?? No. That's not the discussion we need to have. Evolution is hard, and it's going to happen no matter how much you don't want it to.

Kelsa is a modern woman, that just wants her moment to feel loved, and be seen in a world that is trying very hard to erase people like her. Khalid is a kind young man that just follows his heart, into the arms of a woman struggling for identity, a vision of her future, and the need to loved just for who she is. A love story.

If you get that, you'll get this delightful, light, and very needed little bit of comfort cinema. Keep it up, Billy.

IN A NUTSHELL: This modern Gen Z coming-of-age story shines a spotlight on Kelsa, a confident high school girl who is trans, as she navigates through her senior year and romance. Two-time Tony Award winner Billy Porter directed the movie. He was most recently featured as a trans "Fabulous Godmother" in Amazon's Cinderella in 2021.

THINGS I LIKED: I had never seen Eva Reign in anything before. She definitely has charisma and does an outstanding job representing the trans world.

This is probably the first time we've ever seen a trans-girl in a high school romance being featured in a film, right? Can you think of others?

Others in the cast include Abubakr Ali, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Simon Joy Jones, and Kelly Lamor Wilson.

There is some humor but a lot of awkward moments.

Keep watching during the final credits for a little dance number by the cast.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: People argue about how woke they are.

The protagonist gets super upset that everyone puts so much emphasis on sex and gender, yet she wears super sexy clothing in every scene.

There's not a lot of depth to the characters in the sense that we don't get to learn that much about them, only offering surface-level discussions.

Similarly, the movie touches on various subjects like gender bathrooms and society's stereotypes but doesn't dive much deeper into the subjects.

All of the teenagers are super self-absorbed, but then again, that's how teenagers generally are.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Crude conversations Some profanity and F-bomb Teenage bullying A transvestite makes out with a guy many times We see a shirtless teenage boy Teens drink alcohol at a party Two teenage boys get into a fist fight

THEMES: Gender identity Teenage/high school life Identity Acceptance Friendship Social media Kindness Courage Romance Discrimination Single motherhood Seeing people for who and what they are Gen Z life and perspective Morally superiority and virtue signaling

I've been watching coming of what age movies since I was coming of age in the 1970s. This is a very nice addition to the genre with the typical best friend breakup, shifting allegiances, etc., of high school dramas seen through more tolerant, but still fraught, gender issues of today. Richie Cunningham never had to deal with such things.

I'm a substitute teacher in southwest Ohio bouncing from rural to urban schools, and if you don't think that there are LGBTQ kids in your school you're mistaken.

The actors are young and charming and the city of Pittsburgh looks great. Although as a native Pittsburgh I know those characters are on the wrong bus to get to their destinations! Look for the Billy Porter (the director) mural and stay for the High School Musical inspired closing credits.

Love the conservative meltdown about this movie 😂😂😂 more than enough reason to watch it honestly. Like it or not, trans people are here to stay. You can be a decent human being to us or you can cope and seethe.