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| Hurray for Hollywood! |
Since probably around 2015 I decided that I'd had enough of cooking competition reality shows and documentaries every night and took the plunge into watching lots of gay content. Surprisingly there is tons of it and although I'm getting to the point where it's getting harder to find, I'm still not done after 6 years. I've been mostly using both Amazon Prime Video and Netflix with a little Hulu and Youtube mixed in. There is a surprising amount of foreign content including a fair amount of stuff from France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina the Netherlands and even Iceland. The genre is like most of Hollywood with some really good ones, most average and some real stinkers. Maybe it's my cornball predilection, but I would say that if any genre were well represented it would be coming of age movies.
Admittedly this list -- which is far from exhaustive from my watch history -- shows that the disaffected take that gay movies are all about drag queens and effeminate men is silly. My list is hardly a randomized test, but still it shows the typical overreaction of people who see one drag queen in a bar with hundreds of people and react hysterically that they are not represented, and that the drag queens are oppressing them.
Here are some stats. They may not be 100% accurate, but it gives a feel for what gay related movies actually are like:
- Total: 130
- Coming of Age: 33
- AIDS/HIV: 6
- Drag Queens: 8 (more than I thought, but I do adore John Waters)
- Stereotypical Gay: 18
- Sex Scenes: 24 (Divine fucking herself!)
- Comedy: 24
- Drama: 96
- Thriller: 10
- Bad Outcome: 16
- Non-English: 26
For the ratings, assume that it's about a 3 on a 5 point scale unless I say otherwise and probably a 4 or a 5 if it's in the next section.
NOTE: you will notice that there aren't all that many series in here, and that's partly because they are harder to describe especially if they have multiple seasons. There are plenty of good series that I have left out.
Here's another list of must-see gay movies put out by the Advocate. They have a lot more of the gay sensibility / gay canon than I do.
Key to codes:
- D -- Drama
- A -- AIDS/HIV
- CoA -- Coming of Age
- DQ -- Drag Queens
- SG -- Stereotypical Gay
- C -- Comedy
- TH -- Thriller
- BO -- Bad Outcome
- NE -- Non-English
- R -- Romance (but not coming of age)
- CP -- Camp
- DX -- Documentary
- SX -- Sex
- TC -- Toxic Closet
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| Movies we really like or are notable |
Movies that are worth watching at least once
Something to know here is the sorting is more or less random since I just pulled them from my streaming histories, etc. This isn't necessarily a "favorites" list, but a list that gives some breadth of gay media.
Angels in America
A, D, C
This is an extremely powerful play turned movie written at the height of the AIDS crisis. I had the pleasure of seeing it on Broadway with F. Murray Abraham as Roy Cohn. Holy shit be prepared to be blown away.
The Castro
A , DX
The Castro was part of a PBS series about the neighborhoods of San Francisco, but it mainly chronicles the transformation into the world famous gayborhood and especially being ground zero for the AIDS crisis. The part that blew me the most is what freaking heroes the city's lesbians were when everybody else was scared to death.
Jongen
CoA, NE
A typical coming of age movie, but this Dutch film has a certain tenderness to it especially with the water scenes. It also captures the perfect gay boy, straight bad boy brother dynamic.
The Way He Looks
CoA, NE
This has got to be my favorite coming of age movie largely because the main protagonist is blind. They are both adorable too. Brazilian with subtitles. I've watched it probably about a dozen times and always love it.
Edge of Seventeen
CoA
This is set in the mid 80's and is almost literally my husband Aric, hair and all. A fun coming of age movie with Lea Delaria too.
Get Real
CoA
This is a really good coming of age movie where the protagonist isn't conflicted at all that he's gay, but has to deal with a closeted jock boyfriend who knows he's gay but has social baggage that keeps him there. Set around 1998.My Beautiful Laundrette
R
I saw this when it first came out and was pretty amazed. It's not only gay, but it's an interracial Brit-Pakistani relationship. The ending is the best, so I won't spoil it. Young Daniel Day Lewis playing gay.
