Pride Month may be nearly over, but I insist on sneaking in my favorite watches just under the deadline. Below is a list of my favorite queer films, and the ones I put on repeat, during Pride Month and beyond.
Bound (1996)
If this list were ranked by sheer enjoyment rather than alphabetically, Bound would still be at the top. Three years before they gave us The Matrix, The Wachowskis made this neo-noir classic, which follows Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon as Violet, girlfriend of mobster Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), and Corky, an ex-con fresh out of prison. Sparks fly when their eyes meet in an elevator, and they’ve soon embarked on a passionate (and very sensual) affair that culminates in a plan to steal from the mafia and run off together with the cash. When it inevitably goes violently awry, their bond will determine whether Violet and Corky will ride off into the sunset or die trying.
But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)
Conversion therapy as a source of hilarity is a tough sell, but Jamie Babbit absolutely nailed it in this campy comedy which features Natasha Lyonne as the naively straitlaced teenager Megan, who is sent to True Directions, a camp that aims to cure teenagers of their queerness. What follows is a gleefully hilarious satire of heteronormativity, and a sweetly sincere romcom as Megan begins to have some very unhetero feelings for her classmate Graham (Clea DuVall). It also features queer icons Mink Stole, RuPaul, as well as a supporting cast that includes Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, and Dante Basco.
D.E.B.S. (2004)
There’s quite a bit under the surface of Angela Robinson’s allegedly frivolous story of schoolgirls running around in plaid miniskirts while engaging in government-sanctioned espionage. For one, top agent Amy (Sara Foster) quickly finds herself falling in love with her target, the supervillain Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster). And perhaps most subversive of all, the top determinant of who’s a good fit for the team isn’t patriotism or physical fitness, but apparently an ability to lie. The early aughts setting means that Amy and Lucy’s relationship will never be fully accepted, but your friends can still get over their homophobia and internalized misogyny, at least enough to help you and girlfriend escape to a better life.
Desert Hearts (1985)
A quiet slow burn in the 1959 Reno desert, repressed professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) finds more than she bargained for when she meets the spirited firebrand and sculptor Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau) while waiting for her divorce to become finalized. Their chemistry is electric, and both women are given complexity and histories as they learn to trust their fragile but loving romance. Director Donna Deitch’s place in history was earned by the simple act of portraying a lesbian relationship that didn’t involve a man or a tragic ending, with Desert Hearts standing the test of time as a queer classic.
Fire Island (2022)
A group of queer besties gather for what will be their final summer on the titular island in Andrew Ahn’s romcom, which takes its inspo directly from one of the best love stories of all time, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Come for the chemistry and enemies to lovers of it all between Noah (Joel Kim Booster) and the reserved Will (Conrad Ricamora), stay for the razor sharp wit, the sweetly vulnerable, achingly romantic turn from Bowen Yang, comic relief from the always magnificent Margaret Cho and the cutting depictions of how race, class, and body shaming can keep the best of us from enjoying our own happy ending.
Imagine Me And You (2005)
Released in the hetero heyday of the early 2000s, this fluffy romcom kicks off when Rachel (Piper Perabo) locks eyes with florist Luce (Lena Headey) and feels such an immediate, soulful connection that she starts falling for her and questioning her sexuality…on her wedding day. Talk about awkward. While mostly erring strictly to the tropes and the cultural norms of the time, the chemistry and tender passion Rachel and Luce find as they navigate a love story neither of them imagined is worth the watch.
Lesbian Space Princess (2025)
You know how it is. You’re a space princess on the planet Clitopolis who discovers your toxic bounty hunter ex-girlfriend has been kidnapped by Straight White Maliens, so you just gotta break outta your comfort zone and head out on a journey to find her on a problematic space ship that mispronounces your name and asks where you’re from. We’ve all been there right? Nah, probably not, but the raunchy animated Australian sci-fi comedy joyously blasts away with abandon as the eponymous Princess Saira (Shabana Azeez) comes into her own while she embarks on a rescue mission to find her power and the confidence to love herself.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
When Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned to secretly paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) for her upcoming marriage on an isolated island in 18th century Brittany, what ensues becomes writer-director Céline Sciamma’s quiet rumination on the nature of artist and muse, desire, the female gaze, the nature and perspective of history, and of course, the brief but intense affair between Marianne and Héloïse. Exquisitely crafted, both classic and deeply contemporary, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a cinematic poem like no other.
