The Best LGBTQ Movies on Netflix (August 2021)
For those in search of top-quality LGBTQ-themed content, whether you want to learn more via an insightful documentary or get some laughs from a fun comedy — Netflix has got you covered. From groundbreaking Oscar-nominated movies like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to films that have an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes critic rating, like the coming-of-age drama The Half of It, there’s something for everyone on the O.G. streaming platform. Don’t worry about wasting time scrolling endlessly through Netflix’s library of titles: Here are the best LGBTQ-themed movies you can watch right now on the streaming service.
When you’re done going through this list, check out the best LGBTQ films to stream right now on multiple services, the best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO, and the best Netflix original series you can stream right now.
Ride or Die (2021)
Based on the manga series of the same name, Ride or Die stars Kiko Mizuhara as Rei Nagasawa, a Japanese woman who discovers her friend Nanae (Honami Sato) is suffering from domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. To prove her love to Nanae, Rei murders her spouse, sending the two women on the run from the law. A gutsy road film featuring unmistakable shades of Thelma and Louise, Ride or Die is a pulse-pounding blend of drama and romance led by the powerful dynamic between Mizuhara and Nagasawa.
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Stars: Kiko Mizuhara, Honami Sato
Director: Ryuichi Hiroki
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 142 minutes
Let It Snow (2019)
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Maureen Johnson, Let It Snow is the story of a small town called Waffle Town. Julie Reyes (Isabela Merced), a high school senior who has been accepted to Columbia University, is nervous to leave her ailing mother alone in W.T. When a snowstorm hits the community on Christmas Eve, Julie and her circle of acquaintances will discover the true meaning of the holiday when relationships crack open, romances are revealed, and new futures are created. A pleasant watch for the holiday season and any other time of year, Let It Snow will win you over in more ways than one.
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Stars: Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Kiernan Shipka
Director: Luke Snellin
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 93 minutes
Duck Butter (2018)
Naima (Alia Shawkat) and Sergio (Laia Costa) are growing tired of loving connections that simply don’t make the grade. An aspiring film actress, Naima heads out to a gay bar with a friend where she first meets Sergio. After conversation and flirtation, the two decide to embark on a 24-hour bout of intimacy, an experiment Sergio believes will “fast forward” through the many beats of a romantic relationship. Led by raw performances from both Shawkat and Costa, Duck Butter is not your typical rom-com by any means, and what it may lack in complete originality the film makes up for with its tender tone and earnest acting.
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Stars: Alia Shawkat, Laia Costa, Mae Whitman
Director: Miguel Arteta
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 93 minutes
Dancing Queens (2021)
It’s a modern-day Cinderella story with an LGBTQ twist. Dylan is a 23-year-old young woman from a small island who starts to work as a cleaner in a struggling drag club. But she harbors a secret: She wishes she could become a dancer. When the club’s star dancer learns of Dylan’s dreams and discovers she actually has talent, the question becomes: Is it OK if she disguises herself as a man to dance in drag when she’s biologically a woman? Hailing from Sweden, the light-hearted film is dubbed a comedy, making it a fun watch with a group of friends.
Rotten Tomatoes: Not yet scored
Stars: Molly Nutley, Marie Goranzon, Claes Malmberg, Mattias Nordkvist, Rakel Warmlander, Christopher Wollter, Emil Almen
Director: Helena Bergstrom
Rating: NR
Runtime: 110 minutes
The Half of It (2020)
Dubbed a loose retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac adjusted to fit the times, Ellie is a shy and lonely teenager who is often commissioned by fellow students to do their homework. She’s more than happy to do so and charges a fee to help her family make ends meet. But she gets a strange request when the school jock, Paul, asks her to ghostwrite love letters on his behalf to his crush, Aster. It works well at the start until Ellie begins to fall for Aster herself, which complicates the situation for everyone involved. It’s a sweet story of what truly makes people fall for one another and the importance of being true and honest to oneself.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Stars: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire
Director: Alice Wu
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 104 minutes
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