Were the World Mine
CoA
I'm sorry, I just like this. I know it's cliche and it's a riff on a Midsummer Night's Dream, but it's cute.
Closet Monster
TH
This is one trippy movie. I mean, how can you not love a talking hamster? The very delectable Conner Jessup stars.
Romeu and Romeu
CoA, NE
Yet another riff on The Bard, set in Brazil the Montegues and Capuletes are having at it with their gay boys caught in the crossfire.
Those People
D
Rich gay boy holds court with sexual tension with his gay best friend all the while trying to redeem himself from the sins of his father. And I love how Modern Major General is sprinkled throughout.
Freefall
D, R, SX, NE,TC
Max Riemelt of Wolfie on Sense8 fame stars in this intense drama of two cops in training where one of them is cheating on his wife (not Max). Back and forth it goes until the ending and poof goes Max's character. I had heard they were thinking about doing a sequel, but that hasn't happened. It's a little disappointing to not have closure, but it's still worth it.
Update: apparently a sequel did get made or is in the process of being made. Or something.
Men to Kiss
C, CP, SG, NE
This German movie has a zany plot and is all around fun. Tobias' disco ball hat is perfection. I guess you could calls it a screwball comedy with a Mean Girl with dark designs.
Alex Strangelove
CoA, C
Ok, this is a standard issue gay coming of age movie but the straight Del character absolutely steals the show. Puking colorful gummy bears? Check! It came out at the same time as Love, Simon both as big studio movies and I thought it was way better.
Bridegroom
D, BO
Though not AIDS related Bridegroom is a sad movie that shows how death brings out the absolute worst in people and you multiply that by 100 when it involves a homophobic family. This is why gay marriage was absolutely essential.
Henry Gamble's Birthday
CoA
Another coming of age movie, but I've watched it several times and still like it. Yes, it's formulaic but it has its charms.
Holding the Man
A, BO, R, D, SX
Another AIDS era drama, Holding the Man is devastating in its realness. The shitty families, the hopelessness of it all, the innocent times before AIDS. Prepare to have you heart ripped out and stomped on.
It's a Sin
A, R, D, BO, SX
This is a very interesting series for me and I was dying to see it and not just because my hottie friend Nathaniel Hall is in it (and nekked!). To me it shows that the AIDS crisis affected different places differently. Orange County != San Francisco != London. Aric had a huge set of friends who died, while I didn't directly know of many though I have no doubt many did. London seemed a lot more homophobic than California, so that's interesting to me, as well as much more in denial than we were since it was happening in front of us. Definitely worth watching.
A, BO, NE
120 Beats Per Minute is the story of mid-80's ACT-UP in Paris and the desperate race to get anybody to give a fuck. As with anybody who has lived through the era, it's sort of hard to watch because you know how fucked up everything was. Félix Maritaud is really good and cute in it.
Théo & Hugo
D, A, R, SX, NE
One thing I like about French films is that they don't hold back on the sex scenes in comparison to American ones when they are in pajamas and four blankets in the middle of summer. Raw sex and then coming to their senses drives the plot.
Departure
CoA
Phénix Brossard is really good in this kind of coming of age, kind of missed opportunity. It's set in a serene French village and is good to just lay back and chill cuddling.
I Killed My Mother
C, CP, NE
Xavier Dolan is a classic mad queen. In this dialog driven film he constantly torments his unflappable mother to no effect. Xavier is a brilliant boy and a force of nature.
Stranger by the Lake
TH, SX, NE
This film is creepy as fuck! Another French film and it has very explicit sex scenes. The protagonist seems to have a death wish or at least is caught in a spell. A gay horror movie, whodathunk?
