Happy Pride, Geekly Gang! What better way to celebrate Pride Month than with movies? Being a member of the LGBTQ+ Community myself, it was fun to curate this list for y’all. My favorite part was seeing how film evolved in its coverage of LGBTQ+ themes. Sometimes heartwarming. Sometimes depressing. Sometimes downright cringeworthy. But what’re you gonna do? Regardless of content, these movies serve as great time capsules for how far we’ve come with discussing LGBTQ+ concepts. We still have a long way to go, but these movies are still cool.
I’d like to clear one thing up real quick. I don’t mean to imply that, as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community, only I can determine the best LGBTQ+ movies. Not at all. I’m one person, and these are some of my favorites I watched this month. There are also several other movies I saw and didn’t mention. Feel free to mention them in the comments. As always, thanks for your understanding. With that said, these are my picks for 5 LGBTQ+ movies for Pride Month.
The Birdcage
I’ll start with a goofy one. That’s mostly what The Birdcage is: goofy. Even with The Birdcage‘s simple premise, it managed to get some good laughs out of me. If you haven’t seen The Birdcage, here’s the run-down. A young man with gay fathers is getting married to a woman whose parents are deeply conservative. So, the whole movie is trying to convince the girl’s parents that the boy has straight parents. With a star-studded cast including Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, and Christine Baranski, how could I not recommend The Birdcage?
Also, I truly underestimated the comedic potential with Hank Azaria in The Birdcage. His role as Agador Spartacus had me rolling on multiple occasions.
The Kids Are All Right
Let’s take it down a bit. We go from off-the-wall humor to a more heartfelt premise in The Kids Are All Right. Two children with lesbian parents discover their sperm-donor father and try to connect with him. Another simple yet effective premise. The Kids Are All Right results in some complicated emotions and difficult relationship questions being raised. The mothers are worried about the sperm donor, Paul, taking their children away from them. Meanwhile, with the kids getting older, they’re already having conflicting feelings about their parents. It’s a cute coming-of-age film wrapped in an LGBT blanket.
If you’re in the mood for something more realistic and personal, I recommend The Kids Are All Right, if for no other reason than to remind yourself that Mia Wasikowska has emotions. I was shocked, too.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Here’s where it gets more complicated. While I really enjoyed The Adventures of Priscilla, it elicited a wide variety of emotions from me. As three drag queens make their way across the Australian Outback, they have several misadventures along the way. That doesn’t seem like much on its face, but it results in all sorts of interactions. The upsides, downsides, and everything else that comes with being a drag queen in the 90s are put on display here, and it’s not always easy to watch. However, y’all may know that movies like that are the kind that attract me.
Sure, The Adventures of Priscilla can be difficult to get through, but I recommend it only for Terence Stamp. Yeah, it’s fun seeing General Zod as a drag queen.
Paris is Burning
Paris is Burning is a classic. While the creation of the film raises some ethical questions, what’s detailed in it is unlike anything else I’ve seen. Paris is Burning outlines the intricacies of Ballroom culture in New York City at the height of the AIDS crisis. This month was my first time watching it, and it raised several difficult emotions. I found myself reflected in each of the folks on-screen and relating to their struggles to an unhealthy degree. We will survive, and Paris is Burning shows us how they do it in “Gay World.”
Paris is Burning also does a fantastic job of highlighting the difficulties of combining LGBTQ+ issues with race issues. This is still an issue today, but if we don’t talk about it, it’ll never change.
Disclosure
Of the movies on this list, the ones I would consider “must-watches” in today’s climate are Paris is Burning and Disclosure. While Paris is Burning has proven to maintain relevance after 35 years, Disclosure was released 5 years ago, and its importance is already striking. Disclosure takes an elaborate and detailed look at the coverage of transgender people in the public eye over the years. From as far back as the 1910s, Disclosure shows us how transgender people have been humiliated from the start. As the world continues to grow and evolve, especially now, we need movies like Disclosure.
Even thinking about Disclosure now, I can’t help but feel emotional. For me, Disclosure hits too close to home, but that’s also why it’s important.
So those are my 5 movies for Pride Month this year. What do y’all think? Are there any movies I mi – Yes. I couldn’t even finish that sentence, but yes, share your favorite LGBTQ+ movies in the comments with us. We always love to hear from you! Now go out there and show the world how you’re not afraid to live your life on your terms. 😉
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