T Blockers (2023)
Another offering from an Australian filmmaker, but this one leans into the horror of it all, as prolific trans director Alice Maio Mackay gives us a story about a young trans filmmaker Sophie (Lauren Last), who discovers why the right wingers in her small town are more dangerous than usual: parasitic aliens who find them to be very receptive hosts. As the violent extremism they encourage and unleash starts leaving a body count, Sophie and her friends prepare to fight back with the help of a film from a deceased 90s trans filmmaker who also fought the same battle. A tribute to queer filmmakers and indie filmmaking, T Blockers is also a touching meditation on the cyclical nature of hate and extremism, and why the fight is always worth it.
Tangerine (2015)
It should be a heartbreaking premise, but most of us were just getting to know Sean Baker when he made the film that would take him from unknown to one of the industry’s most in demand filmmakers with Tangerine. Transgender sex worker Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) gets out of prison just in time for Christmas, only to discover that her boyfriend and pimp (James Ransone) has cheated on her, sparking this walking whirlwind to tear up the streets of Los Angeles to find him throughout one chaotic day, with her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) reluctantly tagging along during most of the ensuing drama. Shot on three iPhone 5s smartphones, Tangerine is a riotous tour of LA’s subculture, with the platonic love story of besties Sin-Dee and Alexandra emerging as the movie’s heart.
The Birdcage (1996)
An adaptation of the 1978 film La Cage aux Folles, the 1996 comedy The Birdcage has become a laugh riot in its own right, in part thanks to the comedic chops of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as longtime couple Armand and Albert, whose lives are thrown for a loop when their son Val (Dan Futterman) becomes engaged to Barbara (Calista Flockhart), the daughter of the conservative Senator Keeley (Gene Hackman). Armand and Albert reluctantly agree to pose as a straight couple, with Albert as a woman, for an upcoming visit from the senator and his wife (Dianne Wiest). What could possibly go wrong? Well, about as much as you can imagine and more, helped along by support that includes Christine Baranski, Hank Azaria, director Mike Nichols, scriptwriting from Elaine May, and the fact that Republicans were in their Bob Dole era.
The Half of It (2020)
Sixteen years after her 2004 debut feature Saving Face, Alice Wu triumphantly returned with the teen dramedy The Half of It. Taking its cue from Cyrano de Bergerac, the withdrawn, cash-strapped Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) agrees to write a love letter on behalf of sweetly sincere jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to his popular girl crush Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), only to find herself falling for Aster, with the feelings seeming very much mutual. The Half of It becomes a tribute to art and creativity itself as Ellie and Aster’s bond grows, fueled by their mutually artistic blossoming, with shout outs to film and literature that include The Remains of the Day, Wings of Desire, The Philadelphia Story, and Casablanca.
The Handmaiden (2016)
There are many layers to Park Chan-wook’s erotic thriller, and it more than pays off as the Oldboy director gives us a straightforward premise, then proceeds to unravel it piece by piece. When Korean pickpocket Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri) is hired to assist con man Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) to seduce and swindle the Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance, things get complicated, both by the growing passion between the young women and the fact that the Lady is far more complicated than she initially presents herself to be. As the plot twists and turns, it is the love story between Hideko and Sook-Hee that is the film’s beating heart, with an ending that doubles as its fulfillment and the ultimate revenge against the patriarchal men who would’ve used and discarded them both.
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
A meta film before meta was a thing, filmmaker Cheryl Dunye plays a version of herself in this faux documentary about an aspiring lesbian filmmaker who becomes obsessed with discovering more about a 1930s actress who is credited as the titular Watermelon Woman, aka Fae Richards (Lisa Marie Bronson). As she delves into film history and her own, Richards becomes a stand-in for a number of Black and queer creatives who had the misfortune to be born at the wrong time and were erased to such a degree that Dunye had to invent much of the cinematic past she uncovers. It’s also a very humorous, joyful exploration of much of what we and the industry take for granted, along with very 90s fashions and the resulting nostalgia of working in an actual video store. The Watermelon Woman also set a historical precedent in itself as the first (known) American feature to be directed by a Black lesbian.