Movie Review: SUNNY DANCER

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: September 26th, 2026 / 12:22 AM

SUNNY DANCER movie poster | ©2026 Quiver Distribution

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Bella Ramsey, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Conrad Khan, Jasmine Elcock, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Louis Gaunt, Josie Walker, Jessica Gunning, James Norton, Neil Patrick Harris
Writer: George Jaques
Director: George Jaques
Distributor: Quiver Distribution
Release Date: September 18, 2026

Directed and written by George Jaques, SUNNY DANCER is a film pulling in two different directions – and it’s not comedy vs. drama, though that’s definitely here.

Instead, on the one hand, we’ve got a sextet of adolescent protagonists who have cancer, insisting very credibly that they don’t want to be uplifted, admired, inspired or otherwise viewed as symbols of heroism or targets of sympathy. With Jaques’s dialogue and his group of on-target performers, we can empathize with this.

On the other hand, we’ve got SUNNY DANCER as a whole, which very much does want to uplift, inspire, symbolize and so on. The results feel a bit schizophrenic.

Our protagonist is seventeen-year-old Ivy Pritchard (the terrific Bella Ramsey), who has been in remission from leukemia for ten months. Her parents, Karen (Jessica Gunning) and Bob (James Norton), are concerned that Ivy has become increasingly withdrawn, not maintaining old friendships or taking an interest in anything.

In the hopes of bringing Ivy out of her shell, her folks sign her up for four weeks of summer at CRF Camp in Scotland, where she’ll be amongst cancer survivors her own age. Despite protesting being sent to “chemo camp,” Ivy agrees to it.

Ivy’s assigned roommate is Ella (Ruby Stokes), a camp veteran who is about to turn eighteen and is determined to lose her virginity this year – if possible, to hunky counselor Tristan (Louis Gaunt). Ella eventually wears Ivy down and persuades her to start hanging out with Ella’s camp friends, who include soulful Jake (Daniel Quinn-Toye), sardonic Ralph (Earl Cave), loyal Archie (Conrad Khan) and cool Maisie (Jasmine Elcock).

When this group is together, they’re delightful. We believe that they can talk to each other in ways that they can’t with anyone who hasn’t had their experiences, from treatment to pity to suddenly losing friends whose cancer has returned.

Because they can open up on life-and-death matters, it frees them to communicate on lighter topics that teens aren’t necessarily keen to discuss across gender lines. These scenes are pure fun.

However, SUNNY DANCER doesn’t wholly seem certain of how we’re meant to view Ivy. She has a clear rebellious side, but given the issues her peers are going through, it’s hard to imagine (although it’s what we’re told) that there haven’t been other outbursts like hers at CRF previously.

Furthermore, for someone who’s ostensibly hard to reach, Ivy is awfully compliant with her parents. When the whole family breaks into a car-appropriate song and dance on the road to camp, Ivy on the whole seems like the ideal daughter.

Some of how Camp CRF functions is mystifying. Camp “president” Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) assures his charges that their stay will be full of surprising new adventures, while setting up a curriculum that seems a whole lot like that of similar establishments. We’re never clear if he’s being intentionally corny or can’t hear himself.

The camp also has co-ed cabin assignments, which seems like it might raise a few eyebrows. Then there’s a day trip to town, with no adult supervision in sight (and apparently no pocket money given to the youths). When Patrick is appalled that there’s a confrontation with some townies, it seems like somebody ought to ask him where he or at least a counselor was during all of this. Finally, there’s a third-act swerve that just tries too hard.

SUNNY DANCER has superb young actor performances and intelligent observations doing battle with good intentions. Which ultimately wins out will be up to the individual viewer to decide.

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