#romcomproject group 2: LGBTQ movies

This is my second round of ranking romantic comedies, a way to nerd-out on an under-appreciated movie genre and entertain myself with a feel-good project during quarantine. For more info on my ranking methodology, see the #romcomproject overview. The first group of movies I've ranked are here.

The original ranking of 34 romantic comedies published by the Independent that started me on this project was intriguing because it included a fairly diverse list of movies, including one I knew to be a lesbian film. As I started building my own list of movies to watch and rank, I wanted to explicitly include LGBT films. My goal was to have about 10% of my total list from this category, and I set out to find 20 LGBT rom-coms.

Aah, if only it were so simple.

With the help of Google, I was able to get a few pretty quickly. Of course, I also ran across this ominous quotation:

Most LGBTQ films are often dark and serious, with their main characters doomed to a grisly fate or at least suffering a lot of discrimination.

That is not what I was hoping to find. I was sure there would be some underground cache of films full of happy endings. Not to be discouraged, I kept searching until I found 20 LGBTQ films to put on my list.

Okay, great, Time to watch.

I decided to group these movies together in my viewing and watch them early on in this project. I knew that these movies might be more heavy than most other films on my overall list, and my original goal with the RomCom Project was to have a feel-good quarantine project, a joyous and light-hearted celebration of love. Knocking this group out early on was intended to make sure that I could appreciate these stories as a collection and also avoid comparing them too much to romances that don't carry the burden of representing an entire category of people.

I will be honest and say that I am emotionally drained after watching this group, and I opted not to finish them all, leaving several that are more Romantic Drama than Comedy to watch perhaps after the RomCom Project is done. For those that I did watch, I found some that are merely sleazy male gaze not-really-about-actual-lesbians vehicles (seeing a movie is a Weinstein/Allen collaboration in the opening credits is a dead giveaway), some where even though the couple ended up together, they were bound for dissatisfaction (see cheater Julianne Moore and orgasm-impaired Constance Wu), and some that were so early on in the LGBT film canon (way back in the 90's) that they couldn't actually show a full fledged love story (the first big-name release was so groundbreaking... and so awful). And very few of these movies are actually comedies.

Still, I am so glad I took this journey. There are multiple examples of beautiful films in this group that I never would have watched without the RomCom Project, and that is exactly what I was looking for when I built such a large list of movies to watch. I found laughs, and tears, and joy, and beautiful stories, and lots of love. There is a solid block of films in the top half of the group that I would highly recommend.

It should be noted that I watched a total of 17 LGBT movies. Out of those, only two included transgender characters, only five had happily-ever-after endings, and none was a story about black LGBT people (although RuPaul plays a funny secondary character in one). Watching these movies together really hit home the fact that there is very little representation of LGBTQ love stories, and I would suggest that this group, above all, needs models of having it all work out. LGBTQ people need to see that they can have the whole fairy tale.

If anyone can recommend three more LGBTQ RomComs to include in my rankings, I will be happy to watch!

Movie Go Fish (1994)

Rank in this group 17/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #130

Seen Before? No

Grade F

Notes The worst score I've given to a movie so far, and I didn't finish watching. Maybe there’s some realm where this movie is decent, but this independent film that just can't stack up in my ranking system that accounts for acting, comedy, and soundtrack as critical components.

Movie Chasing Amy (1997)

Rank in this group 16/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #74

Seen Before? Yes

Grade F

Notes I watched this Kevin Smith movie in the 90's, and I remember enjoying it, but I think it's because at the time, the film was pushing lots of boundaries. The dialog does a lot of explaining lesbianism, and that's exactly the problem... its intended audience is straight males, and ultimately this is a slut-shaming movie.

Movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Rank in this group 15/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #91

Seen Before? No

Grade F

Notes Harvey Weinstein produced it. Woody Allen directed it. It's not quite as sleazy as you would think it might be based on that information, but it's close.

