What are the best lesbian and trans movies are on Netflix? This is probably a question you have typed into a search box before. Perhaps you typed that into a search box really recently, like ten seconds ago, and that’s why you’re here, now, with all of us, wondering about the best streaming lesbian movies on Netflix, or the best lesbian bisexual queer and trans movies on Netflix. In this case we are using “lesbian” as an adjective referring to romance and other activities between two women.
The Best Lesbian and Trans Movies On Netflix
Badhaai Do (2022)
“Despite its blind spots, Badhaai Do is the movie I always wished Bollywood would make, the sweet and silly story I was desperate to find beneath the cheerful cruelty of Dostana,” writes Anamika Gopalan. “The smallest moments in the film were electrifying — Sumi holding Rimjhim’s hand at the doctor’s office, Rimjhim putting her arm around Sumi’s shoulders, Sumi blowing kisses up to Rimjhim on the balcony — I was watching two Indian women fall in love, and for 150 minutes the world felt open and full of possibility.”
Carol (2015)
#5 on the Best Lesbian Movies of All Time // our review of carol
I mean, it’s Carol! You know Carol. Cate Blanchett is Carol with a terrible ex-husband and lots of fur coats, Rooney Mara is Therese who wants to be a photographer and works in a department store.
Disclosure (2020)
read our review of Disclosure.
This thorough documentary traces the history of trans representation in cinema and television, featuring voices including Laverne Cox, Daniel Sea, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono.
Do Revenge (2022)
This delightfully dark homage to ’90s teen flicks is a colorful, slick comedy starring Camilla Mendes as mean girl Drea who, after seeing her video sexts leaked by her boyfriend, teams up on an intricate revenge plot with Eleanor (Maya Hawke), a lesbian transfer student dead-set on punishing the girl who bullied her at summer camp as a pre-teen.
The “Fear Street” Trilogy (2021)
read our review of fear street
“What makes The Fear Street Trilogy go from a solid good time to a grand cinematic event is its understanding that intelligence and fun are not antithetical,” writes Drew in the Lesbian Movie Encyclopedia. “Like The Slumber Party Massacre Trilogy, Fear Street doesn’t make us choose between campy horror and an engagement with reality. It’s proof that “good politics” are also good storytelling.” The first installment of this series based on the Christopher Pike movies does the unthinkable: it lets its queer heroines live.
The Half of It (2020)
#17 on the Best Lesbian Movies Of All Time List // read our review of the half of it
Alice Wu’s lesbian take on Cyrano de Bergerac follows Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a shy, Chinese-American 17-year-old who splits her days taking care of her grieving father and writing essays for her peers for extra money. She forms an unexpected bond with the crush of a sweet football player who hires her to write her love letters. “It may not be a “love story” in the traditional sense, but it is about love,” wrote Malinda Lo in her review. “It’s about young people discovering what it is, what it isn’t, and what it could be. It’s about searching for your other half and finding that the other half might be within you. And yes, it’s about a queer Asian American girl — still a revolutionary subject for a mainstream film.”
The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls In Love (1995)
Wanna see Laurel Holloman in the role that initially endeared her to our community? Well have I got the movie for you: Holloman plays scruffy tomboy Randy, who cuts class to run her aunt’s gas station. She falls for Evie (Nicole Ari Parker), the popular girl at school who hails from a wealthy family. But can they be together right where they are?
It’s Only Life After All (2023)
Using decades of archival footage, this documentary attempts to grasp the entirety of the impact of lesbian folk-rock duo The Indigo Girls.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
read our review of ma rainey’s black bottom
Based on August Wilson’s Tony-award winning play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom sees Viola Davis as the titular character, a Black queer blues singer and one of the most successful Black women of the era. In her hands, Carmen writes, the triumphant and emotional film “becomes a complex portrait of a queer Black woman hurricane whose footprints loom over the last 100 years.”
Mars One (2022)
In this Brazillian family drama from writer/director Gabriel Martins, Eunice (Camilla Souza) — a college student ready to leave home and even more ready to explore her sexuality — is one of four protagonists. Writing about Eunice’s relationship with her girlfriend Jo in her rave review of the film, Drew wrote “their hotter than cute meet cute at a club, their dinner with Jo’s wealthy family, the way they love each other in the sort of impassioned yet insufficient way college students love. It all just feels so real.”
Ahead of the Curve (2020)
There would be no Autostraddle if there had never been a Curve — a pioneering glossy magazine for lesbians helmed by legendary publisher Franco Stevens. From its debut in the 1990s to the present, this documentary follows it all.
The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021)
read our review of the mitchells vs the machines
“The Mitchells is a genuinely hilarious animated film, full of cutting cultural jokes, visual gags, smash cuts, bonkers animation, and frolicking dialogue,” writes Heather of this delightful story about a family driving cross-country to drop off their daughter, Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) for film school. Although Katie’s queerness isn’t the focus of the film, it’s an essential element of her very relatable character.
