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Bowing to social distancing, and in celebration of Equality Day--that is, the anniversary of the day the Supreme Court brought marriage equality to all 50 states--we've put together a list of some of our favorite gay romances.
From heartwarming to hot and heavy, these flicks make us fall in love with falling in love (or at least in lust).
Grab the remote, pour a big glass of romantic French red, and enjoy the anniversary of freedom some of us thought we'd never achieve.
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[caption id="attachment_472985" align="alignnone" width="670"] Call Me By Your Name[/caption]
Bowing to social distancing, and in celebration of Equality Day–that is, the anniversary of the day the Supreme Court brought marriage equality to all 50 states–we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite gay romances.
From heartwarming to hot and heavy, these flicks make us fall in love with falling in love (or at least in lust).
Grab the remote, pour a big glass of romantic French red, and enjoy the anniversary of freedom some of us thought we’d never achieve.
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1. Making Love
Hollywood itself came out with this tender 1982 drama. Harry Hamlin plays an out writer that falls for a closeted, married man, played by Michael Ontkean. Director Arthur Hiller, working from a script by out-screenwriter Barry Sandler, handles the coming out scenes with surprising thoughtfulness. Scenes of the two men at their hunkiest add a bonus.
Streams on YouTube.
Ok, so we can’t claim with certainty that the longtime romance of Chiron and Kevin, the two lifelong friends in Moonlight, actually culminates in a full-on coupling or marriage. Then again, Moonlightreally isn’t about that. Rather, the film is about the undying bond between two men. And the beach kiss is just totally adorable.
Streams on Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, iTunes & VUDU.
3. Far From Heaven
Queer director Todd Haynes made this film in the style of a 1950s melodrama about a husband (Dennis Quaid) having an affair with a man while his wife (Julianne Moore) who falls in love with their African-American gardener. The movie shatters the nostalgia for the 1950s as a sort of American family values paradise and reminds us all that heaven is where we make it now.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes & VUDU
4. The Birdcage
We have to wonder how many viewers back in 1996—or for that matter, even today—realized that The Birdcage,at its core, is a film about a bickering married couple. As Albert, the flamboyant drag queen, and Armand, the snarky cheapskate, Nathan Lane and Robin Williams still have us in stitches. (Gene Hackman as the homophobic senator is just as funny.) When the two sit together on a park bench and discuss palimony, or sniffle at the wedding of their son, we can’t help but sigh. Prickly and difficult as they are, theirs is a relationship of true love.
Streams on Amazon, Showtime, YouTube, iTunes & VUDU.
Bound, as directed by the Wachowski Sisters, remains one of the great underrated thrillers of the past 25 years, and one of the most overlooked queer romances. A noirish story of betrayal, lust, and scheming, the sparks between Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) fly, creating one of the sexiest queer relationships to ever hit the big screen. It brings us massive pleasure to see the two pull off their mob-robbing scheme. It brings us still more to see the two drive off into the sunset together.
Streams on Amazon, HBO Max, YouTube, iTunes & VUDU.
6. Rent
How could we overlook Maureen & Joanne, icons of lesbian song-and-dance in Rent? True, the movie version of Rent may have fallen short of its potential. Also true: Maureen & Joanne have one very volatile relationship. Still, for anyone who has experienced the jerks of on-again-off-again romance, or especially worked through them to find a healthy long-term relationship, seeing the two end up together feels very satisfying. That they sing some great songs along the way helps too.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube, Hulu & VUDU.
7. Cousins
The Brazilian comedy Cousins follows a young closeted pianist named Lucas (Paulo Sousa) has his life turned upside down when his distant cousin Mario (Cazado) arrives to spend a week at the house while their aunt is on a religious retreat. Having just gotten out of jail, Mario has a very different outlook on life from Lucas, and the tension grows. Cousins isn’t a cinematic milestone, but it is so deliberately silly, so sweet by design that it becomes impossible to resist. Like a queerified Hallmark movie, Cousins enchants the viewer with a super-perfect storybook romance—and a surprisingly sensual one at that. It’s wonderful to see a movie this sweet also treat its sex scenes—which include some very graphic nudity—with a true to life eroticism; the kind of electricity that comes from two people madly in love. Straight people get preposterous rom-coms all the time. Its high time the rest of us got one of our own.
