Celebrating 22 unabashedly joyful queer films

Sorry Brokeback Mountain, but we’re putting the spotlight on the happiest gay movies to watch during Pride Month

By Jack Smart, Alison Foreman, Manuel Betancourt, Brandon Kirby | June 1, 2022 | 11:30pm

Film Features Queer

Celebrating 22 unabashedly joyful queer films

(Clockwise from bottom-left): To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (Screenshot: Universal Pictures); The Birdcage (United Artists/Getty Images); Booksmart (Francois Duhamel/Annapurna Pictures) Image: Karl Gustafson

June means Pride Month, and Pride Month means celebrating queer art and audiences—and god knows we could all use that right now. In the spirit of 2022 Pride, The A.V. Club has rounded up 22 unabashedly queer movies featuring unambiguously joyful stories and storytellers. Contrary to what prestige Hollywood dramas like Philadelphia or Brokeback Mountain might have us believe, the LGBTQ+ experience is precious, multifaceted, and fabulous. These films remind us of that fact, and they should be appreciated just as much as the serious stuff.

This list is by no means the definitive document of queer film—it’s merely a jubilee of movies that are both gay (as in LGBTQ+) and gay (as in happy!), presented chronologically to see how this little corner of the cinema world has evolved.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

If we’ve said it once we’ve said it a thousand times: Let’s do the Time Warp again! Based on the 1973 stage show of the same name, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is as impactful as almost any other piece of LGBTQ+ media–with a cult following that (pre-pandemic) saw it firmly cemented as the longest running movie in theatrical history. Directed by original stage director Jim Sharman, this wacky black musical comedy follows the newly affianced, hilariously heteronormative couple Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), who find themselves stranded at the strange home of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) on a dark and stormy night. Although this zany fall down the metaphoric rabbit hole ends on a slightly melancholic note, it’s a screamingly fun romp that’s been serving up spectacle and community for nearly 50 years. [Alison Foreman]

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