Mutt (2023)
Over the course of 24 hours, a trans man named Feña experiences the extremes of human emotion when he bumps into his ex-boyfriend and then a whole host of people who disappeared when he transitioned have suddenly returned to his life. Drew wrote that in a world full of films that don’t portray the trans experience very well, this is the rare film that does.
Nimona (2023)
“One of the most interesting things about the film is how both Nimona and Ballister want revenge for what happened to him, but she wants it because she wants to watch this tyrannical heteronormative world burn, whereas he just wants this terrible world to accept him,” writes Heather. “They both learn a lot about themselves as their hijinks find them working seamlessly, side-by-side, and also find them often at odds, motivationally and ethically, because they want the same thing for vastly different reasons.”
Nyad (2023)
“Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s NYAD is a rousing masterpiece of a sports movie,” writes Drew. “Focusing on Nyad’s Herculean swim from Havana to Key West, the film is a thrilling tribute to its stubborn protagonist and the power of queer friendship. Annette Bening captures Diana in all her prickly complexity and Jodie Foster as Bonnie, Nyad’s best friend and coach, gives her best performance since the 90s.”
Prom (2020)
This Netflix adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, produced by Ryan Murphy, follows a handful of out-of-work Broadway actors as they insert themselves into a small Indiana town to advocate for a teen to attend the prom with her girlfriend. It left Valerie with “a happy, joy-filled, unruly heart.” It wasn’t a critical favorite, but we as a community had a very nice time!
Ride or Die (2021)
“This is easily my favorite two and a half hour lesbian murder drama about bourgeoisie class betrayal with a Norah Jones needle drop. Based on the popular manga Gunjō, Ryūichi Hiroki has made the bonkers, gratuitous lesbian movie I’d hoped Benedetta would be. ” – Drew Gregory
Shiva Baby (2021)
#50 on the best lesbian movies of all time // read our review of shiva baby
“This is officially a comedy, but with its horror movie score, claustrophobic cinematography, and premise of running into your sugar daddy and your ex-girlfriend at a shiva, it’s safe to say this is one of the scariest movies on this list,” writes Drew of Shiva Baby
A Simple Favour (2018)
read our review of a simple favor
Blake Lively is Emily Nelson, a “whirlwind monster of a Mommi” who walks into the life of widowed mommy vlogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) with intriguing mystery, eventually ensnaring her in a web of duplicity when Emily suddenly disappears. Kayla writes, “it’s dishy and fun and prods all sorts of tropes from the Lifetime canon in a way that feels more playful than derivative.”
Will & Harper (2024)
This touching documentary follows comedian Will Ferrel and his dear friend, Harper, on a cross-country road trip shortly following Harper coming out as a trans woman. “There’s a real joy to spending time with Harper and Will and their relationship,” writes Drew in her review. “Not only are they funny, but here they’re funny in a way only possible with intimacy. The documentary feels like sitting in on the very best of inside jokes.”
All The Other Bisexual, Queer, Lesbian and Trans Movies On Netflix
Anne+: The Movie (2022)
The 90-minute dramedy follows the titular Anne as all the happy endings from her beloved crowd-funded two-season Dutch webseries Anne+ come unraveled. The film “simply does not care that straight people exist, as characters or as audience members,” writes Heather Hogan in her review, praising its “low-stake storytelling” and “queer-acted and queer-directed sex scenes.”
Beautiful Rebel (2023)
“Based on the life of real-life pansexual rockstar Gianna Nannini, Cinzia TH Torrini’s film follows Gianna from childhood to international stardom. This is a very standard music biopic, hitting all the tropes,” writes Drew. “We also have the drugs, the spiraling, the emotional outbursts in the recording studio. None of these beats are inherently bad — after all, they happen in real life — but, when not done with any specificity or inventiveness, they become tiresome.”
Beauty (2022)
Netflix barely promoted the existence of this film, probably because it’s not very good! Described as the story of “a young singer on the brink of a promising career who finds herself torn between a domineering family, industry pressures and her love for her girlfriend,” it is very clearly intended to be about Whitney Houston. Niecy Nash plays her mother.
Bruised (2022)
“If you’re anything like me and your main reasons for seeing Bruised were to see Halle Berry fight and make out with girls, you won’t be disappointed,” wrote Carmen in her review of this film in which Berry plays an MMA fighter grabbing one last shot at redemption when the son she left behind returns to her life. “But you might walk away wishing it had stuck to just those two things.”
Close To You (2024)
Largely comprised of improvised dialogue, Close to You follows a trans man (Elliot Page) coming home to see his estranged family after years apart.
Deadly Illusions (2021)
“If Netflix had wanted my attention on Deadly Illusions any earlier than when I got very sad around noon on Thursday, what they should’ve told me is that the lines between STRAIGHT and GAY will start to blur. Because my friends, they do. This is like, high camp, but also a gay movie for straight people? This is heterosexual camp. This is fan fiction but about two characters we’ve never heard of except one of them is Charlotte from Sex and the City.” – Riese Bernard
Duck Butter (2018)
“Duck Butter was a lot like a Naima and Sergio’s failed experiment: the sex was good but the delirious lesbian mumblecore didn’t leave a lasting impression.” – Heather Hogan
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019)
Closeted lesbian Swweety Chaudhary (Sonam K Ahuja) is being pressured by her conservative and traditional Punjabi family to marry — but what she really wants to do is come out.