Tales of the City
R, D, CP, C
Tales of the City started out as a serial in the San Francisco Chronicle which eventually got rolled up into a book and eventually a TV series. It is set in the late 70's when being gay was to be completely liberated and care free. It is one of the reasons I moved to San Francisco and after living there for 25 years it is both a mythical depiction of it, and yet again it it's not mythical all at once. San Francisco really is a magical place and Tales of the City captures that really well. Even though it is a bygone era, the city always reinvents itself but the constant is the magic.
Hollywood
R, D, CP
I both love this and kind of hate it. It's an aspirational take on Hollywood as it could have been, but the real Hollywood was dirty as fuck and this film definitely belongs more in Fantasyland than Hollywoodland.
London Spy
TH
This is a fun thriller where the gay boyfriend is the MacGuffin. The end reveal is a little disappointing, and why they probably didn't get a second season, but it worthwhile nonetheless. Benjamin Whishaw is both dreamy and damn good actor.
Burnt Money
TH,, SX, NE
So when you think of a film with gay content this is probably not what you are thinking. The true story of a botched robbery by a couple of gay guys in 1965 Argentina. Very, very dark.
Eastsiders
D, R, SX
A fun semi-real to life series about a gay couple in I think Los Feliz in LA. The series runs the gamut relationship ups and downs, infidelity, open relationships, breakups, etc. The best is when a "str8" guy finally figures out he's a girlfriend after all. Duh, we've been shouting to come out the entire time.
My Own Private Idaho
D
Ok, this is one of the seminal movies of the 90's with River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as street kids in Portland. River's character has narcolepsy which translates to some vary bizarre sequences. This movie is a trip and I will say no more.
Another Gay Movie
D, C, SG, CP
Ok, all you people who get hysterical that there is no masculine representation in gay movies, this is the movie that you can point to while ignoring everything else. It is tres-gay and works every stereotype to a tee. It's very fun too.
Handsome Devil
CoA,TC
I love this film and have watched this cute coming of age flick many times. It's basically "don't assume". Roose Bolton is the headmaster of the school too. Lots of naked homophobia in it which can be upsetting. Nick Galizine (Conor Masters) is in this who has become the latest sensation with Red, White and Royal Blue. I label this as toxic closet as it's driven by Conor's closet given all of the rugby homophobia.
Celluloid Closet
DX
Celluloid Closet is a documentary that takes you back to the actual Hollywood and how the only way to portray gay people was as comedic dandies or... dead. Its required watching for what the history of Hollywood was really like for gay people.
Female Trouble
C, DQ, CP, SX
Female Trouble is peak early John Waters. How can you not like Divine fucking herself and getting pregnant with Taffy? The entire plot line is whackadoodle all the way to the climax.
Hairspray
C, DQ , CP
Hairspray is really the start of the tamed down commercial John Waters. "Penny Pingleton you are positively permanently punished!" Set in early 60's segregated Baltimore showing its absurdities.
Serial Mom
C, CP
Only John Waters could pitch a movie about making a suburban housewife into a serial killer. Kathleen Turner is wonderful along with the ever present Mink Stole. It's not gay, but it is camp and hilarious. Is it obvious that I like John Waters?
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
D, CP
One of the late 50's movies dancing around homosexuality, the tale of Brick Pollitt and his Big Daddy the plantation owner who is confronting his mortality after being lied to by his family. "Mendacity is the system we live in" and that goes for Brick who has his own secrets about Skipper. Not explicit, but apparently was more so in the Tennessee Williams play which it is based off of.
Suddenly Last Summer
D , CP
"I know! Liz Taylor has a secret! Let's lobotomize her!" Probably the most explicit references to homosexuality but ala Celluloid Closet it doesn't end well for Sebastian.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
D, DQ, CP, SX
Ok, my 14 year old self saw this at the Grove Theater in Garden Grove in suburban Orange County in the early 70's with a bunch of friends. "What in the fucking fuck was that???" but not in a homophobic way. It wasn't until later when I was working at the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach that I found out it had become a midnight cult classic. It's really impossible to explain in words because the plot really doesn't matter because it's just a spectacle. If you're not shaking your head by middle of it what the fucking, I'm not sure what to say.