Movie In and Out (1997)

Rank in this group 14/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade F

Notes I believe this was the first big movie release with A-list actors (Kevin Kline and one of my favorites, the hysterical Joan Cusack) about a gay character, but the focus on gender stereotypes is truly awful. We've come so far.

Movie The Kids Are Alright (2010)

Rank in this group 13/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #36

Seen Before? Yes

Grade D+

Notes This is not a comedy. Ultimately, it's a good character study about a bunch of flawed people. If I were ranking a list of dramas, maybe it would score higher, but it's really a very sad movie that leaves a lingering dismay that none of these people will ever be happy.

Movie The Feels (2017)

Rank in this group 12/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade D+

Notes I appreciate that this movie is unapologetically a lesbian film and the plot takes that fact for granted. Unfortunately, even the happy ending is sad.

Movie Boy Meets Girl (2014)

Rank in this group 11/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade D+

Notes I realized in watching this movie that my scoring system will always favor major releases over independent films, but as only one of two movies with a transgender protagonist, it's an important film for representation. And even though it's light on comedy and the writing/acting isn't terrific, the plot is actually wonderful, with one of the happiest endings of all of the LGBTQ movies I watched.

Movie I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Rank in this group 10/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade C-

Notes This film starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor based on a true story was entertaining and funny. Given that it's about a con man and has a decidedly unhappy ending, it didn't rank higher, but the characters and acting are worth watching.

Movie The Birdcage (1996)

Rank in this group 9/17

Source Google

Seen Before? Yes

Grade C

Notes It's hard not to love Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in one of the few true comedies in this group. The beauty of this film is that it makes the straight, conservative characters look like the weird, out-of-step ones. Hank Azaria is hysterical as the housekeeper.

Movie Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)

Rank in this group 8/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #108

Seen Before? No

Grade C+

Notes I loved the first 3/4 of this movie. I really wish it had a better ending.

Movie The Half of It (2020)

Rank in this group 7/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade C+

Notes With a Cyrano de Bergerac-type of storyline, I was sucked into this beautiful movie immediately. The protagonist is an incredible character, and the entire film becomes a study of various kinds of love. If only it were actually a comedy.

Movie Trick (1999)

Rank in this group 6/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #137

Seen Before? No

Grade B-

Notes This movie is raw, funny, and beautiful. The secondary characters are absolutely hysterical.

Movie But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

Rank in this group 5/17

Source Independent #22

Seen Before? Yes

Grade B

Notes Natasha Lyonne is awesome, as usual, and the premise of this movie is terrific. An actual comedy with a happy ending!

Movie Dear Ex (2018)

Rank in this group 4/17

Source Google

Seen Before? No

Grade B+

Notes I will never, ever forget this incredible movie. When I started the RomCom Project, I certainly did not know that I would end up watching a Chinese film about a boy whose father left his mother for a man and then died of cancer, or that it would be so magical, or that I would cry so much. This is the movie I will tell everyone to watch if you watch nothing else in this group. It's more whimsical than comedic, which is the only reason it didn't rank higher.

Movie Beginners (2010)

Rank in this group 3/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #88

Seen Before? No

Grade A-

Notes Another movie about a father who is gay and dies of cancer, and again, a beautiful film. There are two love stories to cheer on in this movie, and they are both wonderful in their own way.

Movie Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Rank in this group 2/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #188

Seen Before? Yes

Grade A-

Notes I watched this movie when it first came out, and it has been a dream of mine to go to Tuscany ever since. I even made my best friends attend my 40th birthday party at a large house because I was inspired by this movie. In the end, romance is secondary to the love of chosen family and a life well lived. "Never lose your childish innocence... it is the most important thing." This movie is a mantra. (Note: the lesbian character is not the main focus in this film.)

Movie Love, Simon (2018)

Rank in this group 1/17

Source Rotten Tomatoes #27

Seen Before? Yes

Grade A-

Notes This is close to a perfect RomCom, and it's one that I was dismayed not to see on the Independent list that originally kicked off this project. I love this movie! Great comedy, characters, suspense, soundtrack, and a happy ending.

Note: all images in this post belong to the respective film production companies.