In August we bestowed upon you Ten Queer Girl Movies That Don’t Suck. Predictably we garnered a healthy dose of appreciation and enjoyment as well as a sharp injection of aggressively/excessively punctuated dictums of disbelief that your favorite lesbian film did not make the list, or, alternatively, that we had included a film you deemed unworthy. Well Autostraddlers, when you use 5+ exclamation points in a sentence, we can’t help but pay attention!
No but really, we all like different things, and this list reflects our continued efforts to share some of our — and your — favorite things with you. With a few exceptions, this list reflects most of the films mentioned by two or more commenters that we felt qualified to talk about. This isn’t the Lesbian Oscars or The Bible, which we all must live under at least here in America where 53% of the population thinks Jesus Christ is President, when in fact that is not true, he left the White House when Obama was elected.
What are those exceptions? Well; Chasing Amy and Kissing Jessica Stein. I know, I know, it was a big moment for you & your gayness, and we love both of those films, they’re awesome fun movies. But we want our list to focus on movies that aren’t about women who literally do realize bisexual is just a phase (Kissing Jessica Stein) or that are written, directed and centered around straight white men who want lesbians to give penis a chance (Chasing Amy). Sorry! Also Riese has a special comment at the end about why we refuse to include Lost & Delirious.
Your time has come. We have returned to separate the wheat from the shaft, to extract your suffering lesbionic cinematic soul from the depths of terrible. Just FYI, our first round picks included Fucking Amal, Boys Don’t Cry, But I’m a Cheerleader, Gia, D.E.B.S., All Over Me, Saving Face, Bound, High Art and If These Walls Could Talk 2.
Top Ten More Queer Girl Movies That Don’t Suck
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1. I Can’t Think Straight (2007)
A movie needs to major things to work: well written characters, and actors who bring those characters to life, and I Can’t Think Straight has both AND a vivid and multifaceted cultural backdrop.
I Can’t Think Straight follows the turbulent relationship between independent thrice-engaged Jordanian Tala (Lisa Ray) and shy Leyla (Sheetal Sheth). Whereas Tala keeps getting engaged and calling off her weddings a the last minute, Leyla vacilates between wanting to pleas her family and harboring secret desires to become a writer and bang chicks.
The two first meet through Leyla’s current boyfriend, a friend of Tala’s. Sparks fly. Leyla’s Muslim and Tala isn’t into religion (but lives in the Middle East where it’s omnipresent) so they end up doing that thing in movies where they argue at each other and throw sultry glances across the room signaling their unknown attraction.
What snowballs into a friendship quickly turns sexy when the two women (on a trip together) end up sleeping together. But (as these things always are) it’s complicated; Tala is engaged and getting married in two weeks.
Do these crazy kids get together? I’ll just say there’s no depressing ending. Just great acting, quick edits, tons of funny moments and compelling political conversation that never verges on tedious.
This is truly a great lesbian film. It did not suck. It did not suck at all. (-Intern X)
2. My Summer of Love (2004, British)
My Summer of Love’s poor little rich girl Tamsin [Emily Blunt] spends her boarding school suspension becoming really good friends with bored, working class Mona [Natalie Press]. Their version of friendship includes kissing in rivers, lots of drinking and smoking and acting fancy, a nice little love and death pact, and motor scooters.
The hills are apparently a big deal over in England because there is lots of hill-wandering involved in this love. At one point, these very hills are graced by Tamin/Emily Blunt totally lying there with her breasts out like it’s no big deal. It’s a big deal.
Like all bad girl stories, this one ends with a bucket full of lies, but it’s all the spinning out of control that makes this movie feel a little bit magic and a little bit real. (-Intern Hot Laura)
3. Unveiled/Fremde Haut – (2005, German)
Unveiled (Fremde Haut/German) is a beautiful film. An Iranian woman, Fariba, is caught having an affair with a married woman. Double no-no for Iran. So she flees to Germany to avoid persecution. Unfortunately she uses forged papers and lies about why she is seeking asylum, so the German authorities threaten to send her back. The only way she can stay is by taking on the identity of a male refugee, living in some sort of hostel, and taking an illegal job in a sauerkraut factory to make money for a fake passport with her actual identity.
