Bury Your Gays and Other Tropes: “LGBTQ+” Films to AVOID
Having watched a LOT of LGBTQ+ films for those offering good representation, save yourself a lot of time by checking out these ones that well and truly miss the mark- whether intentionally or otherwise...
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- DirectorRyan MurphyStarsMeryl StreepJames CordenNicole KidmanA troupe of hilariously self-obsessed theater stars swarm into a small conservative Indiana town in support of a high-school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.
- DirectorScott McGeheeDavid SiegelStarsTilda SwintonGoran VisnjicJonathan TuckerA woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.
- DirectorKatherine BrooksStarsErin KellyDiane GaidryLaura BreckenridgeThe intelligent Annabelle starts in an elite Catholic girls' boarding high school after being expelled from the previous 2 schools. She's open about being lesbian. She's attracted to her teacher, Simone.
- DirectorMax MayerStarsHugh DancyRose ByrnePeter GallagherAdam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.
- DirectorRoger AvaryStarsJames Van Der BeekIan SomerhalderShannyn SossamonThe incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsWinston ChaoMay ChinAh-Lei GuaTo satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
- CreatorClyde PhillipsStarsJon TenneyDebrah FarentinoEric Christian OlsenFollow the dysfunctional Green family as the parents face a midlife crisis and the kids go through their teenage years.
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
- DirectorEliza HittmanStarsHarris DickinsonMadeline WeinsteinKate HodgeA Brooklyn teenager spends his days experimenting with drugs and looking online for older men to meet.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalXavier DolanFrançois ArnaudA semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
- DirectorPawel PawlikowskiStarsNatalie PressEmily BluntPaddy ConsidineIn the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. Over the summer season, the two young women discover they have much to teach one another, and much to explore together.
- DirectorAlex SichelStarsAlison FollandTara SubkoffCole HauserClaude and Ellen are best friends who live in a not-so-nice area of New York. They're involved in the subculture of '90s youth, complete with drugs, live music, and homophobia. All is changed one night when a violent, meaningless death rocks their lives.
- DirectorKerem SangaStarsDylan GelulaBrianna HildebrandMateo AriasSeventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her LA public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton - who has always harbored a secret crush - he does his best to get in the way.
- DirectorJ.C. CalcianoStarsNicholas DownsDavid LorenAdam HussA socially shunned columnist finds his romantic match online, but messaging under the wrong account causes his sleazy roommate's picture to be forwarded, creating an identity mix-up.
- DirectorJustin KellyStarsJames FrancoZachary QuintoEmma RobertsBased on the fascinating true-life story of Michael Glatze, a gay activist who becomes a Christian pastor after identifying as a heterosexual.
- DirectorKeith BehrmanStarsJosh WigginsDarren MannTaylor HicksonTwo popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsAnnette BeningJulianne MooreMark RuffaloTwo children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsBrady CorbetJoseph Gordon-LevittElisabeth ShueTwo pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsRadha MitchellAlly SheedyPatricia ClarksonA young female intern at a small magazine company and a drug-addicted lesbian photographer slowly fall in love while exploiting each other to advance their respective careers.
- DirectorAndrew NackmanStarsParker YoungEvan ToddChord OverstreetA car mechanic in a small, working class town comes out of the closet to his unsuspecting, blue-collar best friends.
- DirectorJames BoltonStarsStephan BenderThomas Jay RyanDiana ScarwidBased on the novel "Dream Boy" by Jim Grimsley, this film chronicles the relationship between two gay teenagers in the rural south in the late 70's.
- DirectorAnne WheelerStarsWendy CrewsonKaryn DwyerChristina CoxMaggie, 19, works at a lesbian/LGBT bookstore. Her mom's getting divorced and has invited herself to stay with Maggie. Maggie hasn't told her, she's lesbian. Her new girlfriend moves in as well.
- DirectorJohn ButlerStarsMatt BomerAlejandro PatiñoElena Campbell-MartinezA lonely TV weatherman strikes up an unusual friendship with a middle-aged Latino migrant worker.
