(Credits: Netflix)

If your Netflix homepage is starting to look a little too straight, this is your sign to fix that immediately (get it?). Because who wants to watch algorithm-recommended war dramas all the freaking time? At this point, half of Netflix is done with the same formula of love triangles. So it’s about time we thought of bringing some queer cinema to you.

But when it comes to queer cinema, it doesn’t always have to be about serious issues or taboos or queer revolutions. Sometimes it can be all about enjoying better-dressed people absolutely begging for more drama. It’s about finally seeing an unconventional form of love in the most realistic way.

Also, let’s be real. Not every queer film has to be tragic and poetic and emotionally devastating (we’ve done our time). I mean, can you imagine a grandma coming out mid-family lunch? Well, on Netflix, she does.

So if you’re looking for something with that dramatic gay energy to short-circuit your remote, here are five queer movies that actually bring something to the table without killing the lead in the first half.

Five queer movies to stream on Netflix right now

Bottoms (Emma Seligman, 2023)

Imagine two queer girls starting a fight club at school because they are horny for cheerleaders. Sounds funny in theory, right? Well, it is, on screen too. And that’s it. That’s the movie. PJ and Josie are unpopular and way too confident in their ability to pull off an entire feminist self-defence club just to get close to the hottest girls in school. Things get fun when it works out for real. Suddenly, there are girls throwing punches in gym class with blood on the mats.

Rachel Sennott plays PJ, and Ayo Edebiri plays Josie, and watching them on screen is quite amusing. Nothing in this film is subtle, neither the jokes nor the outfits. This also includes the flirting, which starts in detention and ends mid-fight scene. This film is pure drama and entertainment if that’s what you are looking for.

The Boys in the Band (Joe Mantello, 2020)

The setup changes a bit in this one. Now you have nine gay men in one New York apartment and one birthday party. And none of them, absolutely none of them, have the ability to keep their secrets hidden once the drinks start flowing. There is no big twist coming here. All there is is just a group of friends who love each other a little too conditionally and know exactly where to hit when things get uncomfortable. It’s adapted from the 1968 stage play, but it still feels like a party someone threw last weekend and deeply regrets.

The cast is the most fun part here. You have old Sheldon, aka Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, and Andrew Rannells all playing complicated, bitter, fabulous men who switch between affection and cruelty like it’s musical chairs. As time passes, the film gets funnier and the drama gets better.

So My Grandma’s a Lesbian! (Salir del ropero) (Ángeles Reiné, 2020)

Okay, so this title has got to be one of the best-thought-out titles of all time because WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Imagine a grown woman finds out her sweet little Spanish grandma is marrying her lifelong best friend, who also happens to be a woman, and the entire extended family absolutely loses their minds. It is so complicated, but all there is for you is laughter. There is nothing but complications and loud relatives, with one woman trying to stop her grandma from getting cancelled at her own wedding.

The humour leans silly on purpose because that’s how a normal person will react when they find out. Yes, the world’s a lot more progressive now, and being gay isn’t a taboo anymore, but a grandma coming out and, on top of that, wanting to get married has got to be funny. Also, there is something incredibly satisfying about watching two older women decide they have waited long enough and no one’s opinion is strong enough to change their minds.

The Half of It (Alice Wu, 2020)

Sometimes it’s not about getting the person you want but realising you probably never could and learning to live with everything you never said. Yes, this one might get a bit heavy, so we feel it’s our duty to inform you beforehand. This is not some contrived comedy you can play and then pretend nothing happened after it ends. This will force you to think.

It is the story of Ellie Chu, who is smart and reserved and perfectly okay with being invisible until she agrees to help a classmate write love letters to a girl who doesn’t know either of them properly. Ellie’s character is supposed to stay in the background, but she doesn’t. Eventually, her feelings get harder to ignore, and the whole thing starts to hurt in ways that never get resolved. There’s no kiss or fairytale ending here, but we guarantee that the ending won’t leave you unsatisfied.

Single All The Way (Michael Mayer, 2021)

And to finish the list, we have a rom-com that skips the drama and gets straight to the part where everyone wants the same happy ending. Unlike your hetero rom-coms, there is no betrayal arc or last-minute heartbreak here. Single All The Way gives you a guy who brings his best friend home for Christmas and slowly realises everyone around him knows what’s going on before he does.

The fake-dating plan falls apart almost instantly, mostly because the family decides to play along and keeps making space for the truth to come out. It won’t be wrong to call this one a comfort watch, given how predictable it is. But sometimes there is fun in knowing what’s going to happen beforehand, isn’t there?