Best Queer Comfort Movies for a Night In

While I am a lover of all movies, my personal preference will always lie within queer films—queer media. I enjoy holding space for that. The word ‘queer,’ in this instance, is a loosely defined term for any film that exudes an air of ‘not heterosexual.’ The finest comfort movies can be hilarious, heart-wrenching, delightfully absurd, or even deeply romantic. Comfort knows no bounds, and this list—my selection of 5 exceptional queer comfort films—aims to reflect that diversity, presented in no specific order.

1. Booksmart (2019):

If we were to look at a Venn Diagram, there would be endless parallels between the queer experience and once—or still—identifying as an overachieving academic. Booksmart perfectly encapsulates not only the coming-of-age experience, but also the overwhelm of varying realizations as you grow up. The acceptance that sometimes not everything goes in your favor. The regret over wasted time, and while there is no going back, you are able to reroute your future. This movie has gotten me through many of the rocky periods of my life, and I cannot recommend it enough. 

2. Bottoms (2023): 

Everyone says they love ‘camp’ until something is actually campy. Bottoms is exactly that, and I refuse to hear any criticism of this movie. This film is the lovechild of Rachel Sennot and Emma Seligman, with Sennot and Ayo Edebiri as the two leads. Bottoms is absolutely ridiculous and nonsensical. The movie is also very queer. Centered around two teenage girls who create a ‘gay’ fight club, the movie feels like a modern re-telling of Pitch Perfect, minus the singing, but has the bonus of explosions, boxing, sapphic love, and chronically online humor. 

3. Dead Poets Society (1989):

While this movie isn’t explicitly ‘gay,’ the Dead Poets Society is an insanely queer coded film. Centered around a group of boys at school who already feel like outcasts, they find themselves, and learn to understand each other, through poetry. There’s a familiarity to the Dead Poets Society, one set to the same tune as Gilmore Girls. This movie is innately human and raw, challenging our understanding of true authenticity.

4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019):

A few years ago, my mom and I were on the fence of what movie to watch, and we stumbled upon Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Two hours later, we were in a puddle of tears, huddled beside one another on the couch. A tale of sapphic, forbidden love, this 18th-century work of art explores societal constraint and intense yearning. Heads up: the movie is a slow burn, although it is totally worth the emotional climax. 

5. Moonlight (2016)

Moonlight is a phenomenal film, through and through. Told across three stages of a boy’s life, the movie is exceptionally vulnerable—depicting the highs and lows of sexual identity, especially the relationship between sexuality and racial identity. The movie also touches on one’s relationship to community, to self, and to the mundane—the everyday moments in life that make it worth living. 

Honorable Mention: All of Us Strangers
This movie had me sobbing… You have to watch it.

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