It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Until Fariba, passing as Siamak, meets a girl. Obvs. Girls always complicate things, yeah? Unveiled is a very moving film with one of the most intense and emotional love scenes I’ve ever seen, and a hopeful, bittersweet ending. The subtitles are definitely worth it. (-Intern Elizabeth)
4. Itty Bitty Titty Committee, (2007)
Don’t write it off because of its silly title – Itty Bitty Titty Committee is a badass lesbian film. Melonie Diaz is especially endearing as Anna, a directionless young lez who finds herself by joining a radical feminist group, called c(l)it. (At least no one can complain “I’ve seen that plot before!“) If you’re a die-hard riot grrrl fan, you’ll definitely appreciate the film’s soundtrack, one its strongest assets.
While the story gets just a tad unbelievable when the group gets into explosives (with some pretty shoddy special FX), it’s hard not to have fun as the adorable gays celebrate to the tune of Team Dresch’s “Hand Grenade”. Oh, they also have sex – with nudity! – to “The Inch” by Peaches. And for your shallow side, the group features a wide array of homosexiness. The film deserves a medal alone for featuring hot butches and bois, who are so woefully underrepresented in film. IBTC may come off over-the-top and esoteric to some, but with its upbeat, empowering attitude, it’s a breath of fresh air in lesbian cinema. (-Intern Lola)
5. Aimee & Jaguar (1999, German)
What could possibly be more tragic than a film about forbidden lesbian love? Oh, that’s right, a film about forbidden lesbian love between a Jewish woman and the wife of a Nazi officer…set in Berlin during World War II. Part love story, part historical drama, and all beautifully filmed, heartbreakingly conveyed storytelling, Aimee and Jaguar is based on a book of the same name that follows the actual lives of devoted mother Lilly Wust and Jewish resistance fighter Felice Schragenheim. The two take on the pseudonyms Aimee and Jaguar to conceal their identities in the series of letters exchanged during their romance.
Putting girl love into the context of one of the most troubling times of our history, Aimee and Jaguar accomplishes what not enough lesbian flicks manage to do: tell a story with layers and layers and layers of depth filmed through a gorgeous, gritty lens. It’s not just about love, it’s about what we give up for love and the extremes that bring us there. It’s what lives in our histories conveyed through a dark encounter. Director Max Farberbock remembers what it is that keeps our community together: stories and experiences. Aimee and Jaguar is an exceptional narrative that reminds us that we’ve all been through something and that being right or being a hero is complicated. (-Katrina Danger Casino)
NEXT: Loving Annabelle, Tipping the Velvet, Imagine Me & You, Desert Hearts, Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, and Lost & Delirious!
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Comments
Top Ten More Queer Girl Movies That Don’t Suck: Best Lesbian Movies Part #2
(75)
November 9, 2009
7:26 pm
I’ve seen five of them already! HAHA! I was watching Lost&Delerious, I had to pee, I never finished it.
November 9, 2009
8:06 pm
I think you’re the second gayest straight girl I know
November 9, 2009
8:28 pm
LOL! I know. Its so wierd. I am gayer than my gay sister!
Watching Loving Anabelle right now, I wil be back with feelings..
November 10, 2009
9:21 pm
It was okay.. I don;t have much to say about, that may not be a good sign. The ending was kind of abrupt but realistic so i think it was good.
November 10, 2009
11:57 pm
I’m a big fan of the alternate ending for Loving Annabelle. It’s far less realistic but it gives me the warm fuzzies.
November 11, 2009
12:49 am
See I thought it was realistic. You mess with a minor, you go to jail. There is no running off into the sunset together…
November 11, 2009
10:21 pm
I always assumed that she was legal (she was in classes with seniors) and in most, but not all, states the legal age of consent is at least 17.
Or I could just be a sucker for happy endings haha
November 9, 2009
7:29 pm
I saw Lost & Delirious and I cried when that Ani Difranco song came on and Paulie was sobbing in the middle of the night. Then she started running through a forest a lot and did this weird dance thing at the end and I stopped being interested.