Elisa & Marcela (2019)
“Not the art film its showy Black & White cinematography and more creative flourishes seem to be aspiring for, but nevertheless an enjoyable period romance. Based on the true story of Spain’s first same-sex marriage, Isabel Coixet replaces an average looking queer woman and her androgynous love with two beautiful high femmes. It’s a bit silly and a bit long, but hey the sex scenes are great.” – Drew Gregory
Emilia Perez (2024)
Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldana) an under-appreciated lawyer in Mexico granted the opportunity to hook up a drug kingpin (Karla Sofía Gascón) with a surgeon for gender affirmation surgery while whisking away her wife (Selena Gomez) as Emilia fakes her own death. She later has a romantic subplot with a trans woman Epifanía. There is a grating musical number about vaginoplastys. This movie is fucking wild and also in many ways very bad. “I don’t understand why a movie that’s so bonkers in other ways chooses to undercut its strengths with this shallow understanding of its titular character,” wrote Drew. “And it is bonkers in ways I enjoyed.”
Familia (2023)
Leo, the family patriarch who lives alone with his son Benny, brings his whole family together once a month to catch up over a meal hosted in a resplendent landscape — and this time he wants to talk to his three daughters about the future of his idyllic olive farm. One of those daughters, Mariana, brings her new girlfriend to the lunch. Mariana’s pregnant, but refuses to disclose the identity of the father.
FanFic (2023)
“The movie is a delight when it’s showing Tosiek’s exploration and discovery,” writes Drew of this Polish sweet, gay, trans coming-of-age story, “less delightful when it’s telling us about it. It has similar problems in its approach to mental health.”
Happy Ending (2023)
After a year of secretly faking orgasms with her aimless artsy boyfriend, Luna pitches a threesome to her boyfriend, Mink, and they seal the deal with a climate change activist, Eve — an experience that turns everything upside-down.
I Care A Lot (2021)
“If you don’t like to watch movies about horrible people doing horrible things, you’ll probably want to skip J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot,” recommends Kayla in her review. But, if you do like those movies, “then you might have fun with this cynical, clinical movie steeped in the horrors of capitalism and greed.” I Care A Lot is wicked and callous, but vivid and sharp, with a heartless lesbian protagonist played by Rosamund Pike and her girlfriend/partner played by the VERY hot Eiza González.
Late Bloomers (1996)
In a suburban Texas high school, geometry teacher and basketball coach Dinah ends up falling for Carly, the principal’s assistant who is married to a high school algebra teacher.
Let It Snow (2019)
“The inclusion of a queer romance in a film like this is exciting enough on its own. But what makes it all the more exciting is both Hewson and Akana are queer in real life! Hewson is non-binary and gay and Akana is bisexual. They’re both so good in their roles, bringing their charm and authenticity. ” – Drew Gregory
Lovesong (2016)
Riley Keough and Jenna Malone star in this “gentle, lyrical film about enduring love between women that surpasses friendship and defies boundaries of sexual identity.”
Loving Annabelle (2006)
“As much as I’d love to pretend I can write this movie off for the problematic aspects,” writes Valerie of a film centered on affair between a boarding school student and her teacher, “the truth is this movie was vital to my queer evolution.”
Moxie (2021)
A 16-year-old is inspired by her Mom’s Riot Grrrl and zine-making past to strike back against INJUSTICE, misogyny and toxicity at her high school. Josie Totah plays a trans girl frustrated that her classmates and teachers won’t use her name. There is a subtle lesbian storyline that emerges quietly without much fanfare, which is fine — what’s less fine is that this film is centered on a white cis straight protagonist who is surrounded by women of color with far more interesting stories to tell. Read our review of moxie.
Passing (2021)
Passing is definitely one of the best films on this list, but its queerness is very subtextual, thus not being included up top! Carmen Phillips wrote of the film: “Passing has me in such a chokehold, I still don’t know where to start. There’s the craft of the storytelling, the questions it presents about understanding race — for once! — from a Black gaze. It’s singular in its grab and should be on the short list for any awards season conversation. But more than anything, I can’t stop thinking about the way that Tessa Thompson looks at Ruth Negga.”
The Perfection (2019)
“This recent Netflix horror movie would be offensive for a multitude of reasons if it wasn’t so incoherent. Instead it’s just an absolutely wild, incredibly shallow thrill ride with a queer woman romance(??) at its center.” – Drew Gregory
Pray Away (2021)
“There is no emotional catharsis in Pray Away,” writes Heather of this documentary about the dangers of conversion therapy, “no promised paths to victory for those who were abused by the teachings of the people featured in the documentary, no accountability, no looks at the exponential global repercussions of conversion therapy. It is, at best, picking at a scab — and, at worst, poking a dirty finger into a gaping wound.”
