Review: Josh O'Connor's 'Bonus Track' a Very Fun, Charming Flick

Josh O'Connor may be straight, but he seems to have an understanding for the queer experience that has made him a fan-favorite for movies like "God's Own Country" and "Challengers."

Now O'Connor (with screenwriter Mike Gilbert) has devised a queer coming-of-age movie, "Bonus Track," that acknowledges the awkwardness of growing up – and growing up gay – and flirts with the conventions of the genre, but focuses more on the fun than the trauma of figuring things out, falling in love, and, eventually, embracing authenticity.

With the end of high school approaching, George (Joe Anders) has his sights set on two things: admission to a music school, and the talent show that will cap his high school experience. It's England in the year 2006, but despite all the synth-oriented musical acts the country has produced, no one seems to appreciate George's techno beats and electronic melodies.

Enter Max (Samuel Small), the son of a famous musician and a talented singer in his own right. Max is new to the school, and he brings an aura of fame – plus a certain effortless charisma, a star quality – with him. Max is looking for some help with his homework, and George is looking for someone to partner with for the talent show, and it's not long before they have struck a bargain. But they get more than they reckoned with when their friendship blossoms into something new.

The film doesn't ignore the teen movie tropes of dealing with parents (George's, played by Jack Davenport and Alison Sudol, are perpetually bickering, and his mother still carries a teenage crush on Max's famous dad), finding out who you really are (George experiments with booze and a piercing thanks to Max's insouciant influence), and high school social dynamics (a girl named Molly [Elle McCloskey] has decided she wants Max for herself and is none too keen on the idea that Max is more into George than her), but it relies only sparingly on those familiar elements, choosing instead to pursue a lighter, bouncier vibe. The fact that Max is a celebrity plays into the action (there are tabloid reporters everywhere just waiting for the boys to do anything remotely wild), but the focus always returns, rightly, to George and Max working out what it is they want.

Not that all the side trips this flick takes lead anywhere. O'Connor shows up for a funny scene in which he plays a graffiti artist with a side gig in body piercings, which adds to the film's mood of zippy inventiveness, but also feels slightly tacked on. An overnight school trip to an adventure camp gives the boys the chance for their first kiss (a moment that carries complications of its own), but also feels a little out of place.

Even so, the film has a firm grasp of where it's headed and arrives there in a satisfying way, thanks to the cast, Gilbert's screenplay, and first time feature director Julia Jackman's intuitive sense of how to tie everything together.

"Bonus Track" comes to VOD on February 11.