There’s a common sentiment on the internet that we need more gay movies with happy endings. That’s an understandable response to a media landscape that has all too often relegated queer characters and storylines strictly to the realm of tragedy, or hyperfocused on the trials and tribulations of coming out. It seems like Hollywood has started to respond accordingly: The past few years have seen the release of a wave of sugary-sweet queer rom-coms, as well as a handful of movies in which queer people get to be refreshingly, bravely, straight-up stupid (#Equality).
But that doesn’t mean that every gay movie ended in tragedy until the 2020s. In fact, there are plenty of gay movies with happy endings to be found as far back as the mid-1980s, and I’ve curated a watch list of 15 of them for your viewing pleasure. To be clear, not every movie listed here is happy all the way through; in fact, some of them are rather tragic before things ultimately turn around for the protagonists. Nor is every happy ending here focused on a romantic outcome, though yes, many of them are.
But together, they prove that there are plenty of feel-good LGBTQ+ movies in the archive we can watch as we continue pushing for a broader range of queer cinema. Some of these movies deliver all of the tropey, rom-com goodness of your dreams, and others will make you sob from sadness before you cry tears of joy. Read on for 15 of our favorite queer movies with happy endings.
But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
But I’m a Cheerleader is first on the list for good reason! You wouldn’t think that a movie about conversion therapy could be this cute, or have a happy ending — but it manages to do both. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, the cheerleader in question, in this iconic piece of sapphic pop culture.
Saving Face (2004)
Saving Face is a romantic dramedy about two Chinese lesbians, Wil (Michelle Krusiec) and Vivian (Lynn Chen), who must balance their budding relationship with the conservative norms of their community in New York City. The last third is extremely wacky, but the final scene is so sweet that it makes up for the narrative chaos of the prior half hour.
Punks (2000)
There is a lot about Punks that is utterly astonishing, starting with the fact that it never received an official release due to music rights issues. The directorial debut of filmmaker Patrik-Ian Polk, Punks follows a friend group of Black gay men and one trans woman in West Hollywood. It is absolutely a cheesy 2000s rom-com, but it also doesn’t shy away from exploring difficult topics, like one character’s hypochondriac fear of becoming HIV positive, while still maintaining a sense of levity. Until a few years ago, Punks was lost to the sands of time, as Kai Wright reported in a 2018 episode of WNYC’s queer podcast, Nancy, but it has started to reappear at special screenings.
Fire Island (2022)
Loosely transposing the plot of Pride and Prejudice onto the modern-day class and race dynamics of the titular gaycation destination, Fire Island is a refreshingly candid portrayal of gay shenanigans. A group of friends (played by Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos and Torian Miller) embark upon their annual trip to the titular island. What results is both a truly great rom-com and a lovely tribute to the life-saving power of queer friendship.
Big Eden (2000)
Henry Hart (Arye Gross) is a gay artist in New York City who temporarily moves back to his hometown, the rural Montana town of Big Eden, after his grandfather has a stroke. While reintegrating into his community, he crosses paths with his high-school crush Dean (Tim DeKay), while also remaining oblivious to the subtle affections of local Native American general store owner Pike Dexter (Eric Schweig). This is one of the more heart-wrenching movies on this list, but it’s equally as heartwarming in the end.
D.E.B.S. (2004)
Look, don’t watch D.E.B.S. if you’re expecting a masterpiece of sapphic cinema. But do watch it if you’re in the mood for a campy, enemies-to-lovers lesbian spy movie. Need I say more?
Anything’s Possible (2022)
Former Them assistant editor Eva Reign stars as trans high-school senior Kelsa in this coming-of-age movie that served as Billy Porter’s directorial debut. There is a happy ending, and we get to see many sweet scenes between Kelsa and her crush, Khal (Abubakr Ali). But viewers should also be warned that the movie also contains some difficult (though unfortunately realistic) portrayals of transmisogyny and homophobia.
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
I hate to describe things as “wholesome,” but there is truly no better word to describe this sugary-sweet teen rom-com. Randy Dean (Laurel Holloway) is a working class high-school butch raised by two lesbian parents, who unexpectedly starts to fall for Evie Roy (Nicole Ari Parker), a popular local rich girl. Though the girls face homophobia throughout the movie, it’s either ultimately resolved or portrayed in such a campy fashion that you can’t help but laugh at it.
The Handmaiden (2016)
Set during Japan’s occupation of Korea in the 1930s, The Handmaiden explores the tense relationship between Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-Hee) and Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a thief who is seemingly hired by a scammer who aims to steal the heiress’ fortune. This one also made it onto our queer thrillers list, so don’t expect an easy watch. But the twists and turns only make the happy ending all the more rewarding.
The Way He Looks (2014)
Real 2010s Tumblr heads will remember seeing Daniel Ribeiro’s short film, I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone, on the dashboard, and eagerly awaiting the feature-length version. Thankfully, the movie that resulted lives up to the hype. Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) is a blind teenager who worries that he’ll never get to have his first kiss. Enter Gabriel (Fábio Audi), a new student at school who sits right behind Leonardo on his first day. You can guess what ensues from there, but even though it doesn’t do too much to stray from the coming of age rom-com format, it executes on it very well.
Bottoms (2023)
The premise of Bottoms is very high-school bro comedy: Two best friends start a fight club in the hopes of seducing cheerleaders. But the movie puts a queer spin on the subgenre: The two main characters are lesbian femcels (played flawlessly by Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott) and it gets very silly and surreal.
Booksmart (2019)
Yet another high school (half) lesbro buddy comedy, and what a time to be alive that there is more than one such film. Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are two goodie-two-shoes who aim to party hard once and for all before graduation. And that they do.
Bound (1996)
This movie basically invented “be gay, do crime.” Bound puts its protagonists Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in a seemingly impossible circumstances, attempting to pull off a heist from the mob. It’s a heart-racing watch in more ways than one: Yes, it’s a thriller but it’s also extremely sexy.
The Birdcage (1996)
Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane) are a gay couple who live above a Miami Beach drag bar called The Birdcage. When Armand’s son Val (Dan Futterman) tells the couple that he intends to marry Barbara, the daughter of a right-wing politician, they concoct an elaborate plan to fool Barbara’s parents into thinking they’re people they’re not. With leads like Williams and Lane, you know you’re in for a good time.
Desert Hearts (1985)
Desert Hearts isn’t just a gay movie with a happy ending; it’s considered to be one of the first lesbian films to end without tragedy. Set in Reno, Nevada in 1959, Desert Hearts follows the unfolding romance between English professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) and Cay Rivers (Patricia Charbonneau), both of whom have recently ended relationships, but who couldn’t be in more different life positions.
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