Scream VI (2023)
Four survivors leave Woodside to start a fresh chapter after the Ghostface killings. Queer actor Jasmin Savoy-Brown is lesbian character Mindy Meeks-Martin, the first openly LGBTQ+ character in the ‘Scream’ franchise with a significant storyline.”You’re gonna get AN ON SCREEN KISS BETWEEN A QUEER BLACK WOMAN AND A QUEER ASIAN WOMAN,” writes Lex in their review. “THAT SHIT IS BEAUTIFUL ON THE BIG SCREEN. NO HAIR HIDING FACES OR NOTHIN’ WE COMIN UP QUEER!”
A Secret Love (2020)
A heartwarming documentary about former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player, Terry Donahue, and her partner, Pat Henschel, who met in Canada in 1946, fell in love, started a business together, all while keeping their relationship a secret.
Someone Great (2019)
“At its core, Someone Great is a comedy about getting high and drunk with your girls and listening to some great pop music and growing up a little in the process.” – Carmen Phillips
Shortcomings (2023)
This comedy-drama, based on Adrian Tomine’s comic, follows struggling filmmaker Ben who manages an arthouse movie theater and has a girlfriend who works for a local Asian-American film festival who moves to New York for an internship, leaving Ben alone in Berkeley with his typical behaviors to keep him warm: obsessing over unavailable blondes, watching Crtiterion Collection DVDs, and hanging out in a diner with his LESBIAN BEST FRIEND Alice, a “serial dater” played by queer actor Sherry Cola. But now he must figure out what he really wants in life.
So My Grandma’s a Lesbian (2020)
This Spanish comedy follows a young Spanish lawyer whose plans to marry some rich Scottish dude from a conservative family are put into jeopardy when her 70-year-old grandmother, Sofia, comes out and announces her intention to marry her best friend. Good for them!
Time Cut (2024)
This time-travel horror finds a protagonist haunted by a sister she never met after said sister was killed in a murder spree two years before she was born. On the anniversary of said sister’s death, she finds a time machine, heads back in time, and has a chance to stop the murders before they occur. Also there is a “sweet sapphic subplot“!
To Each Her Own (2018)
Although this French film got bad reviews, Sally informed us that she in fact has seen it and furthermore; liked it. I trust Sally so here we are. The plot is described as “Just as Simone works up the courage to tell her conservative Jewish family she’s a lesbian, she finds herself attracted to a man.”
The Valley of a Thousand Hills (2022)
This South African drama tells the story of a woman in a conservative village community who must choose between the husband her father chose for her or her secret true love, a woman.
Wendell & Wild (2022)
“This is an animated kids movie about how private prisons are way more evil than literal demons. How could I not love it??,” wrote Drew of this stop-motion adventure. “Not only does this give us a goth Black girl lead — it also has a Latino trans boy at her side. This isn’t just inclusive children’s entertainment — it’s inclusive children’s entertainment that actually engages with the realities of the people it represents.”
Wine Country (2019)
Paula Pell plays “a lesbian antique shop owner from Portland with a new set of knees and thirst for love” in this film Heather described as ” improv funny and physical comedy funny and sight gag funny and punny funny — and a story about how sometimes our little personality quirks can only be distilled into their truest form and made manifest as our lurking anxieties and insecurities and maladaptive coping mechanisms when we’re in the company of the women who love us best and most.” Also, Cherry Jones is in it!
Your Place or Mine (2023)
This rom-com from Alline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) sees Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher) as best friends forever who swap houses for a week — him taking care of her son in LA, her spreading her wings in NYC — to discover themselves et cetera you know how it is with heterosexuals. Tig Notaro has a side role in this film as Debbie’s sardonic lesbian pal, although her queerness is never directly addressed.
You People (2023)
This movie is so objectively, unsettlingly, depressingly terrible, that I considered not even telling you that it existed at all. But alas, it does. Ezra (Jonah Hill) is a white Jewish guy and Amira (Lauren London) is Black and their families are very different and now they all have to meet and see who gets along! Ezra’s best friend and coworker, Mo, is a masc lesbian played by Sam Jay, and his sister, Liza (Molly Gordon) is also gay.
Marine Story gets a lot of, not hate exactly, but dislike on this site. I do understand and recognize that it’s objectively kind of a mess, but I’m bizarrely and ridiculously fond of it. Maybe I was just so conditioned to believe that lesbian stories didn’t get happy endings that I’ve gotten ridiculously over-attached to the first movie I saw which did?
I mean I didn’t really DISLIKE it, I guess. Maybe it should’ve been in the “okay” category.
I actually really enjoyed A Marine Story. It’s a slow burn and at times, predictable, but did provide insight into being gay and being military (sure, it happened on the L Word). The central relationship of this film is frustrating and the ending is …
BUT I felt like the acting was believable and the feelings throughout were real!!
Thanks for the list, it’s much appreciated especially now that we are all stuck at home here in Italy.
