Five gay movies for a hot summer day

On a blazing hot summer day you might not feel up to running the streets, rollerblading in the city or even a sweltering walk in the park. The heat can be exhausting and a day inside could be just what you need. We've already written about how there isn't much gay at the box office of late, so to help keep you entertained in the cool interior of your house are five of the best gay movies to fill up in your Netflix queue — and yes, I left out Brokeback Mountain!

Female Trouble

Despite some of the interview mishaps with John Travolta, many of us are looking forward to the third version of Hairspray due out in theaters July 20th. However, before Serial Mom and Hairspray, legendary director John Waters was known for his camp-a-licious films that shocked straights and gays. Waters' 1975 Female Trouble manages to not go as far as his first film, Pink Flamingos, but goes far enough to still get a NC-17 rating when the film was released on DVD in 2004.

Female Trouble is the story of Dawn Davenport, played by the larger-than-life drag queen Divine. Dawn is mortified when she does not get her cha-cha heels for Christmas and turns into a tawdry bad girl who combines crime and beauty to be a star. Female Trouble is vulgar, repulsive, shocking, but completely hilarious. If you haven't see it, it's a must and if you already seen it, it's a must to see it again.

If you missed the limited release of Brother to Brother in 2005, it is definite DVD viewing for the summer. Brother to Brother is the story of a struggling writer/student who is looking for love and struggling with his sexuality in urban New York. His life is juxtaposed with the Harlem Renaissance by characters such as Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent. Director Rodney Evans delivers in this touching film that manages to combine humor with drama, leaving the audience with a sense that although we are from different eras, many things for gays have remained the same including the need for love and companionship which are universal.

In 1997 Dakan was the first film on homosexuality from sub-Saharan Africa. The film was met with protests and proved to be groundbreaking for its time and is still so today. Dakan, which means “destiny” in English, tells the story of Sori and Manga, two African teenage boys who are madly in love in an area where society is violently unaccepting. Their parents make it their destiny to keep the two apart by pushing women on them and even forcing them to undergo a “purification ceremony”. However, the two eventually reunite, proving that destiny is unbreakable, regardless of the forces that are against it.

Before Night Falls by director Julian Schnabel is not the happiest film, but it has been praised as a cinematic masterpiece. The film is the story of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, a gay man who once part of the revolution, but became one of it’s causalities under Castro’s regime. He would eventually come to New York City where he lived with AIDS until committing suicide in 1990. Schnabel has a bizarre way of detailing Arenas' life that seems to have no sense of time; however, for telling the life of a tragic artist, it seems to work.

I managed to do a short list of gay films and not include Brokeback Mountain — but I simply couldn't leave out Beautiful Thing. Summer, fall, winter or spring this film is perfect for anytime of the year. At first glance Beautiful Thing might feel like another “coming out” story, however, five minutes into the film it is obvious the script and the powerful performances are much more intricate and complex.

Two teen boys in a working-class area of London manage to repress their sexuality until they meet. The film unfolds with unpredictable plot twists, comedy, flawless performances and an unforgettable storyline. Beautiful Thing is arguably one of the best “coming out” films ever made. Check out our recent look back at the film here.