Streams on Dekkoo.
8. Call Me By Your Name
The movie that made us all crave apricots (or peaches, as the case may be) won our hearts not with sexual energy (which it has in abundance) but with heart-aching desire that so many of us know all too well. Call Me By Your Name benefits from a spellbinding performance by Timothee Chalamet who channels teenage angst just as well as intellectual brooding. By the time Chalamet’s Elio finally connects with Armie Hammer’s Oliver, the movie feels like it could explode, not with sexual tension, but with pure love and passion. Rarely are movies this sexy or this bittersweet.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes & VUDU.
This romance about a British shepherd falling in love with a Romanian immigrant won raves for its Brokeback Mountainparallels, and for its comments on current xenophobia. It also features two very handsome leads, and like Brokeback, will probably leave you reaching for the Kleenex.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, Tubi & VUDU.
10. Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6vPpLaQj8
We’d be remiss not to include writer/director Patrik-Ian Polk’s grand finale (for the time being, anyway) of his groundbreaking TV series. Even better–this movie actually includes a gay wedding, as the series protagonist Noah (Darryl Stephens) finally weds his longtime boyfriend Wade (Jensen Atwood). Zany hijinks and slapstick ensue, though not without a hearty dose of introspection and meditation on relationships. Jumping the Broom also doesn’t get enough credit for confronting a crossroads of the queer community: With marriage equality in hand, what does our future look like? As Noah so questions, so do we, and with plenty of laughs to lighten the mood.
Streams on YouTube.
Note: This article contains material previously published on Queerty.
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Boo on “Birdcage.” It is a much too PC remake of an absolutely fabulous French film, “La Cage aux Folles.” Do yourself a favor and find a copy, with subtitles if you don’t speak French. I promise you, you will love it.
I just watched Cousins last night. I found it to be a wonderfully sweet movie. Too often our stories are tragic and sad, but this one was uplifting, sweet and ends in what I feel is the right way. I think that our lives will get better as we tell better stories about ourselves, we can write a new future, give ourselves new hope to fight for.
About 20 years ago or so, Merchant Ivory and his partner produced and directed a GREAT gay love story movie. it was called “Maurice” . It starred Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, and other stellar cast members. It was like a gay Howard’s End, but more erotic. I highly recommend it.
“Making Love” should be taken off the list. The final scene was concocted to make you feel sad that the husband became gay and he and his wife couldn’t have stayed together. It was a perfect example of Hollywood thinking they could cater to the gay community in the early 80’s as long as the focus was primarily on straight people.
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Karlis
Boo on “Birdcage.” It is a much too PC remake of an absolutely fabulous French film, “La Cage aux Folles.” Do yourself a favor and find a copy, with subtitles if you don’t speak French. I promise you, you will love it.
elemirion
I just watched Cousins last night. I found it to be a wonderfully sweet movie. Too often our stories are tragic and sad, but this one was uplifting, sweet and ends in what I feel is the right way. I think that our lives will get better as we tell better stories about ourselves, we can write a new future, give ourselves new hope to fight for.
assyrianhunk
About 20 years ago or so, Merchant Ivory and his partner produced and directed a GREAT gay love story movie. it was called “Maurice” . It starred Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, and other stellar cast members. It was like a gay Howard’s End, but more erotic. I highly recommend it.
Doug
“Making Love” should be taken off the list. The final scene was concocted to make you feel sad that the husband became gay and he and his wife couldn’t have stayed together. It was a perfect example of Hollywood thinking they could cater to the gay community in the early 80’s as long as the focus was primarily on straight people.