I just don’t understand the enthusiasm for Daddy Issues; I watched it with high expectations when it was first reviewed here by Drew and it’s SO BAD, literally one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched
THIS IS EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER NEEDED.
Thank you for this, I’ve been craving a new lesbian movie recently with happy endings and this list came at the perfect time.
Also, Kys Mig is my most favorite movie ever.
I second Dope! I watched it on a whim not realizing there’d be a lesbian character in it and loved it. I wish we’d seen more of Diggy and Big, but I feel like wanting a movie to be longer is never really a bad thing.
Life Partners is my guilty pleasure movie, I’m kind of embarrassed by how much I love it. Although I kind of wish the queer character hadn’t been played by Leighton Meester, I liked the character story arc much more than the acting. Gillian Jacobs is amazing though.
Next time I want to have a lot of feelings I’m going to watch the Edie documentary.
Thank god for AS *praying hands emoji x3*
y’all I did NOT know that these all existed. Further proof Autostraddle is everything since the beginning of forever.
fwiw, I am sort of partial to I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, because I was pretty cheeseball for Patricia Rozema in college (When Night is Falling!) and I learned about it from that book Cunt about Movies In Which Women Don’t Get Raped, and for sure, it’s not very good for reasons of gayness, but I do love a weird, daydreamy character just like, exploring her sense of self as an artist. It also has Ann Marie McDonald when she’s like 19, and it just slays me.
I think it just reminds me of your weird earnest friend who shows you a long, long slideshow of her trip to Prague but all her pictures are close-ups of rocks and the weird reflective surfaces of buildings. I think I’ve projected my desire for the emotional fullfilment of every weirdo onto her story though- like she wants so much to be impressive and worldly, and she just can’t manage! she tries to lick the warm handtowel in a Japanese restaurant! it just kills me!
I am also a huge fan of I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, for some of the same reasons–I love Patricia Rozema and I like it’s quirky art-focused theme, and the fact that there are 3 queer women without a lot of identity angst meant a lot to me at a particular point in time.
Also the image of showing the art as pure light just works like magic for me–it’s a great image of what art can be without imposing personal taste.
Also saving face is my favorite movie people forget to remember.
This list is a slap in the face as just this week Netflix stopped letting me use Hola to browse internationally.
Whyyyyyy??
I think I’ll be lucky to find even one of these on German Netflix :(
Therer are 7 films from this list (the recommended ones) that you can watch on Netflix Germany:
Game Face
Tig
Blue is the warmest color
Your sister’s sister
Frida
Breaking the girls
Quite disappointing, I’d say.
There is also:
Lost and delirious
Girl, interrupted
And from the not recommended ones:
Anatomy of a love seen
Chasing Amy
I haven’t been sleeping well lately, so I planned on Tuesday to drink a vat of Sleepytime Tea and go to bed early. Naturally my wife and I ended up awake until 12 am watching CONTRACTED instead. We’re fans of scary movies, and this one was frankly disgustingly scary – and a very good cautionary tale against sleeping with men ;) It definitely doesn’t deserve to be top tier on this list, but it wasn’t the worst horror movie I’ve ever seen. It’s one of those kind of so-gross-and-bad-it’s-good movies. Like Zombeavers. (You’re welcome if you haven’t heard about that gem before.)
I agree that this is a gross movie (the very first scene, the rape scene and then the last scene with the guy X.X) and the dialogue is very “off”.
But don’t judge me when I say that I find Samantha very intriguing (Her liking purple-purple phone, bedsheets and flowers are a plus!) and I think of her when I’m listening to Zombie Girl’s music <3 lol ;)
Zombeavers was the best/worst Netflix horror movie I watched last summer. Magically awful.
I read this, got really excited, bookmarked it, and was already dreaming of many cosy evenings to come–but then was heartbroken to realise that a lot of these (a lot of the most interesting sounding ones!) are not available for Netflix UK. Instead, they just keep recommended I watch Perfect Ending and Bound.
It sucks we get so little over here. :(
Colette is now on UK Netflix. I saw it in the cinema and enjoyed it even though I’m not always a fan of Kiera Knightley.
Pride is one of my all time faves! Such a cool bit of history!
Am I the only one that loves the movie Cracks? It’s not really a lesbian film though. It’s just creepy.
Yep, definitely. In spite of the fact that the Predatory Lesbian TM aspect is…not great… and it kinda rips off The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Still into it. You are not alone in that.
I love Cracks… me mostly because Eva Green is in it… but I thought it was good… feel like its under appreciated.
Nope. Eva Green is one of my favs. Tropes don’t bother me. I’m a terrible lesbian. I’ll admit it. I don’t find things offensive like others do – I just want to watch my fav actors/actresses. I seem to watch this a few times a year, just for Eva. Penny Dreadful – although not gay per se, was my fav Eva Green anything.
Um, EXCUSE ME, Jenny’s Wedding is an instant classic, easily one of my top 5 favorite lesbian movies of all time. I honestly love it to death.