November 17, 2009
6:53 pm
and then she jumped off the roof and i sobbed in the middle of the night
November 9, 2009
7:41 pm
My wife is obsessed with I can’t think straight. She has a blog where she reviews lesbian movies. It’s Grrls on Film at: http://grrlsonfilm.wordpress.com/
November 9, 2009
7:44 pm
I’ve only seen ‘Loving Annabelle’, which I want to see again because once wasn’t enough to settle on how I really felt about it.
I’d really like to know where in Sydney I can find these movies, because the local DVD store doesn’t stock them.
November 9, 2009
8:08 pm
@Crystal: I can’t believe you can’t at least get IMAGINE ME AND YOU at your local video store, even if it doesn’t have a ‘gay and lesbian’ section. Otherwise, you need to head to the inner suburbs, maybe? Or ask your library? AND make sure you support the Mardi Gras Film Festival (Feb. 12-25). You would have seen I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT there this year, for example.
November 9, 2009
8:23 pm
I know, right. I’ve asked a number of DVD stores in the inner west with no luck. Do libraries rent DVDs now? My membership from the Sydney City Library network was suspended in 1999 after I lost a book about carpentry and never paid the fine.
I was sick during the entire Mardi Gras Film Festival this year, but I definitely have plans to check it out in 2010.
November 9, 2009
9:04 pm
Crystal! you’re so badass!
November 10, 2009
7:27 am
Carpentry? Gay.
November 10, 2009
4:24 pm
Hah. Such a gay.
November 10, 2009
12:42 pm
Wolfe Video! All the links on this page go to Wolfe Video which sells lesbian DVDs, is a great company and etc. and if you order a movie from them via our links, Autostraddle gets 15$% commission! Hopefully they ship to Australia.
HI EVERYONE!!
November 10, 2009
4:23 pm
Oh, I didn’t realise that the titles were hyperlinks. I’m gonna go and check out Wolfe video RIGHT NOW.
November 9, 2009
8:24 pm
crystal, i have a couple of these i think. unless i’ve deleted them. can hook you up.
November 9, 2009
8:29 pm
Marlene, you are wonderful.
November 9, 2009
9:32 pm
pretty sure i have a few of these too, so you know, if you can’t source them anywhere else, arrangements can be made
November 9, 2009
9:40 pm
Excellent! Thanks! I will let you know once I find out what Marlene has. Unfortunately I cannot offer much in exchange – except for Seasons 1 – 8 of the Gilmore Girls. Any takers? No?
November 9, 2009
9:44 pm
i thought gilmore girls only had 7 seasons. is there a magical 8th season? if so, YES. um. i’ll let you know what i have.
November 9, 2009
8:07 pm
the absolute winner of all time is DESERT HEARTS. If you’ve never seen it, you just don’t know what you’re missing out on. LOST AND DELIRIOUS is the most over-rated ‘classic’ ever, and I always shake my head when it comes up on *every* lesbian movie list.
November 9, 2009
8:10 pm
See, I didn’t think Desert Hearts was all that interesting…
November 9, 2009
8:30 pm
ah, but trust me, on the big screen it’s a winner. it has a really solid story, and it’s beautifully and carefully made. it’s not just about the main characters: the smaller roles are great too – the best friend, the ranch owner, etc. there are very few lesbian films that are as good. and i watch a lot of them, every year.
November 10, 2009
12:51 pm
I liked Desert Hearts and I don’t like anything. Really! I mean some of the movies on this list I very much disliked.
DH wasn’t fantastic, but it was definitely on level with your average straight drama/romance movie.
November 10, 2009
11:33 am
Agreed. I’ve seen worse, and I’m glad that I watched it for the historical aspect, but I thought it was pretty bland.
November 9, 2009
8:13 pm
I hated Lost and delirious too.The girl didn’t get the girl.Grrr…I have seen all of these movies.I’ll add another one Goldfish Memory.Irish accents were voted the sexiest in the world this year and this movie has sexy Irish actresses and was a pretty good movie to boot.
November 9, 2009
8:21 pm
My Summer of Love? Really? I watched that and was horribly disappointed. I just get sick of watching some confused girl get her heart ripped out. And what was Blunt’s character’s motivation for such bad behavior. Then there’s the bit about the bar tending brother who suddenly decides to be a radical Christian…doesn’t it all seem a bit tired and desperate?