Victor Victoria
D, C, CP, DQ
Like Rocky Horror, Victor Victoria was pretty risque for its time (1981) for big name stars like Julia Andrews and James Garner. Cheat: Mongo gay (and bonus points if you know the reference).
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
D, CP
I include this mainly because it is written by the gay Edward Albie and is transparently about a couple of gay men played by Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. The tinkling of ice in cocktail glasses throughout sets the tone for a very long night.
Blazing Saddles
C, CP, SG
Although not gay per se, Blazing Saddles is probably the most over the top comedy ever made and it most certainly could never be remade. The French Mistake scene with Dom Deluise is absolutely hilarious and especially when you recall this is the early 70's.
The Kiss of the Spider Woman
D, CP
Locked up in a Brazilian hell hole prison a young William Hurt is opposite Raul Julia as a very gay prisoner spinning the tale of the Spider Woman to Julia over their time in jail. This is a very spooky film.
Torch Song Trilogy
D, CP, BO
Harvey Fierstein's masterpiece opposite a young and cute Mathew Broderick. Alas it gets counted in the Bad Ending stat. The scenes with Harvey opposite Anne Bancroft as his mother captures the friction of the time really well with family.
Keep the Lights On
D, BO(?), SX
Meth is bad, m'kay? Anybody who's dealt with addiction with their partner or friends will related to this. The highs, the lows, the maybe this will get better all to be dashed over and over. Unfortunately, meth is a problem in the gay community. Zachary Booth slays me.
A Very Natural Thing
D, R, SX
Wow, how did I manage all these years not seeing this? This film came out in 1974 and really well depicts the ethos of the time with gay relationships in the face of gay and sexual liberation. It's rather racy at times with brief glimpses of dick even. Apparently it was viewed as a gay take on Love Story but we were all in agreement of how realistic it was.
Sordid Lives
C, SG, CP
OWW! This is a really funny campy comedy set in Trailer Trash, Tx. It's got a couple of gay angles with Leslie Jordan and Miss Tammy Wynette. The rubber band method of quitting cigarettes is a thing of beauty.
Firebird
D, R
Auntie Mame
C, CP
Red, White, and Royal Blue
C,R,SX,TC
Ok, I'm a grown ass old fart and this is a standard romcom genre, but I am completely obsessed with this movie. Enemies to lovers isn't exactly new but there is just something about this movie that is causing a whole lot of people to lose their shit. The acting across the board is superb, but the chemistry between Nick Galitzine (prince Henry) and Taylor Zakhar Perez (first son Alex) is electric. The movie is about Alex figuring out what his obsession with Prince Henry was about and then becoming Prince Charming rescuing his damsel in distresss -- Henry. The love making scene is the most realistic depiction of gay sex I can think of -- a hobby horse of mine at how bad they usually are. You really must see this.
Heartstopper
CoA,R
Heartstopper is pure teen cotton candy. Basically it contains every combination of LGBT+ in a school you can imagine. Like Red White and Royal Blue, Nick Nelson has a journey figuring out that he's bi due to his attraction to Charlie. Charlie is a wounded bird from being bullied and an abusive relationship. Season 2 is darker exploring Charlie's mental state and Nick being there for him. Have your insulin at the ready.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
CoA, R
About half way through this movie I was beginning to wonder whether I heard it wrong that this was some gay teen romance kind of movie. I won't say more. It is very unusual in that it depicts a world of Mexican Americans on the border in El Paso in the late 80's and dealing with being gay on top of it. The casting for this was really good. I am now obsessed with the word "pocho".
Summer of 85
CoA, SX, NE
Cute twinks fall in love in summer. That's pretty much it. French film so there's that.
I am Jonas
D, TH(?), NE
Interesting plot line with some real surprises and twists. An older Jonas flashbacking to young Jonas and the trauma that drives this. Staring the ever cute Félix Maritaud.