But also, this is a very very impressive article, good job and thank you.
I so needed this!!!!!!!!!
EEEk, so many favorite movies to re-watch (Dope, Pariah, Mosquita y Mari <— EVERYONE SEE THESE MOVIES, along with Frida, Rent, Paris is Burning)
So many movies I've always wanted to catch up on (Tangerine, Sand Dollar, Stud Life)
Let me just say, I'm sort of jealous that I don't live in Canada and therefore can't watch "Saving Face", "Pride", or "Circumstance" whenever I want :( If you live in Canada (or the UK) watch those movies, too!
Love this list! Thanks for doing the research for us, Riese!
Ugh, Netflix UK, Y U so lame?? Want to watch so many off this list but they are not available.
I might check out maybe the shitty BFI player has some of them.
Thank you for the list, always awesome!
If you use a VPN, you can access other countries’ Netflix.
Oh my goodness The Guest House is honestly so terrible
*Nods* I really wish there was a Goth girl lesbian movie but no cheesiness, please!
Also, I have to add the only thing I liked about “The Guest House” was that white and black top and black glasses that guest was wearing! Oh! And that black skirt, underbust corset with a black muscle shirt and the purple stockings. But that’s honestly it x.x
Omg… I feel wounded (wounded!) that The Fish Child isn’t included on this list!!? It’s this amazing completely gay Argentinian drama about 2 girls in love and one (the main character’s indigenous housekeeper) gets accused of murder. Racism and class have a huge role in this film but never in a heavy handed way. It’s beautifully shot, passionate, romantic, and very unique. I’d recommend it everyone.
It’s not on Netflix
Yeah it disappeared off Netflix a while ago, and I remember kicking myself cause it had been on my watch list but I’d failed to get to it in time and it looked good.
Fun fact about 52 Tuesdays: the film was only filmed on tuesdays over the course of a year! So the progression of the characters has an authenticity to it which is really interesting. Also, I sat behind the main character (James) in my first year of gender studies and they would always glare at me if I ate in class and I found them to be quite terrifying actually. But it’s a good movie if only because it always reminds me so much of home.
“As I recall, this never actually gets gay”
Except in the predatory sense… eek.
Anyway, SAVING FACE! Joan Chen makes any movie automatically 10x better, true fact.
To clarify, I don’t think Miss G’s sexuality is ever established, but IMO they were definitely playing on the predatory LGB trope when they had her molest Fiamma.
But once again… SAVING FACE! I saw a pic of the main cast at a 10 year reunion and I swear they didn’t age a day, those assholes. Not that I’m bitter or anything…
What about Jack & Diane? True there is the very random and ridiculous werewolf thing, but it isn’t prominent and if you can get past it, the movie is really cute. Plus side, it actually features an androgynous/more tomboy type character which I don’t usually see in the typical lesbian and bisexual films. I’m pretty sure it’s streaming in the US and Canada.
I saw Pariah (thanks to the AS recommendation a while back), 52 Tuesdays, and Tangerine in theaters and all were excellent. Also a big fan of Kyss Mig, RENT, The Kids are Alright and Blue is the Warmest Color. Looking forward to watching Dope and Life Partners soon! Thanks for the list.
‘ One of our Autostraddle Plus members requested a post about all the streaming lesbian-related films on Netflix and so here I am, delivering my deliverable to one of our many VIPs. ‘ !!!!! <333
Is this the best thing ever to come home to after a long, stressful day of classes? Almost definitely. And just in time for spring break, too. AUTOSTRADDLE'S TOO GOOD TO ME.
So here’s where I disagree:
-Girltrash is great fun, not just ok! Boy Meets Girl is also pretty good.
-Room in Rome I absolutely love
-Tru Love and A Perfect Ending aren’t very good
But agree on everything else. Unfortunately Netflix Australia has only the not very good films!
Girltrash isn’t as gritty as the original and where is fucking Lou Ann?! It’s very cheesy but watchable. Still fun, you are correct.
I saw kiss me and thought it was good, but not great. I think the plot is a bit played out like a romantic comedy, though I don’t think it was suppose to be one? I’m not to familiar with Swedish humor.
I very much will disagree with you on Room In Rome, I thought it was done well, and reasonably accurate at times. I suggested it to a friend(partially cause it’s a queer film in Spanish) and she said after watching it with her partner she had an even better night.
I am not sure if it’s still streaming(only saw it on the dvd option in the US netflix), but Amiee and Jaguar was a powerful and really sad movie. It’s about a queer Jewish woman who falls in love with German woman who plans to be engaged to a German solder/SS during WWII. Not something to watch alone.
Also, not sure if it’s on Netflix still, but there is My Summer of Love, staring Emily Blunt, and set in the UK. The movie has an air of creepiness(can’t fully explain it, but I had British queer agree). Saw it twice partially cause it’s Emily Blunt and another actress(forgot her name), being cute at time, and partially cause I couldn’t figure out why it’s creepy.