The multi-Oscar-nominated film based on the August Wilson play of the same name stars Viola Davis as the title character, a blues singer from the 1920s. Davis mesmerizingly transforms into the influential woman who was not only a talented singer but also an advocate for Black and LGBTQ+ rights, even if she wasn’t as overtly outspoken as others. Rainey made no apologies for her lifestyle, openly dating women at a time when the mere thought was taboo, particularly for a woman of color. While the movie is worth watching for the incredible performances alone, including the late Chadwick Boseman as the ambitious trumpeter Levee Green, it’s an important film that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts
Director: George C. Wolfe
Rating: R
Runtime: 94 minutes
Disclosure (2020)
This documentary takes a deep dive into the depiction of transgender people in Hollywood and how the stories told through film and television impact transgender people in real life, as well as how they shape and influence the overall cultural landscape. Disclosure features interviews with well-known transgender celebrities, such as Laverne Cox, Candis Cayne, Brian Michael Smith, Chaz Bono, and Lilly Wachowski. It has an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating, with critics praising the documentary for shining a spotlight on the fact that we still have a long way to go for fair and honest representations of LGBTQ individuals on screen.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Stars: Laverne Cox, Candis Cayne, Brian Michael Smith
Director: Sam Feder
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 100 minutes
Holding the Man (2015)
Starting in the ’70s and fast-forwarding to the ’80s and ’90s through the film, this Australian romantic drama follows the love story of college students Tim and John who decide to run off together. Later, however, after both receive an HIV-positive diagnosis, it puts their love for one another to the test, and riddles one man with guilt. Meanwhile, despite staring down death, the pair must deal with loved ones still not being comfortable with their relationship. The deeply emotional story that critics call an “achingly beautiful portrayal of love and death” is based on the memoir by Australian actor, writer, and activist Timothy Conigrave.
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Stars: Ryan Corr, Craig Stott, Sarah Snook, Guy Pearce, Kerry Fox, Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush
Director: Neil Armfield
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 128 minutes
Straight Up (2019)
James Sweeney both created and stars in this independent film about a 20-something young man who suffers from OCD and, because of his aversion to bodily fluids, has trouble engaging in romantic relationships. Fearing he might be alone forever, he experiments with dating women instead of men, and he meets Rory, who is as equally socially flawed as he is. While they embark on a romantic relationship, others question how real their love truly is, and whether it’s just a manifestation of Todd’s intrinsic homophobia. It’s a unique story about a young man and how his mental disorder influences the nature of his relationships. The movie was only put out for limited release and premiered at Outfest in 2019, but has received rave reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Cast: Katie Findlay, James Sweeney, Dana Drori, James Scully, Tracie Thoms, Betsy Brandt, Randall Park
Director: James Sweeney
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 95 minutes
The Boys in the Band (2020)
As important as the message this film portrays is the fact that the cast is made up entirely of openly gay actors. They play a group of gay friends who get together to celebrate a birthday in an Upper East Side Manhattan apartment. But things go awry when the host’s former college roommate, who happens to be straight, shows up uninvited. With an eclectic group of characters and personalities, the 1968-set, Ryan Murphy-produced drama explores the age-old issue of dealing with societal rejection and coming to terms with one’s truth and self-worth. The film is based on a Mart Crowley off-Broadway play from 1968, which was made into a movie in 1970 starring the same cast. The full cast of this new film played the same roles in a Broadway revival of the play in 2018 as well.
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Stars: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesus, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Tuc Watkins
Director: Joe Mantello
Rating: R
Runtime: 122 minutes
Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)
Set in 1988, two young men who have survived martial law in Taiwan discover that they are in love. But they don’t act on it for fear of pressure from their respective families and outright homophobia. The romance film, which was originally titled The Name Engraved in Your Heart, demonstrates the all-too-familiar journey of two men destined to be together but having to deny their truths in light of social stigmas. The movie was actually inspired by real events. The fact that Taiwan was the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage makes this an important film for the LGBTQ community.
