Happy Pride, my children. This year is the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall riots, without which we would not be celebrating Pride month. It was considered one of the most important events leading to the gay liberation movement and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Check out the post linked below for a brief history as to what happened on the 28th of June 1969.
If you are reading this post, whether you’re out and proud, in the closet, questioning everything, or anything in between, I want you to know that you’re not alone. The chances of someone going through the same thing as you is surprisingly pretty high, I promise. I read (or heard someone say, I don’t know) somewhere that you don’t need the whole world to believe in you; you just need one person, even if that one person is yourself. Well, now you have one more person (me). I believe in you. I want you to know that I’m proud of you, I love you, and everything is going to be okay. You’re doing great, buddy, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, friendly reminder:
Listed below are 10 queer/queer adjacent movies I absolutely adore and have definitely watched more often than once. I know it’s not an extensive list, but if you would like more movies (and I’m sure you would) please check out this Google Sheet I found online that has around 90 movies with information like the target demographic, genre, queer representation, etc. It’s a very helpful list, has ratings and all that good stuff so feel free to check it out.
Booksmart (2019) dir. Olivia Wilde.
This coming of age movie follows Amy and Molly, two academically thriving students who come to the bitter realization that they spent their entire school life studying and filling up their résumés instead of going to parties and having fun with their peers, whereas their fellow students managed to do both (and quite successfully, at that). So, they spend the night before graduation trying to get to a party in order to show everyone how cool they actually are.
- Queer rep? LESBIAAANS
- Main role? Yes ma’am.
- Cute? Duh.
- Tears? Only happy ones.
Note: I watched this twice in the same day because I loved it so much. The characters are relatable, hilarious, and have so much depth. I don’t think I ever fell in love with a movie as fast as I did with this. (Thank you AP for the recommendation!).
Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee.
There should be a better way to explain this movie but I don’t know how to go about it. Instead, I will tell you that this revolves around Ennis and Jack, two shepherds who start working together on a mountain and slowly (not really) develop feelings for one another. Their intensely passionate affair is cut short when they return back to their normal lives. As the years progress, one of them gets married and the other gets a girlfriend, but Jack and Ennis keep gravitating towards each other. Hopefully, the trailer does a better job explaining this to you, it’s linked below.
- Queer rep? THE GAYS
- Main role? YEAH AND TWO OF THEM
- Cute? Yes, but tread lightly.
- Tears? Too many. Like, a lot. I was sobbing.
Note: This movie did to my heart what Heath Ledger did to Jake Gyllenhaal’s nose: nearly broke it. Fun fact: they weren’t fighting, they were making out. He kissed him so hard that he almost broke his nose. Straight couples could never.
But, I’m a Cheerleader (1999) dir. Jamie Babbit.
Megan’s parents and friends stage an intervention for her because they picked up on signs that she’s a lesbian. They send her to a straight conversion camp called True Directions where she has to follow a 5 (?) step program in order to become straight again. I’m a huge fan of movies making fun of straight people, and I’m also a huge fan of Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall so I quite enjoyed this.
- Queer rep? THE GAYS AND THE LESBIANS!
- Main role? Yes!
- Cute? Adorable.
- Tears? None, yay.
Note: There’s one scene in which RuPaul says “I myself am a former gay” and I have never laughed harder in my life. Someone give this man an Oscar. If you want to make fun of the hets and watch an effortlessly wholesome coming of age rom-com, look no further.
Dostana (2008) dir. Tarun Mansukhani.
Sam and Kunal, acquaintances who barely know each other end up apartment hunting at the same place. They find out that the landlady is not willing to rent to single men because of safety concerns over her niece, Neha. Not wanting to give up the apartment, Sam and Kunal pretend to be a gay couple, but things get complicated when they both start falling for Neha.
I feel like I should explain my reasoning behind putting this on a queer recommendation list despite there being no actual gay characters in it. This was the first Bollywood movie (that I had seen, and at that point in time I had seen many) which had a couple “kiss” on-screen, and it wasn’t a straight one. Do you know what a big deal that was for me? Massive. I know a lot of people found this problematic, but I was not one of them. This is one of my feel-good movies with a soundtrack that can make me turn up anytime. You can choose whether or not to watch it, that’s entirely up to you, but it comes highly recommended from me.
- Queer rep?… No, BUT two guys kiss.
- Main role? The guys who kiss are in the main cast, yes.
- Cute? It really is.
- Tears? Only tears of laughter.
Note: Sam’s mom finally coming to her senses and accepting him for being gay (even though he really wasn’t) warmed my cold, dead, heart. To quote my sister, this is peak Bollywood.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019) dir. Shelly Chopra Dhar.
This is another one of those movies that are hard to explain, but I’ll try. There’s a writer, he bumps into a girl who is in trouble and his hero-complex kicks in and he saves her; he realizes from that brief encounter that he’s in love with her and seeks off to find her. Once he manages to cross paths yet again he confesses his feelings only for her to tell him that she’s in love with a girl. I could tell you the rest but that would give the story away. This features my actual love Juhi Chawla and real-life father-daughter duo Anil and Sonam Kapoor.
- Queer rep? DESI LESBIANS!
- Main role? Yes! And Sonam Kapoor is mad cute.
- Cute? Exceedingly.
- Tears? Yes. Beaucoup. I was crying so much I had to pause the movie because I couldn’t read the subtitles.
Note: I adore this movie. For starters, it baits the straights for a good one hour or so by making them think this is another one of their heterosexual romances but then they turn around and say ha! you thought! This movie also deals with homophobia, islamophobia, and the archaic gender roles that are painstakingly present in today’s society, but they do it in a light-hearted manner.
Imagine Me & You (2005) dir. Ol Parker.