Elena Undone(is still on Netflix), and found the movie for the most part to be typical, straight woman married with kids who’s husband is a homophobic priest. She falls in love with a lesbian, and leaves the husband. It had an air of cheesiness to it. Only good thing about that movie was the love making scene was better than average.
“My Summer Of Love” is not on streaming on Netflix anymore. In the US :(
* not streaming on Netflix anymore. Sorry, ignore the first “on” lol
Yeah I noticed after I posted it. Maybe our Canadian and UK friends will have better luck?
I have found Aimee & Jaguar to be free with English subtitles on YouTube or Tubi in the U.S. (It’s one of my favorite films, and I do wish Autostraddle would rank it higher on their lists, but that’s just me 🥹.)
I love how this list includes the only okay and the pretty crappy movies as well as the actually good ones. Watching bad lesbian movies on Netflix was definitely part of how I came out to myself.
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the post I’ve always been waiting for!!
https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/5977
So I read this thing about a Netflix hack to search by genre and subgenre. Above is the link to the Gay and Lesbian subgenre site… it lists way more than if you just search the Gay and Lesbian Movie link on Netflix. Seems relevant here. :)
Wait… it’s the Gay and Lesbian genre and if you click on Subgenre, you can pick between like romance, documentaries, comedies, etc. I think it’s just movies, though, and not shows.
My wife and I like to watch all the queer content, so we watch a lot of terrible stuff on Netflix. ;)
Watching Liz in September and it’s sad but really well done.
The Kids Are Alright’s “happy ending” pissed me off to be honest. I didn’t think it was earned as I did not believe that those two should have stayed together or learned anything at all. Neither of them seemed happy in their relationship. And a good portion of that film is spent on Jules’ affair with a man, complete with graphic sex scenes. That alone is enough for me to not recommend to anyone who is specifically looking to watch a “Lesbian movie”.
I’ve seen a good portion of the movies on this list. Though I wish Pride were on Netflix US. I still haven’t seen it yet.
My highest recommendations go to Pariah, Tig, and Paris Is Burning.
I saw Blue Is The Warmest Color on US Netflix. Or rather I hate-watched the first 45 minutes and then fell asleep during the rest. That movie is horrible guys.
Thanks so much for this list! I added a ton of movies to my queue ♥
Absolutely, hands down, adored Tig and Edie & Thea. A+, 5 stars.
For The Bible Tells Me So was critical to setting myself free from the hypocritical beliefs of my *christian* friends & myself. Instead of building a faith, I’d built a cell with long stints in solitary confinement, battling with my internalized homophobia. The silver lining? Instead of looking to a higher power, I started to identify my own power and ironically, have a stronger faith than ever.
We accidentally stumbled across Girltrash one night and it took an entire bottle of wine to get through it. What a terrible, weird movie. But it inspired us to tell everyone about it, which led to a queer movie night watching one about space alien lesbians filmed in black and white that used to be on Netflix? And then we wanted to watch more SO THIS LIST IS PERFECT. Thank you!
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same! It was super cute. But I don’t think it’s streaming anymore. :(
Girltrash is a follow-up to a webseries from 2007 i think, the initial story involves bar fights, stolen money, mafiosi and lots of threats and running. It’s really funny (i mean, i like it a lot). When i first saw what they did with the feature, i thought what the hell?! That’s why Rose Rollins’ character is so mad all the time: it comes from the initial storyline. I’m not sure why they decided to make Coby come out and the whole story revolve around that since in the webseries, she has a girlfriend and they actually both get kidnapped by Rose Rollins… I never watched “codependent…” cause that one always seemed weird to me but maybe i should!
I had been waiting for another list like this, and then it hit me . . . that moment when you realize you’ve already seen (or half-watched/attempted) most of these and you must wait patiently for more lesbian movies to actually be made.
I am absolutely thrilled with this list………..I’ve seen just a few SO FAR
I have Netflix and Hulu…I’m old enough to remember when our DOB group
didn’t get all our mail because it homosexuality was considered pornographic.
Now to have all these films at our fingertips….glad I lived to see the day
(daylight)
How about Fire, directed by Deepa Mehta? It’s top notch
Summer of Sangaile (which I saw in the theatre) was TERRIBLE, and I say this as someone who =actually is a fan of international art movies with minimal plot; it’s just a bad example of the genre.
Saving Face is on Netflix Canada?! I’m so jealous right now ;__;
“All Cheerleaders Die” is a horror/comedy (kind of in the vein of “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” but a little darker) that has two lesbians – the main character and her ex-girlfriend who is a witch. There are sapphic hookups, and the monster of the movie is a football player who is the paragon of toxic masculinity and misogyny. It’s awesome and I can’t recommend it enough – especially because no one seems to have ever heard of it.
Kissing Jessica Stein!
My wife and I love that movie. I know it catches a lot of flack, but I honestly love how all of the characters grow and evolve; sexuality is part of that but not all of it. The scene with Jessica and her mom (played flawlessly by Tovah Feldshuh) brings tears to my eyes every time!
