Best LGBT-Themed Films
by FlameAxelVIII | created - 30 Jan 2012 | updated - 28 Feb 2013 | PublicI obviously haven't seen everything, so notable omissions. And some of these might not be LGBT focused, but touch on various issues in a notable way.
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1. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 382,517 | Gross: $83.04M
2. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
Director: John Cameron Mitchell | Stars: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski
Votes: 37,365 | Gross: $3.03M
3. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
R | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III
Votes: 103,329 | Gross: $11.53M
4. Weekend (II) (2011)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Romance
After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman
Votes: 32,873 | Gross: $0.46M
5. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,211,562 | Gross: $130.10M
6. Notes on a Scandal (2006)
R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her fifteen-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond a platonic friendship.
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Andrew Simpson, Tom Georgeson
Votes: 84,620 | Gross: $17.51M
7. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 518,392 | Gross: $59.89M
8. V for Vendetta (2005)
R | 132 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.
Director: James McTeigue | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea
Votes: 1,179,827 | Gross: $70.51M
9. As Good as It Gets (1997)
PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Votes: 318,599 | Gross: $148.48M
10. Chasing Amy (1997)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, Scott Mosier
Votes: 143,845 | Gross: $12.02M
11. I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
R | 98 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
A cop turns con man once he comes out of the closet. Once imprisoned, he meets the second love of his life, whom he'll stop at nothing to be with.
Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa | Stars: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro
Votes: 99,810 | Gross: $2.04M
12. A Single Man (2009)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
Director: Tom Ford | Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 117,796 | Gross: $9.17M
13. Monster (2003)
R | 109 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Director: Patty Jenkins | Stars: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen
Votes: 161,915 | Gross: $34.47M
14. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 384,100 | Gross: $7.22M
15. Mysterious Skin (2004)
Unrated | 105 min | Drama
Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elisabeth Shue, Chase Ellison
Votes: 76,353 | Gross: $0.70M
16. The Hours (2002)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Romance
The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane
Votes: 138,554 | Gross: $41.68M
17. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 273,191 | Gross: $50.00M
18. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,879 | Gross: $31.84M
19. Transamerica (2005)
R | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
Director: Duncan Tucker | Stars: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan, Andrea James
Votes: 42,352 | Gross: $9.02M
20. The Crying Game (1992)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Forest Whitaker, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 60,081 | Gross: $62.55M
21. Kinsey (2004)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard
Votes: 50,970 | Gross: $10.21M
22. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 167,028 | Gross: $139.88M
23. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,358 | Gross: $0.13M
24. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic-small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 258,224 | Gross: $77.32M
25. The Birdcage (1996)
R | 117 min | Comedy
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 100,721 | Gross: $124.06M
26. Saved! (2004)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
When a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized.
Director: Brian Dannelly | Stars: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit
Votes: 49,007 | Gross: $8.94M
27. The Kids Are All Right (2010)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life.
Director: Lisa Cholodenko | Stars: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska
Votes: 134,466 | Gross: $20.81M
28. Undertow (2009)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside; a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town's rigid traditions.
Director: Javier Fuentes-León | Stars: Cristian Mercado, Tatiana Astengo, Manolo Cardona, Attilia Boschetti
Votes: 7,204
29. Ma vie en rose (1997)
R | 88 min | Drama
Ludovic is an innocent seven-year-old child who provokes horror in his community when he dresses in girls clothes and insists he's a girl.
Director: Alain Berliner | Stars: Georges Du Fresne, Michèle Laroque, Jean-Philippe Écoffey, Hélène Vincent
Votes: 9,026 | Gross: $2.28M
30. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallée
Votes: 34,135
31. For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)
Unrated | 95 min | Documentary, Romance
An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.
Director: Daniel G. Karslake | Stars: Imogene Robinson, Victor Robinson, Gene Robinson, Isabella 'Boo' McDaniel
Votes: 4,519 | Gross: $0.31M
32. Rent (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In New York City's gritty East Village, a group of bohemians strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 55,939 | Gross: $29.08M
33. Rope (1948)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Dick Hogan
Votes: 153,776
34. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Evelyn, an ordinary housewife, visits a nursing home and befriends the old lady Ninny. Together, they bond over stories from the past about two intrepid women of Whistle Stop Cafe.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 83,734 | Gross: $82.42M
35. The Opposite of Sex (1998)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A 16-year-old girl visits her gay half-brother and ends up seducing his boyfriend, thus wreaking havoc on all of their lives.