Story of a Bad Boy
CoA
High school student figuring it all out falls for a visiting college student directing the school play. The director finds it all rather cringey but succumbs to his wiles anyway. Fun movie.
Uncle Frank
D
Going home from Manhattan in 1973 to South Carolina with your boyfriend is... awkward.
Akron
D, CoA
Ancient tragedy is revisited when two boys meet and fall in love with each other with a terrible coincidence to deal with.
Esteros
D, R, CoA, NE
Argentinian movie about two boys who grew up together and eventually discovered each other sexually in summer. Pulled apart by fate, they end up meeting again ten years later.
Steel
D
This is a weird and often incomprehensible film. It could do a much better job setting up his meltdowns. But overall its worthwhile, and definitely eye candy to be had.
Dream Boy
D, BO
Classic gay-bad-ending plot. You so much want the protagonist to succeed, but no. Set in the rural south so that part is at least stereotypical.
Miles
C
Gay boy wants volleyball as his ticket out of nowhereville. But only the chicks have a team.
Rift
D, TH, NE
Another Icelandic movie, and with great scenery especially the crack that divides Europe from North America. A broken relationship turns into thriller.
Lilting
D
Lilting is an unusual film about a boy who dies, his mother that only speaks Chinese and the boy's boyfriend and their new found relationship as the boy wasn't out to mom.
Analysis Paralysis
C
Getting Go
D, R(?), SX
Scheming to get a Go-Go boy drives the plot and looks like it's going to accidentally produce a relationship. But it's all an illusion.
Happy Endings Sleepover
D, TH
A gay spy flick! Set in Denmark agent needs to get double agent out from the Kremlin, but is complicated a boy that he's fallen madly in love with.
Seek
D
A gay writer follows around a party promoter. Or something.
Center of My World
CoA, NE
German coming of age movie. Awakening and a torrid affair with a classmate causing conflict with his best friend and family.
Going Down in La-La Land
D
Ok, let's be clear that this is mostly about eye candy, but gay boy goes to LA only to get mixed up with the LA gay porn scene. Things lead to things until he meets a closeted actor and falls for him. Scandal erupts and decisions need to be made.
Gossip Boy
D
A series that I mostly remember having a question of why they didn't do a second season. Well worth watching.
Between Love and Goodbye
D
Mean girl sister poisons relationship.
1:54
D
Explores the gay by association and resulting hurt due to running away from friends and potential lovers. Suicide, blackmail, revenge. This is not a happy movie if that's what you're looking for.
Boy Erased
D
Big studio production about the evils of the witch doctory that is "Conversion Therapy". The one thing you can take away is that while evil, they were probably a great way to find hookups.
Love in the Time of Civil War
D
Night Watch
D, TH
A hustler in Buenos Aires and a night of intrigue.
Call Me by Your Name
D, R, SX
Yet another big studio Hollywood film, Call Me by Your Name is an interesting plot line of a boy coming of age and an older paramour. The biggest problem is that Armie Hammer is just too damn old looking for an early 20's grad student. It makes their romance go from questionable, to sort of creepy.
A Moment in the Reeds
CoA, NE
Finnish! In an idyllic setting a boy comes home to find a new person working with his dad, and sparks of romance follow.
Furry Nights
TH
Moonlight
D, BO(?)
An academy award winning best picture for a gay and black subject matter which is a first. It's a complicated plot that I can't do justice in just a few sentences, but it's a window into a fucked up world of drugs and the intersection of being black and gay.
Tumbledown
D, SX
A bartender is involved in a love triangle in the woods. Sex, drugs, rock and roll.
Trophy Boy
D
Washed up pretty boy gets the boot. Short film.
Monster Pies
CoA
Standard issue Australian coming of age flick.
Prom Night
TH
A gay version of Carrie. Oh dear. At least we can say there is one.
Jitters
CoA, NE
Another Icelandic movie. A stolen kiss sets off a wtf moment while at school in Manchester and much searching. Back home, there's always lots of booze.