Kissing Jessica Stein was so important to me and is one of my favourite movies. It was such a great portrayal of Jewishness and so natural about both Judaism and exploring your sexual identity that I wound up watching it four times in a row when I first found it.
That scene with Jessica and her mom helped me come out to my mom, since I was so nervous of how she’d deal with it based on earlier conversations I’d had with her about some of my gay friends. Then watching Judy be so supportive and accepting of Jessica’s relationship with Helen because it made her daughter happy…it really made things easier to talk to my mom.
Yesssss this is so necessary!!
Also, I’m not being even a little bit hyperbolic when I say that Anatomy of a Love Seen is the worst movie I’ve seen in years, and maybe ever. Like, I’m generally not a super harsh critic, and I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be a masterpiece, but YIKES that was some garbage. Don’t waste your time, friends.
Vic + Flo and Molly’s Girl are awesome!
The reality of lesbian movies is changing rapidly. The drama, story line, character. If you watch portrait of marriage you will understand. The natural reality is very interesting to watch. There are many more other lesbian movies like women’s lake, never ending and etc. that is interesting and fun to watch.
Wow, Very Nice dear crush. Love from the UK.
the foxy merkins. it’s so totally unique and amazing. saw it at outfest la and now it’s streaming on Netflix! not everyone will like it, but if you like quirky weird comedy I think you will. lisa haas is brilliant. highly recommend.
the! foxy! merkins!
so funny. so weird. also, I think it’s even better on second viewing, because you know where it’s going and it doesn’t feel quite so random.
“Fucking Åmål leaves you giddy with first-love nostalgia and no Celene Dion songs stuck in your head.”
That’s true. However, it does leave you with Robyn’s Show Me Love stuck in your head!!
WHUUUUUT NETFLIX HAS YES OR NO????????????
THANK YOU @sarsquared for including Tina Jittaleela in the cover image for this article – otherwise I might have totally missed it!
that was all @riese!
I have seen To Each Her Own! It’s definitely not the worst film on this list and I would definitely upgrade it one category!
ok sally i will upgrade it for you!
Strong disagree. That ending is just the most convoluted nonsense. Total trash and definitely deserves to be in the worst category.
Warning about Blue is the Warmest Color- there’s a lot of controversy about how the director handled the sex scenes, and left the two actresses deeply uncomfortable and never wanting to work with him again. (https://www.vulture.com/2013/10/timeline-blue-is-the-warmest-color-controversy.html) Also found a 2018 article that said he assaulted a 28-yo woman (https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/blue-is-the-warmest-color-director-accused-of-sexual-assault-abdellatif-kechiche.html).
Netflix needs to bring back Kyss Mig (Kiss Me). It’s seriously my favorite lesbian movie (besides “But I’m A Cheerleader” and “Imagine Me & You”) 💜💕💜💕💜💕
Reposting this because originally I’ve accidentally posted it in an unrelated thread.
Thanks for the list, it’s much appreciated especially now that we are all stuck at home here in Italy.
I just don’t understand the enthusiasm for Daddy Issues; I watched it with high expectations when it was first reviewed here by Drew and it’s SO BAD, literally one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched.
Has anyone else watched it and not liked it or is it just me?
Omg me neither, I just watched it last night with some friends via Netflix Party and it was just… there were a few scenes that were kind of fun, but on the whole the whole thing was really uncomfortable and bizarre. I was really disappointed; based on this list I expected it to be at least kind of good!
Reposting this because originally I’ve accidentally posted it in an unrelated thread.
Thanks for the list, it’s much appreciated especially now that we are all stuck at home here in Italy.
I just don’t understand the enthusiasm for Daddy Issues; I watched it with high expectations when it was first reviewed here by Drew and it’s SO BAD, literally one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched.
Has anyone else watched it and not liked it or is it just me?
That review for below her mouth was really funny… And daddy issues is the only one I haven’t watched or attempted to watch before turning it off… Never heard of it, but unfortunately it is not longer on Netflix.
Nice one to know about
There was a film on one of the after hours…
2 girls ho to NYC one of their fathers had died. They are going to a party at a club, it was down an alley a private admission place, a kink club, so many many hot scenes, lesbian, gay, bongas,… it actually was like a top 10 at the time. I have been trying to figure out how to watch n it again and for the life of me cannot find the name of it.
Hi Friend, Thank you very much for giving such nice information.
Another winner from Riese!!
I can’t believe how many of these I haven’t seen!
Time to break out the popcorn and snuggle up on the couch….
I know this is new but IT IS another spanish gem
The Girls at the Back
Original title: Las de la última fila
TV Mini Series
NETFLIX series
I saw ride or die yesterday and it was oh so so bad. I don’t understand why you put it on the good list, its so melodramatic it’s ridiculous and obviously made my a man !
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I do not watch this type of movies, I like and love action, crime, thriller, drama, historical movie.
I love how this list includes not just the good ones, but also the so-so and the pretty terrible movies. Watching bad lesbian films on Netflix was definitely part of my journey in coming out to myself.
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