- DirectorSudhanshu SariaStarsDhruv GaneshSiddharth MenonShiv PandittA weekend trip between friends takes a sudden turn, making them each question what love is and what it means to them.
- DirectorAmara CashStarsMadison LawlorMontana ManningAndrew PifkoMaya, a queer pixie artist, meets and falls madly in love with her insta-crush: the sexually fluid fashionista, Jasmine. It's all gumdrops and fairytales until Maya discovers Jasmine's passionate relationship with a secret sugar daddy.
- DirectorJames SweeneyStarsJames SweeneyKatie FindlayDana DroriTodd and Rory are intellectual soul mates. He might be gay. She might not care. A romantic-comedy drama with a twist; a love story without the thrill of copulation.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsRainer Werner FassbinderPeter ChatelKarlheinz BöhmA suggestible working-class innocent wins the lottery but lets himself be taken advantage of by his bourgeois new boyfriend and his circle of materialistic friends.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsEusebio PoncelaCarmen MauraAntonio BanderasA gay filmmaker becomes involved with an obsessive fan while still pining for his absent true love. Meanwhile, he shares a close but complex relationship with his trans sister, an actress.
- DirectorShonali BoseNilesh ManiyarStarsKalki KoechlinRevathiSayani GuptaA rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy leaves her home in India to study in New York, unexpectedly falls in love, and embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsJada Pinkett SmithQueen LatifahVivica A. FoxDesperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.
- DirectorDarko StanteStarsMatej ZemljicTimon SturbejGasper MarkunAfter being sent to a youth detention centre, 18-year-old Andrej has to fight for his place within the group of inmates while getting closer to Zeljko, their informal leader, and struggling to keep his repressed secret in the dark.
- DirectorMatt SobelStarsLogan MillerRobin WeigertJosh HamiltonA Californian teenager's plan to come out at his Nebraskan family reunion gets derailed when a bloodstain on his young cousin's dress makes him the unwitting suspect of abuse.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsGabriel D'Almeida FreitasXavier DolanPier-Luc FunkHidden feelings come to light and threaten the bond of a group of friends in their late 20s.
- DirectorKuang-Hui LiuStarsEdward ChenJing-Hua TsengLeon DaiIn 1987, as martial law ends in Taiwan, Jia-han and Birdy fall in love amid family pressure, homophobia and social stigma.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsFélix LefebvreBenjamin VoisinPhilippine VelgeWhen 16-year-old Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, 18-year-old David heroically saves him. Alexis has just met the friend of his dreams, who opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and sexual bliss.
- DirectorBenjamin FeuerStephanie SellarsStarsJake ChoiStephanie SellarsJeanna HanA star-crossed love story set in the world of polyamory and sex parties in New York City.
- DirectorMarcelo MartinessiStarsNorma CodasMargarita IrunAna BrunMarcelo Martinessi's stunning debut The Heiresses is an immersive and emotionally compelling look into the lives of the privileged, through the tribulations of a hesitant woman in quiet crisis.
- DirectorÉmile GaudreaultStarsLuke KirbyPeter MillerGinette RenoThe son of Italian immigrants to Canada struggles to find the best way to reveal to his parents that he's gay.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsJake GyllenhaalHeath LedgerMichelle WilliamsEnnis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsTimothée ChalametArmie HammerMichael StuhlbargIn 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsMelvil PoupaudEmmanuel SchwartzSuzanne ClémentA drama that charts ten years in a transgender woman's relationship with her lover.
- DirectorCharles Herman-WurmfeldStarsJennifer WestfeldtHeather JuergensenTovah FeldshuhA woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman.
- DirectorCraig JohnsonStarsMichael AbelaDaniel DohenyBrendan ArcherAlex, high school class president, nerd and a straight A student, has been dating Claire a long time. They decide to sleep together but then he meets a gay guy and he's confused.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsDave BautistaJonathan GroffBen AldridgeWhile vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse.
- DirectorClaire OakleyStarsMolly WindsorJoseph QuinnStefanie MartiniOn a remote holiday park in Cornwall, a young woman is drawn into a mysterious obsession when she suspects her boyfriend has cheated on her.