Velvet Goldmine
D
A journalist is seeking info on a reclusive star from the glam rock days in the 70's who faked his own death. It's also a look at how bisexuality was tolerated in that scene if not openly embraced, but only to a point.
Land of Storms
R, BO, NE
A Hungarian gay flick! Guy moves back home to a family farm which is dilapidated and finds local help with some sexual tension. Unhappy ending.
For a Lost Soldier
CoA, SX
Canadian soldier liberates a small Dutch town and meets kid and has what is pretty clearly an inappropriate relationship with him (it's not clear whether he would have been of age). But this is short lived as the soldier ships out without saying goodbye and the mystery of what happened to him.
Hidden Kisses
CoA, NE,TC
A French flick, boys kiss, somebody snaps a pic. Homophobia ensues with one boy and his parents, and suicide is averted. Redemption with dad is hard to come by.
Arizona Sky
CoA, R
Best friends start to be more than that but are broken up when one of them has to move with his family. 15 years later, they finally meet up again. How will it resolve?
VGL-Hung!
C
A magic website (!) allows you to turn into whatever you want. What could possible go wrong?
Love, Simon
CoA
The first of what seems to be a recurring set of sequels. Other that being big studio Hollywood, it's a standard issue coming of age movie with the twist of it being an online romance up until the very end.
Love, Victor
CoA
I want to like these things, but the cliffhanger of coming out is just too much. That and the completely hysterical jealousy reactions rub me the wrong way. Maybe that's how gay kids really are these days, but it struck me as silly.
Heartstone
CoA, NE
Iceland again! A coming of age and the resulting confusion about two boys in a fishing village.
Angora Ranch
D, R
A younger/older situation and some drama from family. The bunnies are cute though.
Esteros
CoA
A Brazilian coming of age movie set in idyllic surroundings. Meeting up later is a nice twist.
Elija's Ashes
D
Dad's ashes are the MacGuffin driving a homophobic brother, and trying to come to terms with himself.
Shelter
CoA
This is one of those films that people really like for some reason. I mean, I like it too but the gushing is a little odd to me. It has great surfing scenes and I love it being set in San Pedro by LA harbor where I used to race yachts in Hurricane Gulch.
Gay of Thrones
C
Ok, who wouldn't love a gay spoof on the Game of Thrones. What's wrong with you if you don't?
Patrick Age 1.5
C, D
Gay couple looks to adopt baby. Adoption agency accidentally adds a decimal point. Surly 15 year old lands on doorstep. Ooops!
Dante's Cove
D, SX
A silly soap opera with ridiculous characters and terrible acting. What's not to love?
Poster Boy
D
Semi-closeted son of a Southern (= homophobic) Senator causes drama for dear old dad in life altering ways.
Judas Kiss (2011)
D, TH(?), SX
This is a weird and interesting movie with a plot line that is pretty intricate. Deception, deceit, sex as a means to an end. Well worthwhile hour and a half.
Stonewall
D
This movie got ruthlessly criticized for whitewashing the Stonewall Riots. There may be some truth to that, but there's tons of revisionist history and myth making on all sides going on with Stonewall. It's worth watching from a historic standpoint, but to really understand Stonewall is to understand that it wasn't particularly much different than other skirmishes with the cops like the Compton Cafeteria riot in San Francisco. But Stonewall had something that Compton's did not: a parade the next year.
Down the River
D
Thai film about a gay boy in love with his straight friend.
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| Note: a lot of these are not available on Netflix now. |
Boys in the Band (new)
D, SG, CP
A remake of the 1970 classic, not a whole lot changed from the original other than a lot more of the cast was gay this time around. People love to hate this film and point at it as how awful gay films are and why doesn't this look like me. Well, it was 1970 for one thing and it was groundbreaking for then. It also sounds true to me as I could easily imagine it playing out in West Hollywood in the day too with a certain cross section of gay people. For the haters, the main question I have to ask is why does every gay related film have to validate your particular situation? We're different and there is plenty of room for everybody to get represented.