November 9, 2009
8:23 pm
I haven’t seen Desert Hearts but I’ve read the book (christmas present from mom after I came out, thanks a bunch) that it was based on and it… was only kind of okay at best.
Lost and Delirious was mostly over-dramatic and disturbing? wtf was with that bird? definitely had a rough time sitting through that one.
November 9, 2009
9:41 pm
That’s really interesting, because while watching Desert Hearts I was like “I think the book is probably better.” Also I think a good top ten list would be “weird presents my parents gave me after they knew I was gay.” I got a rainbow emory board. Not kidding.
November 9, 2009
10:03 pm
That would be such an amazing list! I got “Annie on my Mind.”
November 9, 2009
10:06 pm
My friend said her mom gave her like ten flowered sundresses. Reportedly, her response was “Mom, I’m gay, not transgender.”
November 9, 2009
10:30 pm
the same Christmas that I got Desert Hearts my mom got me a pink pillow with all the Disney princesses on it and I was like errr mom I’m 18? She told me she got it so that I could “sleep with all the Disney whores”. That is word for word what she said before she began cackling wickedly! It was a strange Christmas. Disney movies have not been the same since.
November 9, 2009
10:36 pm
Your mom sounds awesome.
November 10, 2009
11:52 am
she has her moments!
November 9, 2009
8:39 pm
oh, and also? thanks for NOT including WHEN NIGHT IS FALLING. A truly terrible film that also ends up in the ‘top 10′ list way too often. Unlike the over-looked and under-appreciated I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING (same director, much earlier). Now that one you can get on Netflix. Rent it!
November 10, 2009
11:37 am
Ohgawd, When Night Is Falling. I watched that last week and just died laughing through the whole thing TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE.
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, on the other hand, YES. Creatively weird and delightful. Might be one of my favorite lezzie flicks.
November 9, 2009
9:17 pm
I thought My summer of love was creepy as hell and would probably put it on my list of worst lesbian movies, right up there with April’s Shower.
I’m kind of curious why When Night is Falling isn’t on this list. It’s a very sweet, well written and well acted story.
November 9, 2009
9:32 pm
I love Imagine Me & You so much. Also I love youtube for existing; allowing me to clandestinely find clips of most of these movies.
November 10, 2009
12:36 pm
ah i LOVE imagine me and you too. Glad its on this list because had a sneaking suspicion that it might not be a good film, despite how much i loved it. Lena Headey is the reason I started watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles, which is also ace, although sadly not gay in the least.
November 10, 2009
2:22 pm
I always have that sneaking suspicion, too. But I just love it so much. I watch it when I get stressed out because it makes me happy. I think I like it because it’s exactly like every other romantic comedy out there but it’s GAY. Which is in many ways comforting.
November 9, 2009
9:43 pm
I was just talking to someone about Chasing Amy tonight! I think I heard Kevin Smith say once that he made it because his brother is gay, and he was sad that he had no visibility. I’m not sure how he thought he would solve that problem by writing about a hot blonde femme lesbian who fucks men, but I guess it was nice that he tried?
November 9, 2009
9:56 pm
He did a better job mentoring Paige about being bi/gay on Degrassi…
November 9, 2009
10:10 pm
Excellent! Thank you for giving my girlfriend’s Netflix a workout. I’ve only seen Loving Annabelle (which I hated), Imagine Me & You (which is lovely), and Tipping the Velvet.
For anyone who’s interested in Tipping the Velvet, the book is much better than the miniseries…and the miniseries is already a ton of fun. I also loved Fingersmith. Sarah Waters is a good bet for lesbian historical fiction with some naughty bits.
November 9, 2009
10:18 pm
Yeah I’ve read and seen Tipping the Velvet (obvs) and Fingersmith and it was all good fun. I saw Affinity and it wasn’t as good. I haven’t read the book. What’s the other book… oh there’s Night Watch and The Little Stranger. Haven’t read those either, have you? Are they worth picking up?
November 10, 2009
12:16 am
oh man, i can’t wait until the tatu movie makes it into this category.
