Review: 'One of the Boys' a Sensitive, Tentative Romance

Teys Schucany's four-part short-form series "One of the Boys" falls somewhere between romance and bromance. Can new kid Aksel Jakob Spang Olsen) reciprocate Lau's (Jonathan Tage Pedersen) growing feelings? Is he gay? Does it matter?

The two new friends are outliers among a group of boys on a trip to the woods for a "Real Man" camp. The outing is as toxic and ridiculous as it sounds; the two adult counselors (who do a lousy job of supervising their young charges) put the youths through their paces, hauling buckets of water and clinging to trees for hours on end in a series of meaningless challenges, all while yelling about the virtues and traits of "real men."

One of the bromides the boys are subjected to is that real men support their friends and know how to work as a team, but that only goes so far. There will be one winner at the end of several days' worth of contests, and that sole "real man" – Lau explains to Aksel – will gain "serious prestige."

Years ago, Lau's father won the contest, with the help of his friend Michael. Now Lau's father has died, and Michael (Mortan Burian) – who one of the counselors – takes every opportunity to encourage Lau to triumph in his turn, going so far as to suggest that Lau buddy up with William (Oliver Tikotzki), the group's alpha male, in order to increase his chances.

William, however, isn't interested, and is clearly annoyed when the less athletic Lau selects him for a contest. When they lose, William's exasperation turns to fury, and Lau becomes the object of his scorn and ridicule.

Aksel – calmer, more mature, and more thoughtful than many of the other boys – stands up for Lau, and makes it a point to befriend him. Catching a glimpse of what might be a text message from a male lover on Aksel's phone, Lau begins to entertain the idea that Aksel might become more than a "man camp" pal.

Schucany and co-writer Frederik Rye hit the usual coming-of-age notes, but they do it in the way that that other international teen-guys-in-love series, "Heartstopper," does: with a sense of restraint and realism. There's bullying and humiliation, as well as betrayal and lust, but they're kept to scale and communicated with a minimum of melodrama. The young cast does a fine job, with no one (except maybe Aksel) being portrayed as either a saint or a devil. Lau has his failings, and William has his more sympathetic moments.

Totaling no more than an hour, and eminently bingeable, these four episodes could easily be thought of as a short film.

"One of the Boys" streams on Viaplay starting June 8.