Thinking about whether or not to keep that Netflix subscription?
With news of expensive and rising subscription costs, password-sharing going the way of the dinosaur, plans to introduce commercials coming soon, and plenty of beloved projects being canceled, we've got to get our queer movie screenings in while we still can.
We knew the streaming bubble had to pop sometime, but we never thought Netflix would be one of the first to be going through it. Unfortunately, that's what seems to be happening, as the company has reported that it lost subscribers this year for the first time in history.
Netflix has often been home to a lot of queer content, and while not all of it has always been good, it's at least given us the chance to check out LGBTQ+ films we otherwise wouldn't have seen. With that in mind, here are 15 LGBTQ+ movies on Netflix you should check out now.
RELATED | 8 LGBTQ+ TV Shows We Loved That Only Lasted One Season
Alex Strangelove
This coming-of-age film follows high school student Alex Truelove, who shortly after kissing his female best friend for the first time, realizes he has a crush on a boy named Elliot, an openly gay teen that he meets at a party.
Disclosure
Disclosure is one of the best documentaries of all-time. While it was snubbed by the Oscars, the film, which discusses trans representation and depictions in Hollywood movies, has already changed the film industry for the better.
After Halle Berry watched the film, she stepped away from a role as a trans man in a movie. When Ryan Reynolds saw it, he launched a diversity program to get more marginalized people in the film industry. Now that's an impactful documentary.
Fear Street Trilogy
This trilogy of horror films starts in 1994 and goes back to 1978 and then all the way to 1666, showing the way a group of teens, led by a lesbian couple, deal with an undying evil in their small town.
Handsome Devil
This Irish comedy-drama follows Ned, a teen at an elite, all-boys school in Ireland who forms an unlikely romantic connection with his new roommate, the star of the school's rugby team.
I Care A Lot
This black comedy could've been one of the best lesbian films in years if it didn't fall into an unfortunate trope at the end. Still, Rosamund Pike delivers a thrilling performance as a sociopathic con artist who makes money by obtaining legal guardianship over elderly people and placing them in assisted living facilities.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
George C. Wolfe's Academy Award-winning film has an all-star lineup including Viola Davis as the titular bisexual blues singer, Colman Domingo, and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role. Based on the play of the same name, the movie dramatizes a turbulent recording session by Rainey and her band in 1920s Chicago.
I Am Not Your Negro
This 2016 documentary and social critique film is based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript for Remember This House and is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. While the movie is about racism and anti-Blackness in the United States, Baldwin's queerness can't be separated from his work.
Other People
Led by a terrific cast including Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, John Early, Maude Apatow, Josie Totah, and June Squibb, Other People follows a struggling gay comedy writer who goes home to Sacramento to take care of his ailing mother.
The Power of the Dog
Jane Campion won Best Director at the 2022 Academy Awards for this Western about a self-hating gay cowboy who inserts himself into the life of his new sister-in-law's effeminate teen son. The film breaks down toxic masculinity and was nominated for twelve Oscars, including Best Picture.
Single All the Way
Netflix got into the gay holiday rom-com game with Single All the Way. This movie stars Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, and Luke MacFarlane and tells the story of a gay man named Peter who is "desperate to avoid his family's judgment about his perpetual single status" during the holidays, convincing his best friend to pretend to be in a relationship with him. Of course, it all goes awry when his mom sets him up on a date with a handsome trainer named James.
Tangerine
Tangerine is one of the best trans movies out there. Directed by critical darling Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) and starring trans women Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor (who improvised many of their lines), the film follows two trans sex workers during one frantic day in Los Angeles. The performances by Rodriguez and Taylor are not to be missed.
The Half of It
Lesbian writer and director Alice Wu's follow up to the classic lesbian rom com Saving Face was this 2020 coming-of-age film loosely based on Cyrano de Bergerac. It follows teen lesbian Ellie Chu, who agrees to write love letters to her crush on behalf of her friend, the inelegant jock who also has a crush on the same girl.
The Prom
Before her Oscar-winning role in West Side Story, Ariana DeBose starred in this cute, musical-comedy film (based on the Broadway play of the same name) about a teen lesbian couple who just want to go to their high school's prom together, despite being stopped by the school's homophobic parent-teacher association. The film had an ensemble cast that also included Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, and Jo Ellen Pellman.
The Queen
Another all-time great documentary is The Queen, which followed the drag queens competing at the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest. The film features legends of the gay and trans community like Flawless Sabrina, Rachel Harlow, Pepper LaBeija, and Crystal LaBeija, who delivers one of the most scathing reads ever caught on tape in the film.
tick, tick... BOOM!
Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut was this terrific musical biopic about Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent, and based on Larson's stage musical of the same name. Andrew Garfield was nominated for an Oscar for his starring role as Larson and others including Judith Light, Bradley Whitford, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, and Robin de Jesus make for one of the best ensemble casts in years.
