June is finally here, which means it’s time to celebrate the beautiful existence of LGBTQ+ people! We should, of course, celebrate queer pride all year long, but Pride Month gives us a special opportunity to highlight our struggles, bring attention to issues that need to be discussed, and honor our history. More importantly, however, Pride Month is a time of celebrating our worth, our voices, and, above all, our joy.
For movie-lovers, what better way to celebrate Pride Month than binge-watch stories that positively represent people? This isn’t to diminish the ongoing struggles that the LGBTQ+ community continues to face all around the world, but it’s just as important to see queer characters in film reach a happy ending. Indeed, in 2018, The Guardian published an article highlighting the importance of queer folks seeing themselves on-screen in stories that depict joy and positivity. As such, here’s our list of ten LGBTQ+ movies with happy endings you should definitely watch throughout Pride Month.
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10 Handsome Devil (2017)
Icon Productions
Winning the award for Best Irish Feature of 2017 from the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle, Handsome Devil is an Irish comedy-drama centered around the characters of Ned and Conor. Ned is forced to attend an elite rugby-centred, all-boys private school due to his parents’ decision. The fact that he’s not at all interested in any sports makes him the outcast among the other students. He ends up getting assigned a room with the rugby captain, Conor, and the two form an unexpected friendship. Although Ned is queer and the themes of queerness are discussed, it’s important to note that it’s a story of platonic love rather than romance. The plot is more about forging a close bond in the face of bullies and prejudice.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Hearts Beat Loud (2018)
Burn Later Productions
Hearts Beat Loud is an American comedy-drama music film primarily focused on a beautiful father-daughter bond. The father, played by Nick Offerman, is a Brooklyn music store owner who is a former musician. His daughter has inherited his musical skills, but given how she’s dealing with the loss of her mother, she tends to keep distance from music. The songwriting duo end up forming a band before she leaves for college. All this, plus the softest sapphic relationship between two women of color. The representation in this movie is so casual with no tragic backstory pertaining to being gay that it’s truly refreshing to see. We definitely need more of this. Plus, the music in this movie is phenomenal.
8 Tangerine (2015)
Magnolia Pictures
7 The Death and Life Of John F. Donovan (2018)
Lyla Films
The Death and Life Of John F. Donovan is a Canadian drama movie, starring Kit Harington in the lead role as an American TV star, and, in our humble opinion, is simply a masterpiece. Directed by Xavier Dolan, the movie deals with three different periods of time: the first one focuses on a young actor who reminisces his letter correspondence with Donovan when he was a little boy, the second and third ones follow both the TV actor’s life and the young boy’s at the time of the correspondence. It deals with the themes of fame, Hollywood, queerness, and many more. It appreciates the story of closeted gay men dealing with fame, mental health issues, loneliness, and parasocial relationships.
6 God’s Own Country (2017)
British Film Institute
As Francis Lee’s feature directorial debut, God’s Own Country is a British romance drama movie. The plot revolves around a sheep farmer whose life gets turned upside down when his family hires a Romanian worker to help out with their farm. The movie ended up receiving wide critical acclaim. The story goes into the day-to-day life of a farmer in detail, so beware if you’re one of the faint-hearted. In addition to the beautiful gay romance, the movie also deals with deep topics, such as having to make the hard decision to stay living in a countryside instead of pursuing your dreams because of family. If you love queer countryside stories, this one’s for you.
5 The Handmaiden (2016)
CJ Entertainment
Do you want a movie about two women tricking men, stealing their fortune, changing their identities ,and running away together? Then you have to watch this erotic psychological thriller set in Korea under the Japanese imperial rule. No wonder it won the category of Best Film Not in the English Language at the 71st British Academy Film Awards. The movie is filled with plot twists after plot twists, telling three different sides of the story. We can assure you that if you love thriller and horror or listen to true-crime podcasts, The Handmaiden will add years to your lifespan.
4 Thelma (2017)
Film Väst
Thelma is a Norwegian supernatural thriller centered around a young woman who realizes she has an unexplainable power that materializes whenever she lets herself feel strong emotions for her woman friend. Considering her religious upbringing, the woman has a hard time fitting in the wild atmosphere of the university campus. It’s almost as if her body punishes her whenever she lets herself feel desire for another woman, which ends up wreaking havoc. Using supernatural elements, it depicts the terrifying experience of internalized homophobia. If you want a movie where an abusive relationship between parents and their child doesn’t end in reconciliation, give this one a watch.
3 The Way He Looks (2014)
Vitrine Films
The Way He Looks is a Brazilian coming-of-age drama movie about young blind teenager Leonardo, who yearns for independence. He spends most of his days with his best friend Giovana, until he meets a new student Gabriel, whom he ends up falling in love with while building a beautiful bond with him. Leonardo is also convinced that no one is capable of loving him due to his disability, but Gabriel softly proves him otherwise. The movie is both about navigating life through school and your first love. There’s a high probability that the sweetness of it will make this one of your favorite Brazilian movies.
2 But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)
Ignite Entertainment
As a movie with a huge cult following, But I’m A Cheerleader can’t be omitted from our list. It’s an American satirical comedy starring Natasha Lyonne in the main role as Megan, who gets sent into a conversion therapy camp to ‘cure’ her lesbianism. For a 1999 movie, it was definitely ahead of its time as it satirically deals with internalized homophobia and the ridiculous way queer people were and are treated in our society. The plot is cute, funny, smart, heartbreaking at times, but overall so progressive that you won’t believe it came out 23 years ago.
1 D.E.B.S. (2004)
Screen Gems
Last but not least, we have yet another cult movie: the action-comedy D.E.B.S.. A spy-in-training girl falling in love with the supervillian she’s supposed to catch? Don’t worry, this movie got you. A lot of people have viewed this movie as fetishization of lesbians, but you have to realize the context of its release. Released back in 2004, D.E.B.S. was supposed to be a lesbian look on the Charlie’s Angels type of movies, hence why they’re dressed in cute schoolgirl outfits. So, if you’re a fan of supervillian enemies to lovers, 2000s fashion, and wholesome rom-com vibes, this one’s for you.