November 10, 2009
12:26 am
rofl omg. Wait i thought it wasnt going to be a lesbian movie?
Yeah lost and delirious is a terrible movie.
November 10, 2009
11:40 am
You’re shitting me. There’s a Tatu movie? Lesbian Spice World anyone?
November 10, 2009
1:29 am
If you haven’t seen Aimme and Jaguar, rent that shit immediately. Favorite Lesbian themed movie ever. And it’s based on a true story. Yes, it is sad but it is also incredibly executed.
Tipping the Velvet is also fantastic. As is Fingersmith which should also be on the list.
One tiny correction though. Sally Hawkins won a Golden Globe not an Oscar for Happy Go Lucky. I should know because I was livid when she wasn’t even nominated.
November 10, 2009
2:24 am
Oooh, I’m kinda glad Fingersmith didn’t make the cut. (For one, I’m not sure either mini-series should be on a ‘movies’ list, but I’m being a stickler…) I just thought the book was SOOO MUCH better, whereas with Tipping the Velvet, the book was only SO much better. I thought Mr. Rivers was terribly miscast — the character was meant to be significantly older. GRUMBLE.
November 10, 2009
3:00 am
So you liked Summer of Love but not Lost & Delerious? Idk.
–
Anywho, Tipping the Velvet? Best. Lesbian. Movie. Ever.
And anyone who’s seen/loved it on logo, should netflix that shiz because there are crazy sex scene montages that they don’t show on network tv.
–
Tipping the Velvet the novel? Seriously. Awesome. Book. Way more awesome, hardcore and risqué than the movie. Sheesh. So good.
November 10, 2009
2:00 pm
for me, “my summer of love” gets way more points than “lost and delirious” because at the end, the queer girl gets in the last word. she’s pissed off, obviously, but i got the feeling she was gonna be just fine. “lost and delirious,” on the other hand, just felt like a realllly long to tell me what i should have guessed when i saw the title: bitch crazy.
—
but “tipping the velvet?” um yeah, fantastic book.
November 10, 2009
8:32 am
aimee and jaguar <3
i agree about lost and delirious. why couldn't they just go off to mcgill together and be in love. srsly.
November 10, 2009
9:12 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… My Summer of Love is not only my favorite lesbian movie but one of my favorite movies period. Best ending ever.
November 10, 2009
9:25 am
I haven’t seen one of these movies. I’ll get on that shit asap.
November 10, 2009
4:12 pm
i still think When night is falling should be on this list, glad to see at least one person agrees with me. haven’t seen Tipping the velvet yet, but i have seen Fingersmith and yes, the book is SOOOO much better. speaking of Sarah Waters, i also really liked Nightwatch. Lost and delirious was a bit too dramatic, but i didn’t think it was a bad film.
November 10, 2009
5:06 pm
tipping the velvet is amazingly hot, and stands out, even on this list, for its quality. i hated L&D and loving annabelle pretty equally, but maybe something is wrong with me. also i absolutely love bound and high art. maybe because they, again, are superfuckinghot. also, my summer of love doesn’t do a whole lot for me as a queer movie, but i still think its pretty impressive compared to say, go fish. go fish also scared the fuck out of me because i was young, in the closet and skittish, so that does reveal a bias.
also, can i note that i watched the vast majority of these movies after renting them surreptitiously at my grandparents’ house after waiting for my family to go to sleep? when i was like, 16 and i thought i was straight? what?
November 17, 2009
6:57 pm
oh yeah i love tipping the velvet. i’ve only seen pieces, i loved the book so much i was scared to see it that it might be ruined.
high art and bound were on our first list, i liked them too because they had dark haired andro lesbian destructive naked seductresses in them which i think is my type
November 10, 2009
8:29 pm
Can I maybe add Desperate Living to this list?
…
Or you can just forget I mentioned it.
November 17, 2009
6:56 pm
i’m not even sure what that is
November 10, 2009
11:35 pm
Speaking of Shamim Sarif (i just cant think straight) The world unseen-(also based on a book) is very good as well although I cried all over myself during it. Don’t worry Riese I still go to movies alone.