Director: Don Roos | Stars: Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett
Votes: 21,765 | Gross: $5.88M
36. Shortbus (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Director: John Cameron Mitchell | Stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Peter Stickles, PJ DeBoy, Paul Dawson
Votes: 35,426 | Gross: $1.99M
37. 8: The Mormon Proposition (2010)
R | 80 min | Documentary
A scorching indictment of the Mormon Church's historic involvement in the promotion & passage of California's Proposition 8 and the Mormon religion's secretive, decades-long campaign against LGBT human rights.
Directors: Reed Cowan, Steven Greenstreet | Stars: Spencer Jones, Tyler Barrick, Dustin Lance Black, Linda Williams Stay
Votes: 1,273 | Gross: $0.10M
38. Mean Creek (2004)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama
When a teen is bullied, his brother and friends lure the bully into the woods to seek revenge.
Director: Jacob Estes | Stars: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan
Votes: 33,372 | Gross: $0.60M
39. Ciao (2008)
R | 87 min | Drama, Romance
Jeff is taking care of everything Mark left behind when he died in an accident. Mark was about to have a visitor, Andrea, an Italian guy he met online. Jeff and Andrea have the chance to share memories of the Mark they knew while getting to know each other.
Director: Yen Tan | Stars: Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Chuck Blaum, Ethel Lung
Votes: 2,546 | Gross: $0.05M
40. Save Me (2007)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A sex and drug-addicted young man who is forced into a Christian-run ministry in an attempt to cure him of his "gay affliction," where instead he is faced with the truth in his heart and spirit.
Director: Robert Cary | Stars: Jeremy Glazer, Chad Allen, David Petruzzi, Arron Shiver
Votes: 2,140 | Gross: $0.08M
41. Small Town Gay Bar (2006)
Not Rated | 76 min | Documentary
The story of community in the Deep South that is forced to deal with the struggles of ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.
Director: Malcolm Ingram | Stars: Jim Bishop, Terry Capps, Jackie Cox, Bill Curtis
Votes: 1,174
42. Pretty Ugly People (2008)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
Lucy has always used food to escape life's problems, but when this self-titled "fat friend" lures her group of old college buddies to the Montana wilderness, she reveals a new self - skinny, beautiful and still flawed.
Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Missi Pyle, Melissa McCarthy, Larry Sullivan, Phill Lewis
Votes: 2,223 | Gross: $0.01M
43. Summer Storm (2004)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A close friendship between two crew teammates is tested when one slowly discovers he's gay and attracted to the other.
Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner | Stars: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Miriam Morgenstern, Jürgen Tonkel
Votes: 14,504 | Gross: $0.10M
44. Breakfast with Scot (2007)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Eric, a sports announcer and former hockey player, doesn't know how to deal with the flamboyant young boy to whom he and his partner suddenly become guardians.
Director: Laurie Lynd | Stars: Tom Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman, Noah Bernett, Benz Antoine
Votes: 3,251 | Gross: $0.05M
45. If Dad Only Knew (2004)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy
Bobby, the youngest boy in an Irish Catholic family, is gay and his coming out to his brothers and the family's way of dealing with the news is the basis of this film.
Director: Pete Jones | Stars: Pete Jones, Nathan Fillion, Stoney Westmoreland, Dev Kennedy
Votes: 821
46. In & Out (1997)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon
Votes: 44,178 | Gross: $63.86M
47. Eating Out (I) (2004)
Unrated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After getting dumped by his slutty girlfriend, Caleb falls in love with Gwen. However, thanks to Caleb's roommate, Gwen thinks he's gay and sets him up with her roommate, Marc.
Director: Q. Allan Brocka | Stars: Scott Lunsford, Jim Verraros, Emily Brooke Hands, Rebekah Kochan
Votes: 6,390 | Gross: $0.16M
A bit of a guilty pleasure. Technically bad, but kind of enjoyable.
48. The Sex Movie (2006)
Not Rated | 84 min | Drama
Four friends spend an evening together after time apart. Differences in sex and sexuality reveal deep-rooted conflicts and long-hidden longings.
Director: Colton Lawrence | Stars: Michelle Mosley, Matthew Tyler, Mike Fallon, Eleese Longino
Votes: 935
Same as "Eating Out," though some of the dialogue is intriguing.
49. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
In a magically realistic version of Toronto, a young man must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes one by one in order to win her heart.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick
Votes: 465,604 | Gross: $31.49M
This one is a bit of a stretch. It's one of my favorite movies, but it doesn't quite fit on this list like the others, so it's down here as sort of an extra.
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