Schitt's Creek
C, SG, CP
It's fun to binge Schitt's Creek over a few days as you watch Moria become ever so much more Moria over the seasons. The entire thing is so over the top that it's hard not to love. And Dan Levy's decision to pay no attention to homophobia as a plot device is extremely refreshing.
Sense8
D, SX
Special
CoA, SX
A series where the gay protagonist has Cerebral Palsy and the double disadvantage finding love and companionship. It was done really well and well worth it.
God's Own Country
D, CoA, SX
Everyone seems to just love this movie. I thought it was a good movie, but I suspect that a lot of the masc4masc crowd likes it because it validates their claims to being butch too.
Elite
D, CoA, SX, NE
A Spanish soap opera with gay characters including one who is the Muslim boyfriend of another which drives some of the plot. Fun if you're into that genre which I can get into somewhat guiltily.
Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig
D
The infamous impresario and murderer Michael Alig's story. Let's just say he was very fucked up.
Take Me to the River
D
The story of a gay suburban kid sent to family in Nebraska and the drama that ensues. Fortunately the drama is not what you'd expect.
North Sea Texas
CoA, NE
Flemish! The insanity of the closets compete with budding love for a messed up time. Cute though.
King Cobra
D, SX
A biopic on the gay porn star Brent Corrigan and all of the intrigue surrounding him. Well worth watching. The real life Brent Corrigan is a lot better looking than the actor playing him, in my opinion though.
Milk
D, BO
A biopic of Harvey Milk, by Dustin Lance Black. It took me several years to watch it even though it was shot on location a few blocks from my home in the Castro. Definitely worth watching even though everybody knows how it ends.
Tab Hunter Confidential
DX
A documentary on Tab Hunter who was both out and sort of secretive at the same time. That's actually pretty common for Hollywood gay people. I'd see him out and about in Laguna Beach pretty often.
The 10 Year Plan
C, R
With months to go before a 10 year pact is set to go off, the mad scramble to find boyfriends is on.
Sordid Lives
C
Ok, the gay here is somewhat gratuitous but it may be the funniest trailer park movie ever. "OOOOWWW!!!"
Matt Shepard Was a Friend of Mine
DX
Matt Shepard's murder shocked us all but he was person too and flawed in many ways, but who amongst us isn't?
Big Eden
D, R
Gay guy goes back to bumfuck Montana to care for grandpa. Finds old boyfriend who turned straight and that fizzles. Meanwhile the general store owner is working through his own feelings of liking guys and coming to terms with them.
Do I Sound Gay?
C, DX
A funny take on the Gay Voice, what it is, where it comes from and whether you can get rid of it.
The Country Teacher
D, BO, NE, TC
This is a story about a closeted school teacher in rural Poland in the past with the expected homophobia that ensues. Sadly Poland has gone in reverse.
In the Name of
D , NE
Another Polish movie in the boonies this time a priest coming to terms with himself.
The Living End
A, D
In the early 90's in the height of the AIDS crisis, having HIV was pretty much a death sentence so why not have fun? I think this is one of Gregg Araki's early movies. Basically AIDS meets Themla and Louise
A Very English Scandal
D
Hugh Grant and the ever adorable Ben Whishaw starting in 1961 Hugh's character is having an affair with a stable boy. After a few years they break up, but stable boy has the goods on him and "him" is an MP. Blackmail, hit men, the whole nine yards. Based on real events.
The Pit Stop
D
Small town Texas gay guys trying to figure it all out.
Futuro Beach
D, NE
A drowning in Brazil takes the beach's life guard to Germany to seek out the victim's lover.
Beginners
D
Recently deceased Christian Plummer plays the newly out gay father after his wife dies and hooks up with the local gay scene even though he's in his 70's. Dad eventually dies, and son finds romance himself.
