One of New York's most legendary queer communities is the ballroom scene, as depicted in the documentary Paris is Burning. Black and Latinx gay men, transvestites, drag queens, and transsexuals gather late at night to put on elaborate fashion shows for each other. The clothes are variously hand made, modified, or simply stolen. It's not exactly drag as popularized today. It's not a send-up. The goal is realness, a way of describing a vision of yourself that can be accepted by straight society, and a way of embodying your dreams of a life denied to you by prejudice. Set in the New York ballroom scene of the 80s and 90s, as the (still ongoing) AIDS crisis was hitting its peak, Pose follows Blanca's attempt to secure her legacy within the community. It begins with a fair bit of heavy material, very much in the mode of gritty prestige TV, before achieving escape velocity through an aeronautic ascent into pure wish fulfilment in its third season. Blanca is a perfect human being. Electra did nothing wrong. -Anne & Juniper
A homeless high school girl is adopted into a wealthy family with a secret: their members turn into zodiac animals when they are hugged. Behind the silly premise is a sweetly rendered story about untangling trauma, growing into yourself, and learning how to choose to be a family out of love rather than obligation. -Anne & Juniper
"It's still a very emotional towel."
Two policemen fall in love and are terrible at their jobs. One of them talks to a wet towel. The other gets into an argument about expired cans of pineapple. In both cases it’s somehow hilarious, heartbreaking, and tender. There’s a manic pixie dream girl who is a weird stalker and also a metaphor. There are only two musical cues and they never get old. In short, a perfect film. -Juniper
"I know you want me Johnny! You want me so bad it's like acid in your mouth!"
Rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrates an itinerant gang of bank robbing surfers, led by beach mystic Bodhi (Patrick Swazy at his most magnetic). The greatest seduction thriller ever filmed, and they don't even kiss. -Anne & Juniper
Teen hackers stop an ecological disaster! Possibly the most gay coding we have ever seen in a movie, and yes that is a pun. Like fine wine, the subtext has aged into sumptuous, delicious text. Just about every character is a member of the alphabet mafia: the main character exudes the most incredible egg vibes, there's couch surfing trans girl named Cereal, Angelina Jolie radiates disaster bisexual energy, the villain is a manaical short king who cackles with his high femme girlfriend. The only obviously straight character is a chain smoking 15 year old boy. There's even a forced-feminization subplot which they handwave at the end, the cowards. -Anne & Juniper