HBO Max has the classic queer films!
HBO Max has some of the best selection of movies on any streaming platform right now, and that includes LGBTQ+ titles! The streamer has a wide range of queer films that spans genres from sci-fi to comedy, to romance and biopics.
If you find yourself scrolling endlessly through all the choices on HBO Max, and you realize you want to watch something queer, check out this list. We've got 13 of the best LGBTQ+ films on HBO Max right here for you!
RELATED | 13 LGBTQ+ Shows You Can Watch on HBO Max Right Now
Behind the Candelabra
This biopic of famous pianist Liberace (played by Michael Douglas) focuses on the last ten years of the musical legend's life and the relationship he had with Scott Thorson (Matt Damon). The movie was nominated for six Emmys and won three, plus it won eight Creative Arts Emmys.
The Birdcage
This classic comedy stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Hank Azaria in hilarious gay roles and still gets laughs today. When the son of an openly gay drag club owner wants to get married to the daughter of an ultra-conservative senator, his parents must pretend to be a straight couple in order to win her parents over. What follows is a comedy of errors.
Desert Hearts
This romantic drama is a classic of lesbian cinema. Released in 1986, it was one of the first wide-release films to portray lesbians in a positive light. It follows a woman in 1959 who moves to Nevada in order to establish residency so she can obtain a divorce.
Gia
Bicon Angelina Jolie starred as bicon Gia Carangi in this biopic about the tragic life of one of America's first supermodels. Jolie was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role, which helped launch her career.
Looking: The Movie
This HBO original movie served as the finale for their terrific series about the lives of gay men. It picks up eleven months after the last episode and follows Patrick, Dom, Agustin, Eddie, and Richie as they continue their lives.
The Normal Heart
Ryan Murphy directed this adaptation of Larry Kramer's play about a group of gay men, led by activist Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo), during the rise of the AIDS crisis in America. The film also stars Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff, and Julia Roberts.
Pariah
Dee Rees' debut film is also one of the best lesbian films of all time. Adepero Oduye stars as Alike, a 17-year-old Black butch girl dealing with her unsupportive mother and a crush on a girl from her church. The movie is a love letter to Black lesbians and a can't-miss film.
Rent
Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical about young creatives in New York coping with poverty, drugs, and the AIDS epidemic was turned into this successful movie adaptation that still holds up today. If you watched tick, tick... BOOM! this year, make sure you revisit Rent as well.
Shiva Baby
A new bisexual classic, this comedy from Emma Seligman follows a young, bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her parents and has to deal with her successful ex-girlfriend and her current sugar daddy (and his wife and baby), who are also attending.
Sublet
John Benjamin Hickey stars as a travel writer for the New York Times who travels to Tel Aviv for work in this 2020 film. There he meets Tomer, a younger film student looking for extra money, and sublets his apartment. The film then follows the two gay men as they explore and try to bridge their generational gap.
Happy Together
Wong Kar-wai's beautiful and tragic story of two young gay men from Hong Kong who move to Argentina and experience separations and reconciliations is currently streaming on HBO Max. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won Best Director when it premiered at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
The Matrix
The Wachowski's original masterpiece is still just as good today as it was in 1999. The film explores gender and trans issues through science fiction and technology, and also features some of the most groundbreaking special effects and action sequences in movie history.
Viva
This 2015 Spanish-language film is set in Cuba, but is actually an Irish film. It follows a young drag performer trying to be himself while he's reconnecting with his estranged father. It was on the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.
