Our Fav Queer Summer Movies
Summer is the perfect time for beach trips, bbq's, and basking in the sun with a refreshing canned beverage that can't believe you paid $8 for. It's also the perfect season to stay in the A/C and celebrate the richness of queer experiences in film.
We asked our team to share their favorite queer summer movies—those cinematic gems that just feel *so right* in the summer. Let's go to the movies!
Happy Together is one of my favorites for many reasons (it’s so touching!). But it echoes with me especially with the underlying tone of exile and belonging, for being migrants at a place far from familiar but also drawn to the newness and adventure.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire because it's the most heartbreakingly beautiful love story with an ending that sticks with you for days. The cinematography is gorgeous (beaches in France? Yes, please! Nevermind that.... well, you'll just have to watch it to know where that was going to go), the costumes are delightful, and the art (!) the ART (!!!!!).
Mine is, without question, But I'm A Cheerleader. I love a gay movie that doesn't end in tragedy, and I love the cast of gays, ex-gays, ex-ex gays, and so on. I love the bubblegum pink and the baby blue... I think there are instructive parables in the film about queer & trans liberation. To me, it's a perfect coming of age story.
Not really a movie, but mine would be Episode 3 in The Last of Us ("Long, Long Time"). It's about two men who stumble upon each other and manage to fall in love in a horrific, post-apocalyptic landscape. Despite the imminent threat of zombies coming to eat their flesh, these two build a beautiful, tender life together. We see them cook each other dinner, tend their garden, paint. They get to grow old together. In a world ruled by the undead, that's rare enough, but to see two gay people grow old, be happy, and die together? Well that's just extraordinary. :')
For a Good Time, Call...
It's a light comedy with an enemies-to-lovers-ish plot line. Ari Graynor is glorious, and the mains have a fun, believable chemistry once they stop hating each other. Deep? God no, and I do wish it did more than just flirt with gay undertones. But it's super playful and messy and I'm such a sucker for a solid "life after the breakup" redemption rom-com.
The Watermelon Woman - funny, heartwarming, interesting and has the Center for Lesbian Information and Technology (CLIT) what's not to love???!
