The 15 best LGBTQ+ coming-of-age movies

Did your fave make the list?

Coming-of-age films can remind us of the best and the worst of times about growing up and getting older. Sometimes, things work out great, and other times, life has other plans.

Here’s a list of 15 coming-of-age movies that feature gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or otherwise queer protagonists who are still in their teens and just trying to figure it all out.

15. The Way He Looks

​Two boys discover their sexuality in this incredibly sweet coming-of-age tale from Brazil Leonardo is a blind teenager who is craving his independence. His life is turned upside down when Gabriel enters his life. At first, Leo's best friend Giovana is interested in pursuing a romance with Gabriel, but instead, the two boys slowly become closer unexpected romance blossoms between them.

14. Three Months (2022)

Caleb, played by Australian pop star Troye Sivan, is a South Florida teen who likes the simple things: His weed, his camera, and his grandma. The night before his high school graduation, however, he discovers he’s been exposed to HIV. He spends the following summer finding love in unexpected places as he waits for his results.

13. Cruel Intentions (1999)

My, my, Cruel Intentions is one saucy coming-of-age film. This movie, which features an iconic lesbian kiss between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair, was sexy, diabolical, and downright delicious fun. The film is also based on a French epistolary novel called Les Liaison dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, originally published in four volumes in 1782, in which two “amoral lovers-turned-rivals who amuse themselves by ruining others and who ultimately destroy each other.”

12. Crush (2022)

High school crushes are hard, and when aspiring artist Paige joins her high school track team to impress her crush, she gets more than she bargained for when the coach assigns her a partner, A.J., and she finds out what true love feels like. This Hulu original examines the difference between love and a little crush from a high schooler’s perspective with witty and snappy dialogue.

11. My First Summer

After her mother’s death, 16-year-old Claudia isolates herself and hides away on a remote property. Grace, a local teen, appears in her garden, and the two find a much needed love and support in each other. Hailed as an “outstanding debut” from writer/director Katie Found, the romance between Claudia and Grace is sensitive, sweet, and uplifting all at the same time.

10. Booksmart (2019)

In this raunchy comedy, Amy and Molly hope to make up for their time spent focused on school with one wild night of partying before graduation. Unlike many of the other movies on this list, Booksmart treats Amy's sexuality as matter-of-fact as she spends the film pursuing a girl she has a crush on. Filled to the brim with zany characters and delivering one quotable line after another, it's one of the most distinct high school comedies to be released in the 2010s. The friendship between the two leads is at the heart of the movie though, and their chemistry is what makes this a modern teen classic.

9. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Gus Van Sant's cult classic is widely regarded as a landmark in queer cinema of the late twentieth century. The film features electric performances from River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, as it follows Mike and Scott as they embark on a search for Mike's mother, learning about one another along the way. It's a touching and at times brutally honest tale of transitioning from one phase of life to another and it doesn't pull any of its narrative punches. Though its Shakesphere-inspired story is relatively tame by today's standards, its subject matter and style were innovative at the time and opened the door for several later films on this list.

8. Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of real-life transgender man Brandon Teena in this retelling of the final months of his life. When he befriends Lana, the two fall in love despite the extreme bigotry surrounding them. Notably, it was one of the first films with a transgender protagonist to reach a mainstream audience and find box office success. It succeeds by portraying Brandon not as a token trans character, but as a fleshed-out one with his own wants, needs, and characteristics. It's a rough film, and some elements of it may not have aged very well, but that doesn't erase its place in LGBTQ+ film history.

7. Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

Clocking in at three hours, Blue Is the Warmest Color is certainly a slow burn, but one that cares about and revels in its central characters. The movie centers on the young love between the young Adele and the artistic blue-haired Emma. Director Abdellatif Kechiche places the audience right in the center of the whirlwind romance with stunning visuals to highlight the emotional depths the film dives into. It manages to be a gorgeously sincere look at two young girls in love while never feeling overly sentimental. The fervency between the two leads is palpable as the radiant performances and superb cinematography work together to craft an utterly unique vision.

6. Mysterious Skin (2004)

Mysterious Skin tells the parallel story of UFO enthusiast Brian and teenage gay call boy Neil who share a painful event from the past. The two deal with their trauma in vastly different ways as Brian attempts to find the truth in alien abduction theories and Neil tries to find fulfillment in New York. Although it's a particularly harrowing film, it treats its themes and content with the greatest care, crafting a beautiful and ultimately uplifting story. Featuring a marvelous early career performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it's a hidden gem that's hard to watch but truly thought-provoking.

5. God's Own Country (2017)

This British indie flew under the radar when it premiered in 2017, which is a shame since it's one of the year's best films. It tells the story of Johnny, a depressed alcoholic farmhand who begins to rethink his life when he meets and begins to fall for Jorge. A poignant romance wrapped up in a gritty setting, this juxtaposition sets the stage for the raw passion of the leads' relationship as it develops over the course of the film. Despite the muddy backdrop, it's ultimately a story of learning how to love oneself, as well as another, and the beauty, is hidden underneath the muck.

4. Pariah (2011)

A deeply personal film, Pariah is writer/director Dee Rees's semi-autobiographical story of self-discovery. Alike is a young poet who has recently come to terms with her attraction to women and her preference to present herself androgynously. While she has supportive friends, her parents struggle with her changing identity. It presents familiar themes in a fresh way as Alike juggles her true self with her relationship with her family. That said, every character is written and played with a degree of empathy, never outright villainizing her parents for their views and helping us to understand how difficult Alike's struggle is. Equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring, Pariah manages to tap into the most human elements of coming out.

3. Love, Simon (2018)

When Love, Simon debuted in 2018, it was the first film from a major Hollywood studio to focus on gay teen romance and it made quite a splash. Simon is a secretly gay high school student who finds solace in a pen pal named Blue. The two come out to each other and Simon begins to have feelings for him even though he has no idea who he's talking to. It manages to tap into the anxieties of coming out with more than enough charm, humor, and sincerity to go around. Just as groundbreaking as it is heartwarming, Love, Simon is one of the most important LGBTQ+ movies of the 2010s.

2. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Based on André Aciman's novel by the same name, Call Me by Your Name follows seventeen-year-old Elio over a single summer in Italy. He falls for the artistic grad student Oliver and the two begin to bond and eventually have a passionate summer fling. Despite telling an admittedly simple story, the emotions are raw and true and Timothée Chalamet's phenomenal performance is a masterpiece unto itself. Director Luca Guadagnino captures the frenzied intimacy of first love with gusto with every shot more evocative than the last. The movie lives and breathes as it follows Elio on his journey and it will stay with you long after your first viewing.

1. Moonlight (2016)

As the first Best Picture winner to feature LGBTQ+ themes, Barry Jenkins' dazzling portrait of a young man growing up black and gay was the only choice for our top spot. It depicts the life of Chiron as he comes to terms with who he is in three parts as a youth, as a teen, and as an adult. Loaded with themes of race, sexuality, and identity, Moonlight reaches a depth that many films attempt but few are able to achieve. With a compelling hero and a singularly brilliant vision, it is a movie that transcends the life it portrays and is surely one we will be talking about for a long time to come.

Honorable Mention: Get Real (1998)

Honorable Mention: Alex Strangelove (2018)

Honorable Mention: But I'm A Cheerleader (1999)

Honorable Mention: I Killed My Mother (2009)

Honorable Mention: G.B.F. (2013)