I saw the secrets (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0782867/) which is a movie set in Israel the lesbian plot is there but it is more about the women and the struggle that they encounter in a ultra orthodox Jewish society the end is kinda brutal. For those of you in NY Quad Cinema regularly shows queer themed movies that do not get wide release.
I LOVE MOVIES.
November 11, 2009
11:35 am
Imagine Me and You is probably one of my favourites. It’s right up there with Gia and But I’m a Cheerleader. That scene after they make out in Luce’s flower shop when Luce tells her not to forget her and Rachel says “I won’t remember anything else..” Oh my god, I die every time I watch it.
Also, I obviously need to watch Unveiled (as well as aimme and jaguar) because foreign film is probably my favourite type of film. I’ll get right on that.
November 11, 2009
4:10 pm
Nobody else likes L&D? I did, can’t think of any clever reasons why, just did. Desert hearts blew me away the first time I saw it but I’ve put off watching it now I’m older & more experienced (?!) in case it has lost its impact. So many of these films are special because of the time in my queer life/development that I’ve watched them in. Nina’s Heavenly Delights is supersweet and awesome but doesn’t seem to have made a very big impression on anyone else. I think that my top ten list of movies that didn’t suck would be everyone elses top ten that did. Agree that most of the above are generally non-sucky although incredibly true adventures is boring and tipping the velvet creeps me out.
November 11, 2009
8:08 pm
I have also always thought lost and delirious sucked. For me, its only redeeming qualities were that it was filmed at Bishop’s and Jessica Pare is from Montreal. Falconry has no place in lesbian cinema. That’s all I have to say.
November 11, 2009
9:41 pm
The only one of those films from above that I would consider a terrific film is My Summer Of Love. The others, for the most part, have strong scenes here and there. Some off the path selections would be Memento Mori, Blue Gate Crossing, Water Lilies, Edge of Heaven, Set Me Free and Bizarre Love Triangle. As for Lost and Delirious, I would rank that film up there with Almodovar’s Talk To Her, Malick’s The New World, Lynch’s Inland Empire, Linklater’s Before Sunset, Van Sant’s Gerry, and Martel’s The Headless Woman as among the top films of the decade. What Pool does is take the cliche and flip it on itself without changing the fate which in and of itself is a difficult proposition. To top it off, Pool decides on no distancing tools and instead embraces the emotionalism of the individual (the embrace of such hothouse emotions carries over to the purposely heavy use of symbolism – the cliches are appropriated for the heroine to revel in – instead of being condemned to be applauded). The film therefore becomes that most bewildering of species, a coming of age story that radically shifts into a document of the destruction of idealism. In many ways it may be the single most angry statement against homophobia ever put on screen. If seen solely for plot, and without a consideration of it’s deconstruction of the evil lesbian plotline or it’s emphatic use of metaphor being in service of that deconstruction, it could be seen as just another lesbian tragedy. However most persons that love the film see it as exhilarating, a repudiation of the exploitative and a statement about how conformity is the true villain.
November 12, 2009
4:08 pm
DUDE, TOTALLY!
November 11, 2009
9:45 pm
Ahh, I knew there was a reason I liked it …
November 13, 2009
12:47 am
i heart ‘imagine me and you’.
and its good to see anthony head land more roles than his show-stopping tasters choice commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOBFELO0Qc
February 2, 2010
8:30 am
av actually watches all these movie how gay is that?
and av run out of movies to watch pls give me some ideas.
February 3, 2010
4:46 pm
Good picks! My choice for the most underrated lesbian film: All Over Me.
February 3, 2010
8:00 pm
Yup! We gushed over All Over Me in Part One of this feature: Ten Queer Girl Movies That Don’t Suck!
February 3, 2010
5:14 pm
Where were you when I needed you, Riese?! I read nothing but raving reviews of Lost and Delirious, bought it, and promptly labeled it the wost movie ever. IT’S JUST SO BAD!
Though, it was at least laughably amazingly bad and did inspire my friends to create a facebook group and learn to say Say it to the RAPTOR! in four languages, so I guess it had its value. And the book it’s based on is waaay crazier even.
February 3, 2010
8:17 pm
Bitter tears of Petra Von Kant should be on that list. But i guess German neo-expressionism isn´t everybody´s cup of tea.