My Favorite Gay Films

I've written about some of my favorite gay themed books, but it occurred to me the other day that I'd never done the same for gay themed films. I decided to make a list of my top 10 favorites, which turned out to be a lot harder than I'd imagined.

A former roommate of mine, who happened to be straight, once asked me if I'd ever seen a gay movie that I didn't like. He was being sarcastic, of course, but the truth is that there are way more than 10 films that I've loved or at least really liked. Still, I've seen a lot of very bad gay films, too, and a fair amount of mediocre ones as well.

I've heard more than once, from other gay men, that there just aren't any truly good gay films, that such a thing has not yet been made. Everyone's opinions are subjective, of course, and I guess if we're talking about full on masterpieces that would stand up against the best films of all time, the pickings would indeed be slim.

My own criteria is less exacting. I look for a movie that is well written and well acted, something that moves me in some way, whether it leaves me in tears, excites the romantic in me, or just makes me feel good.

The true test, of course, is whether or not it's a film that I can watch over and over again multiple times and still love it as much as I did on the first viewing. I ended up leaving off a few of the newer films that I've really liked, simply because I'm not sure yet how they'll stand up to this test.

11. The Trip. In the end, I just couldn't limit the list to 10, so I decided I had to make the list 11 films long instead. The Trip is about two lovers who meet in 1973. One is a gay activist and the other is an uptight, closeted Young Republican. The story takes place in three different segments, in the early 70's, late 70's, and early 80's as the political and social changes of gay life (including the AIDS epidemic), affect their relationship and lives. Steve Braun and Larry Sullivan both did a very good job in the lead roles, and Sullivan's roadside strip tease toward the end of the film is certainly memorable. The supporting characters tend to be a bit broadly written & acted, created with humor in mind more than anything else, but the basic story at the center is a good one.

10. Edge of Seventeen. This is probably the most realistic coming of age film I've seen about a gay character. Chris Stafford was very good as Eric, the lead character, who is coming to terms with his sexuality in the summer of 1984. In real life, most of us don't end up having ideal first times, and this film is full of the sort of awkward and less than perfect experiences people go through when they're coming out and becoming sexually and romantically involved for the first time and just trying to find out who they are.

9. The Boys in the Band. After Stonewall, when the fight for gay rights truly got under way and the mentality of the gay community itself changed, this movie (which came out in 1970) and the stage play it was based on came to be regarded as a negative throwback because the gay characters show such incredible self loathing as the film progresses.

It's certainly true that this isn't a film about the out and proud gay men of the later 70's or today, but there's no denying that it captures the pre-Stonewall mentality of a lot of gay men (at least those in cities like New York), guys who were completely out with each other but who were still seen as freaks by the rest of the world and took that very much to heart. The relationships between the gay friends all seem very real and the psychological impact of the arrival of a straight character at their party makes for a powerful film as they begin to tear themselves and each other apart.

It's very much of that era in the sense that you come away thinking that it's awfully depressing to be gay, and yet at the same time I was amazed to find a film from 1970 that is completely centered around gay characters and is very upfront in discussing their sex lives and relationships.

8. Trick. The adorable Christian Campbell and the incredibly sexy John Paul Pitoc spend an entire night trying to find a place to have a meaningless hook up, only to fall for each other in the process. Trick is funny, it has memorable supporting characters (yes, even the one played by Tori Spelling!), and it's sweet and romantic. Sometimes, after I make eye contact with a really cute guy and he smiles at me, I find myself humming the song that Christian's character is writing for his musical in the movie (Enter you, voila it's showtime...). That's certainly a measure of the film's impact, right?

7. Brokeback Mountain. You may be surprised that this isn't higher on my list. As a film, it's artistically very well done and Heath Ledger was so amazing in this movie. He was understated and brilliant. But it's actually a pretty hard movie to watch, at least for me, because it leaves me feeling so depressed afterward. I certainly don't need a movie to end happily to love it, but this is the kind of film that just hurts, if that makes sense. The love story is just so tragic, so pathetic, and so realistic for that time and place. It's an amazing work and easily one of the best mainstream films ever made dealing with gay themes.

6. Get Real. This was one of the first gay themed movies I ever saw. It's about two middle class British teens who fall in love. One is the school's star athlete and the other is Steven Carter, the character I completely fell for at the time. Most people would probably have fallen for John Dixon, the jock, but Steven's sarcastic sense of humor and goofy grin convinced me that I had to find a guy like that for myself. It's a funny, bittersweet story about finding out who you are and about the choices you make in life. The ending always makes me sad, but I love the film.

5. Shelter. This is a movie about a working class surfer/artist helping to raise his nephew while falling in love with the older brother of his best friend. He has to try and balance his love life and hopes for the future with the harsh realities of his daily life. The romance was beautifully done and Trevor Wright was incredible in the lead role.

4. Latter Days. This film just completely blew me away when I saw it. It's about an L.A. party boy who makes a bet with his friends that he can bed one of the Mormon missionaries who have moved into their building. From that premise and from the beginning of the film itself, you expect something a bit fluffy and light, but what you get is an incredibly beautiful love story that also deals with the harsh realities of what it means to be gay and Mormon. Steve Sandvoss was fantastic as the gay Mormon character (I'm truly surprised that I've seen him in so few films since this one) and the big love scene between him and Wes Ramsey's character was pretty much the best I've seen in any film.

3. The Broken Hearts Club. I love this movie so much! It's my favorite gay film that isn't really about a love story but rather about a group of gay friends. Who doesn't want to have the kind of friendships that this film is all about? The guys in the film are always comparing themselves to characters in other films (Steel Magnolias, St. Elmo's Fire) and by the time you're done watching you're busy deciding which characters in this film are the most like you and all your friends. This movie is funny and sweet and if I could pick a movie to just live in, to be my life, I think it would be this one.

2. Milk. What more can I say about this film? It's the movie that finally provided mainstream film goers with a depiction of a true gay hero. It's not a perfect film, of course. It whitewashed a lot of the sexual realities of Harvey's life and of gay life in general in the 70's, but it is still, in my view, the best mainstream gay themed film to date. It has an incredible cast, was written by a very talented screenwriter, and was a story that was long overdue to be told.

1. Beautiful Thing. This movie will always be number one with me, maybe because it was literally number one, the first gay themed film I ever saw. If I had to pick a movie to be anyone's first gay themed film, this would be the one. I'm very lucky to have stumbled upon it as my own first, thanks to whatever cable film channel I saw it on many years ago.

Whereas Get Real was a film about middle class British teens, this film (which I could recite line for line by heart, I think, I've seen it so often) is about working class British teens, living on a council estate in an environment where being gay could easily have very dire consequences. And yet, it lives up to its title completely. Ste and Jamie don't have it easy, but their love defies all odds in this film. The ending, which I won't give away in case you haven't seen it, is my favorite final scene of any film, ever. It's just so hopeful, so empowering, and so beautiful.

This is another film with a memorable cast of supporting characters, and Linda Henry (currently starring on the British soap Eastenders) deserves special notice for her role as Jamie's hard edged but fiercely protective mother Sandra. On top of everything else, the movie has a fantastic soundtrack of songs by The Mamas and the Papas. If you haven't seen this film, you really should!

Of course, I think you should seen all of the films on this list. They're my favorites, after all!