On her wedding day, Rachel meets Luce and feels immediately drawn to her. They begin hanging out and when she finds out the Luce is a lesbian she starts questioning her marriage to Heck. This movie is so predictable and it’s everything I hate about heterosexual romantic comedies but seeing Piper Perabo remove her jacket and lovingly put it over Lena Heady to shield her from the cold made all my intuitions fly out the window.
- Queer rep? LESBIANS BAYBEEE
- Main role? Yes, and yes.
- Cute? Oh, you have no idea.
- Tears? None, thankfully.
Note: While I don’t even remotely condone adultery in any shape or form, I loved this movie. I think it’s because I haven’t really seen a queer love story being treated so normally (for a lack of better words). It probably has something to with the fact that the original script was written for a straight couple, but changed at the last minute which means there was so no homophobia, no big deal coming out, and no hate, you know? It felt natural, as it should.
Love, Simon (2018) dir. Greg Berlanti.
Simon falls for someone he meets online but doesn’t know the identity of his secret admirer. After an altercation with a fellow student takes place, his messages are leaked and he is outed to his entire school. He feels alienated and his actions push away his friend group as well. This movie deals with the pressures of being a gay kid in high school and having to come out to your parents and friends. It’s a movie about acceptance and growth, and it’s beautiful.
- Queer rep? HIGHSCHOOL GAYS
- Main role? Yeah, AND his name is on the title.
- Cute? Melted my damn heart.
- Tears? There was one scene in which I couldn’t BREATHE. Yes, tears.
Note: The scene in which Simon (Nick Robison) and his mom (Jennifer Garner) have a conversation after he comes out shattered my heart to pieces. The acting was on point and the movie was spectacular. Also, Keiynan Lonsdale is the actual sun and I adore him.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) dir. Hitesh Kelwalya.
Aman comes out to his family at his cousin’s wedding and has to face the music when he realizes he comes from a typically conservative and homophobic household. While he wants to leave and forget this happened, his boyfriend Kartik urges him to fight back claiming that he will never be happy unless he’s fully accepted. I think the reason I took to this movie was that it was so quintessentially Bollywood. Everything you’d expect from a straight Bollywood movie was in this: the vibrant colors, the family feuds, the seven dance numbers, and the borderline offensive humor.
- Queer rep? DESI GAYS!
- Main role? YEH BOI(S)
- Cute? Yeah lol
- Tears? Yeah, I was sobbing but I couldn’t fathom why.
Note: I think I was crying because I was so happy to see how much Bollywood cinema has progressed. While there are still so many issues with this movie, I think it was a step in the right direction. I laughed so much and had a great time. This was the most Bollywood™ movie I’d seen in a good while.
The Birdcage (1996) dir. Mike Nichols.
Armand and Albert’s lives take a drastic turn when Armand’s son gets engaged to the daughter of a conservative senator. Being the complete schmuck he is, the kid asks Armand to appear straight in order to impress his fiancee’s family and hilarity ensues. I know this is a poor synopsis, but what if I told this movie has Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria, AND Christine Baranski? Surely, that’s a sell.
- Queer rep? GAYS, DRAG QUEENS, POSSIBLY BISEXUAL ROBIN WILLIAMS.
- Main role? YES.
- Cute? YEAH
- Tears? Only if you think about how much you miss Robin Williams. (I miss Robin Williams).
Note: Take a shot for every time I said Robin Williams. Also, there’s a scene in which the son asks Hank Azaria’s character to look more straight and he literally wears a crop top that says “straight-looking” and if that’s not top tier comedy, I don’t know what is.
The Half of It (2020) dir. Alice Wu.
Paul has a crush on Astrid and asks Ellie to help him woo her by writing letters. When Astrid begins responding to them Ellie soon realizes that she may slowly be falling for her too. This leaves her with the question: does she throw Paul under the bus and confess her feelings or does she keep it hidden?
- Queer rep? (1) BISEXUAL QUEEN, (1) BABY LESBIAN
- Main role? YES
- Cute? I literally had to clutch my heart.
- Tears? No, boo.
Note: I generally despise Netflix originals but this warmed my heart beyond belief. This movie felt like a tight hug on a sad day. I would now like the other half of it. (Get it?).
Halfway through writing this, I figured perhaps 10 isn’t much so here’s 5 biographical movies I cut from the initial list because I was too lazy to write summaries and/or I’ve included them in previous lists:
- Rocketman (2019) dir. Dexter Fletcher. | A fantasy musical based on Elton John’s early life, rise to fame, and past struggles.
- I Love You, Phillp Morris (2009) dir. John Requa + Glenn Ficarra. | Follows the life of Steven Russell who meets the love of his life in prison and does everything in his power to stay with him, even if it means being repeatedly incarcerated.
- Pride (2014) dir. Stephen Beresford. | Set in Wales in the 1980s this follows gay and lesbian activists marching to support union miners under the rule of Margaret Thatcher.
- Milk (2008) dir. Gus Van Sant. |Revolves around the life of Harvey Milk and his campaign to become the first openly gay official to be elected to public office.
- Dalla Buyer’s Club (2013) dir. Jean-Marc Vallée. | Ron Woodroof finds a banned drug that helps AIDS patients survive longer. Once he realizes he can make bank he forms a membership-based club to get the medicine to those in need.
If I missed out on any of your favorites, do let me know, I shall check them out. Once again, if you would like a more extensive list, click here.
Before I end this post I’d like to direct your attention to the title image, which was done by Bee. Linked below is their Instagram where you can other similar artworks; the one I chose for the cover is one of ten in a set that they made especially for pride month. You can also support their work on RedBubble, TeePublic, and Tumblr so feel free to check them out!
Happy Pride Month, kids. I hope you spread more love than the hate there is out there. Be nice to each other and take care. You’re valid.
Wrestling and Other Things 