'Sunny Dancer' Review: A Fresh and Unique Spin on the Coming-of-Age Genre
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Dan Bremner - August 19, 2026
The second film from George Jaques, a heart warming coming-of-age comedy-drama with a properly bleak twist. Sunny Dancer was one of those films I had no idea existed until the trailers started showing about a month before release. I wasn’t even sure it would get a wide release or sensible screening times, but thankfully it did, and it turned out to be one of my biggest surprises of the year.
A heartfelt, funny and occasionally gut-punching summer-camp film about a group of teens, all cancer survivors or in remission, trying to deal with life and actually have some fun again. The coming-of-age genre rarely does much new for me, but the chemo-camp setting gives it a unique spin that completely won me over. Charming, sincere, and elevated by a fantastic central performance from the internet freaks favourite punching bag, Bella Ramsey.
Ramsey is outstanding as Ivy Dancer. She balances sharp humour, teenage rebellion, angst, vulnerability and real emotional weight with real screen presence. It’s a nuanced, forceful performance that carries the entire film and makes Ivy’s journey feel lived-in and believable. One of the best things she’s done.
The young ensemble around her is just as strong. Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Jasmine Elcock and Conrad Khan have genuine, lively chemistry as a ragtag group of misfits. A lot of their interactions feel loose and improvised in the best way, giving the friendships and hijinks a teenage texture that never feels forced. Neil Patrick Harris is surprisingly well-used as the relentlessly upbeat camp president, all dad jokes and forced positivity that somehow still lands as endearing rather than just annoying, while also delivering the strongest emotional beat. Jessica Gunning and James Norton do solid, grounded work as Ivy’s loving but overbearing parents.
What really works is how Sunny Dancer handles such a heavy subject. It refuses to turn the characters into walking diagnoses or wallow in pure tragedy. These are still horny, awkward, rebellious, funny teenagers first and foremost, and the film lets them be that while still acknowledging the isolation, fear and psychological fallout that comes with what they’ve been through. It makes a traditionally bleak subgenre feel a little sunnier without ever becoming saccharine or dishonest.
Jaques (only about 25 years old) directs with real confidence and energy. He mixes peppery humour, freewheeling camp shenanigans, first loves and genuine emotional punches without the whole thing collapsing under its own sentiment. For a British indie it has a nice sense of scale and summer warmth, filmed in Scotland with a polished but still youthful feel. It’s an accessible, crowd-pleasing package that still manages to land some incredibly affecting moments when you least suspect it.
Where it slightly stumbles is the third act. The big twist and climax feel contrived and a bit ham-fisted, a sudden tonal shift that some will find manipulative or rushed. It doesn’t completely sink the film for me, but it does leave a few question marks and slightly undercuts the emotional honesty that worked so well up to that point. Plus, it made me think of Fight Club, possibly the last film I ever expected to compare this too. And then there’s the completely insane cameo from a musician playing himself (don’t worry, it’s not Ed Sheeran), which is somehow even more baffling than the twist itself.
Sunny Dancer is a sunny delight. A very strong outing from George Jaques, giving a unique and fresh spin on the coming-of-age genre in a warm, funny and gut-punching crowd-pleaser. Even with the grim subject matter, it does manage to handle its tones well while rarely delving into manipulative territory, and Bella Ramsey proves to be an outstanding lead with the right material.
'Sunny Dancer' released in cinemas August 14, 2026.
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