‘Tis the season to stream movies until you feel the weary responsibilities of the world fade away and you finally feel whole again.
We get it — there’s a lot movies in that “Suggested For You” section of your streaming queue, but how do you sift through all the straight-to-DVD white gay rom coms starring D-list celebs to find something of true substance? Look no further. With our careful curation from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO NOW we have found what are the gayest streamable movies right now, according to science. Some old, some new, some canon, some hidden gems. There’s a movie here for every queer. Enjoy!
This animated special is a continuation of the beloved 90’s Nickelodeon cartoon Rocko’s Modern Life. It follows the timid wombat Rocko as he searches for his neighbors’ (the Bigheads) child, the creator of his favorite TV show. It’s got all of the requisite Rocko humor and absurdity, plus a very heartfelt story about parents accepting trans children. It might have some triggering or upsetting moments for trans viewers, but it’s definitely worth watching.
Streamable on Netflix.
A surprisingly good horror film that premiered on Netflix this year, The Perfection is a refreshing addition to the female revenge thriller. Allison Williams (Girls) stars as a former cello prodigy who returns to the prestigious and secretive music school she left as a child and quickly gets dangerously close with the new prodigy (Logan Browning, Dear White People) who replaced her. This movie is filled with twists and turns, as well as some pretty gruesome violence and a satisfying ending.
Streamable on Netflix.
Directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, this documentary profiles the dancers who performed with Madonna on her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Dancers Kevin Stea, Carlton Wilborn, Luis Xtravaganza Camacho, Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza, Salim Gauwloos, and Oliver S. Crumes III all appear in the film talking about how AIDS, drug use, and homelessness devastated their community after the tour. This film is an important part of queer, pop, and dance history.
Streamable on Netflix
Molly Shannon and Jesse Plemons both delivered stellar performances in this Sundance hit from 2016 about a gay man taking care of his dying mother. The movie takes a darkly comedic look at life as a gay man who loves his family, even when most of them don’t accept him. Also look out for Josie Totah in a scene-stealing performance before she came out!
Streamable on Netflix.
This 2017 biopic tells the story of William Marston, the man who created Wonder Woman, and the two women who he loved and was inspired by, Elizabeth Marston and Olive Byrne. This beautifully romantic period piece features great performances by Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote as three people in love with each other at a time when that wasn’t allowed. It’s written and directed by noted queer creative Angela Robinson.
Streamable on Hulu.
When this came out, it was a lot of white trans women’s favorite trans movie. It actually has a very rare happy and sweet ending for our trans protagonist, played by Michelle Hendley. Boy Meets Girl follows Ricky, a 21-year-old trans woman in small-town Kentucky and the various people who have crushes on her.
Streamable on Hulu.
This is a really fun and cute movie about a lesbian-straight girl best friendship starring Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs. The two give great performances as young women trying to figure out where they are in life and who they want to spend their time with. It’s a funny and heartfelt movie that was slept on by a lot of people.
Streamable on Hulu.
Out cover star Hari Nef gives one of the most exciting performances of 2018 in this very dark comedy about a town that turns murderous over some leaked social media posts. It may not be completely cohesive throughout, but it’s filled with enough over-the-top visuals and wild left turns to keep you entertained.
Streamable on Hulu.
Apart from an out-of-place sexual assault storyline, and a somewhat cliche ending, this is one of the best lesbian movies in recent years. Queer actress Brianna Hildebrand and Dylan Gelula play two teens falling for a girl for the first time. There are lots of cute and relatable moments and when the movie focuses on the relationship between the two girls, it really hits all of its marks.
Streamable on Hulu.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming tearjerker to watch with the family, Pride is a great choice. This historical drama is based on a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money for families during the British miner’s strike in 1984. If you need a reminder that the LGBTQ+ community and small-town blue-collar workers are more alike than we are different, check out this movie.
Streamable on Amazon Prime.
Based on the memoir Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace by Scott Thorson, this HBO film starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon won eight Emmys and two Golden Globes. Full of salacious details about the life of Liberace, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, this movie is sure to scratch your drama itch.
Streamable on Amazon Prime.
Jack Black earned his second Golden Globe nomination for this based-on-a-true-story Richard Linklater film about a closeted gay man (Black) who murders the abusive older woman he lived with. Much of the film features actual interviews with real citizens of the town where this happened. Shirley Maclean also gives a riotous performance as the woman Bernie loved and killed.
Streamable on Amazon Prime.
This Oscar-winner is one of the most respected queer films ever made. Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone play two courtly women vying for power and closeness to the Crown as they try and woo Queen Anne, played by Best Actress-winner Olivia Colman. This film is based on the real letters between Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Baroness Abigail Masham and Queen Anne from the early 1700s.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
Queen Latifah plays legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in this Dee Rees-directed film about how she went from a struggling young singer to the Empress of Blues. Latifah delivers a great performance, and the film is full of amazing music. When it aired, it was the most watched HBO film of all time.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
Based on the true story of professional forger Lee Israel, this film follows the author’s attempts to revive her failing writing career by pretending to find letters from famous dead authors. Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant both recieved plenty of accolades and awards for their performances as two queer people struggling to find happy lives in the world of literary crime.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
This film is far from perfect, but it’s an important part of trans, and film, history. Hilary Swank won an Oscar for playing a trans man, Brandon Teena, who was violently raped and murdered in a hate crime in Nebraska in 1993 when he was just 21. Trans film has come a long, long way since this movie, but you can definitely still feel the reverberations it’s left behind, like casting cis actors to play trans characters, focusing on tragic stories, and dead trans characters.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
A cult classic, this musical by John Cameron Mitchell is about a a gay East German singer who undergoes a botched sex-change operation in order to marry a man and move to the United States. Plans go awry, and what follows is a wild romp through rock’n’roll, sexuality and gender, and learning to love being a misfit.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
Ewan McGregor and Jim Carey give typically great performances in this underappreciated comedy from 2009 based on the real story of con artist and prison escapee Steven Jay Russell and his love affair with fellow inmate Phillip Morris. In the movie, Russell (Carey) escapes from prison four different times so that he can reunite with the man he loves (McGregor).
Streamable on HBO NOW.
Whoopi Goldberg produced this documentary on one of the first legends of comedy, Moms Mabley. As we watch Mabley’s career as one of the early influencers in Black comedy, she challenges the segregation and racism that were prevalent in her time. While the legal segregation may be gone, her words and humor are still sharply relevant today.
Streamable on HBO NOW.
