I support gay marriage. I don’t think it’s fair that two people should be denied the same rights everyone else has based on their gender or who they fall in love with. The logic behind the anti-gay marriage movement is completely lost on me. The sanctity of marriage just doesn’t exist anymore. Want proof? Look at Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and yes, even you Bristol Palin. What does this have to do with the best lesbian movies ever made? Let me tell you! My favorite ‘lesbian movies’ aren’t all movies that push for gay rights. A lot of them are just movies that feature main characters who just happen to be lesbians. They get into situations that are situations straight characters would get into. My point? Lesbians (or gay men) are just like you and me except instead of being attracted to the opposite sex, they’re attracted to the same sex so why treat them differently. Okay – rant over. Let’s take a look at ten of the best lesbian movies ever made.
10: Bound
Year: 1996
Cast: Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantilano
Plot: Corky (Gershon) and Violet (Tilly) have a plan. The lovers will steal millions of dollars worth of hidden mob money and frame Violet’s shady boyfriend Caesar (Pantilano) for the crime. Written and directed by the minds behind The Matrix, Bound is a great film with enough twists and turns to keep you interested. It doesn’t hurt that Gershon and Tilly have smoking hot chemistry as the scheming lesbian lovers. Masterfully done and well worth checking out if only for the stellar performances from Gershon, Tilly and Pantilano. Boundcurrently has a very favorable 7.4/10 rating on IMDB.
09: All Over Me
Year: 1997
Cast: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser, Wilson Cruz
Plot: In this low budget drama, best friends Claude (Folland) and Ellen (Subkoff) struggle to deal with their feelings for each other, homophobia and their growing descent into the early 90s drug culture. When a violent death rocks the girls to their core, they learn just how much one event – and one night – can change everything. I am a sucker for a good low budget movie because, in my experience anyway, low budget often means focusing more on characters and plot development while big budget often means focusing more on special effects which is probably a big part of the reason I love this one so much. All Over Me currently has a rating of 6.7/10 on IMDB.
08: Lost and Delirious
Year: 2001
Cast: Mischa Barton, Jessica Pare, Piper Perabo, Emily Van Camp
Plot: 14 year old Mary (Barton) is sent to study at an all girls boarding school following the death of her mother. The freshman is placed in a room with seniors, Paulie (Perabo) and Tori (Pare) who, as it turns out, are a lot more than friends. What follows is a heartbreaking journey that confronts love, acceptance and the struggle to make peace with the things in life you can’t control. We learn more about the girls, their relationships and their motives for doing the things they do. It’s a dark movie but a powerful one. Well worth checking out. Lost and Deliriouscurrently has a rating of 6.9/10 on IMDB.
07: Imagine Me and You
Year: 2005
Cast: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode
Plot: Rachel (Perabo) and Heck (Goode) are a dream couple. They’ve been friends and lovers for what seems like forever. They finally decide to tie the knot and things are going great … aside from the fact that during the wedding preparations, Rachel meets Luce (Headey), the florist who is doing the flowers for Rachel’s wedding. Rachel and Luce become friends which probably wouldn’t be a problem were it not for the fact that Rachel starts feeling things for Luce one doesn’t normally feel for a friend. This fresh twist on the typical romantic comedy is funny, entertaining and sweet. Imagine Me and Youcurrently has a rating of 6.7/10 on IMDB, not bad for a rom-com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S5fyUAJdTk
06: D.E.B.S.
Year: 2004
Cast: Sara Foster, Jordana Brewster, Meagan Good, Devon Aoki, Geoff Stults, Michael Clarke Duncan
Plot: Amy, Max, Janet and Dominique are pretty typical high school girls. Their skills at lying, cheating and stealing, however, earn them the attention of the US government who decide to recruit the girls for a hush-hush academy that trains secret agents called D.E.B.S. What follows is a funny albeit mindless adventure that is entertaining from start to finish. I saw this one because a friend was interested in seeing it and I wound up loving it. It’s silly, but it’s fun. D.E.B.Scurrently has an IMDB rating of 5.0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQSJjK_ENg&ob=av3e
05: Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Year: 2007
Cast: Melonie Diaz, Ana Mercedes, Marisa Ramirez, Leslie Grossman, Mircea Monroe, Nicole Vicius
Plot: Anna (Diaz) feels she hasn’t found her purpose. She’s stuck. She’s graduated high school and found a job as a receptionist for a plastic surgeon but she’s still living at home with her parents and feels there must be more to life than what she’s experiencing. Enter the Itty Bitty Titty Committee, a radical feminist group intent on spreading mayhem. It’s a wild ride, to say the least, but things take a complicated turn when Anna realizes she’s fallen in love with the group’s leader, a beautiful, but attached, girl by the name of Sadie (Vicius). While this is the type of movie you’re either going to love or hate, I fall into the former. I thought it was enjoyable and brought up real issues, even if the film only really scratched the surface. Itty Bitty Titty Committeecurrently has an IMDB rating of 5.3/10 – way lower than it should be in my opinion.
04: But I’m A Cheerleader
Year: 1999
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Michelle Williams, Clea DuVall, Eddie Cibrian, Melanie Lynskey
Plot: Megan (Lyonne) is a cheerleader. Megan has a boyfriend. Megan isn’t really a big fan of kissing her boyfriend and seems just to be a little too touchy feely with her fellow cheerleaders. She has nothing but photos of girls hanging in her locker. Conclusion? She must be gay and that must be remedied. Megan is sent off to “sexual redirection” school where she will learn how to be heterosexual. There are several problems with this plan in the film like in real life. The biggest problem? Megan is in love with Graham (DuVall). Full of comedy and drama, I can’t recommend this one enough. But I’m a Cheerleadercurrently has an IMDB rating of 6.2/10.
03: Heavenly Creatures
Year: 1994
Cast: Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey
Plot: Two young girls get lost in a fantasy world they’ve created for themselves. In love and desperate to hold on to that fantasy, the girls devise a plan to remove the only obstacle they see standing in their way – their mothers. After being forced to separate by their respective mothers who have grown concerned about their daughters’ fantasy world, the girls decide the only way they can be together is to kill one of their mothers. It’s a dark movie to say the least but one that is well worth watching. Brilliantly done in all respects. Heavenly Creaturescurrently has an IMDB rating of 7.5/10.
02:The Kids Are Alright
Year: 2010
Cast: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
Plot: Nic (Bening) and Jules (Moore) don’t have the perfect relationship but they’re doing the best they can as they raise their two children. They’ve been together for a while but are still mostly happy until their daughter (Wasikowska) decides to seek out the man that donated the sperm that created her. She meets her father Paul (Ruffalo) and then introduces Paul to her mothers. When Paul and Jules begin working on a landscaping project together, sparks fly and the two soon begin an affair. Before long, things between Jules and Nic are so broken they seem impossible to repair. A touching, sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking story, this is a must see film. The Kids are Alrightcurrently has an IMDB rating of 7.2/10.
01: If These Walls Could Talk 2
Year: 2000
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Perkins, Michelle Williams, Chloe Sevigny, Natasha Lyonne, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres
Plot: One house sets the scene for this three segment film that tells the story of three separate occupants of the same house over a forty year span. Excellent performances from the entire cast and well written segments make this movie as close to flawless as a movie can get. Each different segment tells a different story with different characters but it all feels cohesive and the stories flow well together. This is an absolutely brilliant film that everyone should see at least once. If These Walls Could Talk 2 currently has an IMDB rating of 6.6/10.