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| Other Movies from All Over |
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
D, C, DQ, SG
One of two almost simultaneous drag queens on the move kind of trope with Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. The scene of the bus with a giant pump on the roof streaming through the outback is fun. Definitely the better of the two
To Wong Foo
D, C, DQ, SG
Unlike Priscilla, they are in a car not a bus. Patrick Swayze is so utterly unconvincing as a drag queen that it's sort of hard to watch. Watch it sort of in Showgirls mode so that it is so bad it's good.
Jeffrey
D, C, R
I resonate with this movie as I was in Jeffery's position with Aric. Well, I didn't swear off sex but the rest applied at almost exactly the same time. It does show the complexities of dating when there was no such thing as U=U.
In and Out
C, R
"IS ANYBODY STRAIGHT HERE?". Another of Paul Rudnick's 90's comedies. A cute take on the complexities and confusion of the closet.
The Crying Game
TH
If you haven't seen it you should stop right here. There is a major plot twist in the times of the Troubles in Britain and Ireland.
The Wedding Banquet
C, R
This is a funny movie about a Chinese gay boy in a relationship in the US trying to figure out how to how to deal with his parents insistent on him getting married (not gay married, of course), hatching zany plans and everything going wrong. Sort of.
Beautiful Thing
CoA
A very coming of age movie set in dreary English Council Estates between two boys starting to figure things out. Jamie's to be boyfriend Ste's mother is a complete mess and a conniving bitch trying to break them up. The ending is a beautiful thing.
Cruising
TH, D, SX
This movie was extremely controversial, set in the Leather scene of NYC in the 70's. Lots of people really hated it because of its dark and somewhat formulaic throwback to the bad days of gay portrayal, but it also speaks many truths though about the Leather scene too.
The Ritz
C, CP
The Ritz is a gay bathhouse and hilarity ensues. Rita Moreno is a latinised caricature of the real life Bette Middler performing at the Continental Baths in NYC. Treat Williams and his voice is hilarious. It's a zany comedy of gangsters and hiding out in all the wrong places.
Pink Flamingos
C, DQ, CP
More yikes from John Waters. This was his first. I technically haven't seen it because... um, poo. AYOR.
Desperate Living
C, DQ, CP
Another Crazyville, well Mortville, film from John Waters. The ever wooden cast including Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta makes for a dizzying hour of "what in the fucks?"
Rope
TH
This is a typical Gay == Evil trope from Hitchcock. It's the story of effete gay men and murder of the era.
The Children's Hour
D, BO
A really good representation of the Gays Get What They Deserve trope. Hysteria, tragedy.
Brokeback Mountain
CoA, BO,SX,TC
Overall, Brokeback Mountain is a standard issue gays get what they deserve in the end. But it was a major Hollywood movie not from that time, though it was set in that time. Beautiful scenery, sets of the complexities of being gay in a very homophobic time and what people had to do to survive. If you've ever uttered "why didn't they just...", then you need to see this.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
CP, C
Oh Hedwig, a musical with gay themes and a whacked out premise. You seriously don't want to dwell on the angry inch.
Advice and Consent
D,TC
I like Charles Laughton who as apparently a Friend of Dorothy, but the plot line of the movie moved by a closeted gay politician.
The Women
D, C, CP
George Cukor, a gay director, directs what is for all intents and purposes a story nominally about women but with over the top gay sensibility.
Cabaret
D, CP
Here mainly because it's set in pre-Nazi Germany and the awakening of gay culture in that time that was crushed. The gay content isn't all that much per se, but it's worthwhile on its own merits. Don't expect much character development on the gay side.
De Principio a Fin (From Beginning to End)
CoA, SX, NE
Holy shit! So long as they aren't violent or growing kids with four eyes, I guess I'm ok with it but this really tests the limits. This is similar to Godless (2015).
Rocketman
D
I have a special place in my heart growing up with Elton John and the connection with my own budding gayness. The king of glam rock being out there as a then "bi" man certainly didn't hurt me coming to terms.
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