Rotten Tomatoes: Not yet reviewed
Cast: Jean-Francois Blanchard, Akira Chen, Edward Chen, David Hao-Chi Chiu, Leon Dai, Fabio Grangeon, Honduras, Mountain Kao, Lenny Li, and others
Director: Kuang-Hui Liu
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 118 minutes
Circus of Books (2019)
This documentary by artist Rachel Mason is a riveting look at the popular and long-running bookstore and gay pornography shop, Circus of Books, in West Hollywood and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The store was first established in the ’60s as Book Circus. Rachel’s parents, Karen and Barry Mason, who were working with Hustler publisher Larry Flynt at the time, took over the store in the early ’80s and renamed it Circus of Books. The straight, religious couple with kids, however, kept the nature of their work a secret from family and friends. The business went through many challenges, from being caught in an FBI sting during President Ronald Reagan’s crackdown on pornography, to gaining a reputation for attracting hustlers in the wee hours of the morning. The store served as a refuge for LGBTQ community members during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the film highlights Karen and Barry’s struggles with being so heavily immersed in LGBTQ culture at a time when it was not socially accepted. Rachel’s doc tells the fascinating story of the store’s historical significance for the LGBTQ community, her parents’ role as unintentional activists, and how the internet destroyed the business.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Stars: Karen Mason, Barry Mason, Rachel Mason
Director: Rachel Mason
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 92 minutes
The Danish Girl (2015)
Loosely inspired by the real story of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, and based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, The Danish Girl is an intriguing look at Elbe’s journey as one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. While the historical accuracy of the time (the mid-1920s) left some unimpressed, along with the casting of the cisgender Eddie Redmayne in a transgender role, the performances by the lead stars catapulted the touching film to Academy Award status.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts
Director: Tom Hooper
Rating: R
Runtime: 119 minutes
Girl (2018)
The story was inspired by Nora Monsecour, a trans female dancer who director Lukas Dhont met when he was a teenager. In the film, Lara (Victor Polster) is a 15-year-old trans girl, just like Monsecour, who aspires to be a professional ballerina. While she has support from some important people in her life as she deals with her gender dysphoria, attending a new school and going through puberty presents its own set of challenges. While the film received some criticism for portrayals of gender dysphoria and self-harm, Monsecour, who provided insight for the film, spoke out in support of it.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Katelijine Damen, Valentijin Dhaenens
Director: Lukas Dhont
Rating: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Tallulah (2016)
Get ready to laugh with this film about Tallulah (Elliot Page), a young woman who ends up caring for a toddler whose mother, Carolyn (Tammy Blanchard), has no interest in raising. With nowhere else to go, Tallulah shacks up with her ex’s mother, Margo (the fantastic Allison Janney), and pretends the child is hers, and thus Margo’s granddaughter. The two women form an unlikely bond, revealing painful secrets as Tallulah tries to hide from both Carolyn and the police.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Elliot Page, Allison Janney, Tammy Blanchard
Director: Sian Heder
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 111 minutes
A Secret Love (2020)
The newest film on this list, this documentary is already receiving tremendous praise after being released in April 2020. Produced by Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy, A Secret Love tells the story of a pair of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players who kept their romantic partnership a secret for almost seven decades. Based on the true story of director Chris Bolan’s two aunts, the tremendous sacrifice and weight the two women held on their shoulders for three-quarters of a century will both warm your heart for their intense dedication to one another and make you angry that they felt that couldn’t be freely and openly in love.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Stars: Terry Donahue, Diana Bolen, Pat Henschel
Director: Chris Bolan
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 83 minutes
I Am Divine (2013)
Harris Glenn Milstead, best known by his stage name Divine, was an actor, singer, and drag performer. He was considered a trailblazer and was the muse of filmmaker John Waters, who cast him in many of his movies. Divine, who has become a cult figure among the LGBTQ community and was dubbed by People magazine as the Drag Queen of the Century in 1988, sadly passed away that same year at the age of 42. His bright and colorful persona has become the inspiration for many other characters, songs, and art. The film includes interviews with a number of people close to Divine, including Waters and the surviving members of the Dreamlanders, a group of regular performers who Waters used in his films.
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Stars: Divine, John Waters, Tab Hunter, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, and more
Director: Jeffrey Schwartz
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 90 minutes
Dear Ex (2018)
This black comedy-drama from Taiwan is about Song, a teenager who discovers that his recently deceased father was living a secret life when, after his passing, a strange man named Jay shows up. Not only is Jay listed as the life insurance beneficiary on Song’s father’s will, but he was also apparently his lover. Now Song finds himself caught between his mother Liu, who must deal with the reality that her husband was unfaithful and a closeted homosexual, and the free-spirited Jay, who has turned their lives upside down. The film was selected for the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards but was not nominated.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Stars: Roy Chiu, Ying-Xuan Hsieh, Spark Chen, Joseph Huang
Director: Mag Hsu, Hsu Chih-yen
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 100 minutes
Alex Strangelove (2018)
This rom-com follows one seemingly straight teenager’s journey in exploring his sexuality. While still a virgin and with a girlfriend, Alex meets another openly gay teen who has a crush on him and begins to question if he might be bisexual. The film has been praised for taking a refreshing and progressive look at the topic of teen sexuality.
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
Stars: Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale, Madeline Weinstein, Joanna Adler, William Ragsdale, Daniel Zolghadri
Director: Craig Johnson
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 99 minutes
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