"I don't want to be the person people feel sorry for all the time..."
The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey delivers a gem of a performance in this comedy-drama about teenagers in remission from cancer.
She plays Ivy, a 17-year-old hard nut who was given the all-clear 10 months ago but now has little interest in leaving her room.
Desperate for their daughter to make friends, Ivy's parents (Jessica Gunning and James Norton) enrol her in a summer camp for kids who have been through the same thing.
Ivy cringes at the idea, but, as it turns out, she's not as jaded as she wants people to believe - and her campmates are a lot cooler - and, in one case, cuter - than she expected.
With unexpected treats also few and far between in summer cinemas, Sunny Dancer turns out to be one of the best of recent times as writer-director George Jaques finds a winning mix of salt and sentiment and a great cast for an audience to befriend amid the hijinks. The chemistry more than compensates for any fleeting thoughts that some may look a little old. You'll be in for a bit of age reversal yourself while watching.
In a story powered by freewheeling energy - so much so that you often forget that reality is lurking - Jaques delivers winning scene after winning scene, only to somehow make a ham-fisted job of the ending. It's so rushed that you'll still be trying to process what happened when you're halfway home.
It doesn't ruin the film, mind - that's how good Ramsey and co are.
