Bonus Track

I have been waiting excitedly to see this movie for so many months. As a Gay Young Adult I was looking forward to a new Coming of Age Story that seemed sweet from the promotional pictures I had seen. Yes it was Sweet, but there was not much going on other than knowing that both Characters "George and Max" Liked each other. The Story was cute "fluffy type of movie" but there was a lack of exploration regarding George's first relationship and the growing feelings between the two characters was a fail. This was more like a "Hallmark" movie rather than the comparison that some have made to "Heartstopper (which this movie should not in any way be compared to it)" it was cute but it ends there. This movie has no re-watch potential IMO as the storyline is too simplistic.

Bonus Tracks (2024) Having gone into the film blind, there was no IMDb reviews at that point. I found a teen film based around two 16 year old boys, meeting with the pretext of helping the awkward and academically failing George, fall for the much cooler son of a musician Marvin.

George wants to leave school with something for his peers to remember him by, and he hopes that that will come at the school leavers show.

George enlists Marvin to help him with his keyboard ditty turning it into a upbeat pop singalong.

Think of Hugh Grant helping the socially awkward Marcus in "About A Boy" and you get the idea.

Its a strange film very badly cast with all of the 16 years kids, looking so much older, I'd guess the average age must be about 25 years old. Even Marvin wears a brace to make him look younger. It is an embarrassing mess of a film. Saying that if you were a teenager in 2006 the music will connect.

A poor 4/10

PS What was more annoying was my cinema treat of buying Cadbury's Crunchie Rocks only to discover that it only contained 15% honeycomb delight and 15% corn flakes, why call if Crunchie if it only contains 15% , Cadbury's hang your head in shame.

George Bobbin is a shy, underperforming teenager who hasn't quite found his way yet. What he does know is he loves music. Then along comes Max, the son of a famous rock duo who have just recently separated leaving Max to live with his mom in Yorkshire where he meets George at his new school. Maxs' captivating smile seems to immediately get George's attention while Max seems to be magnetically drawn to George. Max befriends George offering to help him with his musical desire to enter the end of year talent show. While both have music in common, they find that as their friendship grows their attraction to one another does as well. Relentlessly pursued by the ever intrusive press, Max makes the hard decision to move with his father in London far away from Yorkshire and George. George has to learn to step up for what he believes in, and break the shy nature he has grown so comfortable with.

Bonus Track is a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy that will leave you just a little bit obsessed with George and Max and they're budding romance. I found myself rewatching scenes that touched my heart and I think you will too. There's something so charming about Max, played by Samuel Small, that leaves you wanting to see him more. His confident demeanor is strong throughout the film until one scene when he shows his vulnerability making him that much more relatable. This will definitely be one of my favorite coming of age movies for years to come.

After watching a few really heavy gay-themed movies lately, this was absolutely the tonic I needed.

How lucky are young queer kids today that they get the opportunity to watch movies like this.

Some might say it's tropey, but I absolutely believe that this story hasn't been done in this way for a queer audience before.

It's warm, funny, sweet - but not as 'sickly sweet' as Heartstopper, which has been criticised as being a very sanitised version of a teen gay romance. This on the other hand feels less wistful and a bit more real (obviously it's still somewhat in the fantasy category though).

Very emotive like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and really funny and taps into cultural references and great music like Big Boys. In fact, this is a great pick me up after the finale of season 3 of Big Boys.

If this was distributed on Netflix, it would be going crazy. This could be the best gay movie you've never heard of!

Thank you to the creators. Brilliant!

Best lgbtq+ film I have seen in a long time. If you love Heartstopper you will adore Bonus Track.

I think this film is the perfect example of how to make a gay romance not about being gay. Of course it being set in 2006 and having both teenagers fail to conform to the relationship norms of that time, the romance itself I would describe as a friends to lovers, coming of age movie dedicated to the exploration of the struggles of school and exams and of course crushes. Both the leads acted their asses off in this film, making it even more re-watchable every time. I would 100% recommend to anyone wanting to have a cozy night in with some friends, soaking up the queer energy delivered in this beautiful film.