Reflecting changing social attitudes and increasing presence in mainstream cinema, American lesbian films have changed drastically over the past four decades. From innovative masterpieces like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” to timeless works like “Desert Hearts,” these films highlight the many experiences of lesbian and gay women in American society. Thirty great American lesbian films, carefully chosen depending on critical praise, cultural influence, and narrative quality, are gathered in this thorough reference.
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Drive-Away Dolls (2024)
🎬 Release Year: 2024
⭐ Our Rating: 3.5/5
📺 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, VOD platforms (coming soon)
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Ethan Coen co-written with his partner Tricia Cooke marks his solo directorial debut on this gay road trip comedy. Originally called “Drive-Away Dykes” and conceptualised more than ten years ago, the movie pays tribute to Russ Meyer’s action/sex/comedy approach. From Philadelphia to Miami, the narrative centres on a party girl and her conservative buddy who come across decapitated heads in trunks, sour exes, enigmatic bags, and an evil senator on route. The movie honours Cynthia Plaster Caster, the renowned artist who created plaster casts of rock singers’ private body parts between the 1960s–2000s including Jimi Hendrix and other female performers. With its mix of hilarious comedy, LGBT representation, and road trip adventure, this movie presents a novel perspective on the lesbian road movie subgenre given Coen’s unique directorial style.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
🎬 Release Year: 2022
⌛ Runtime: 139 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
✨ A genre-defying masterpiece about family, love, and identity
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Following Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese-American immigrant battling to embrace her daughter’s sexuality throughout several universes, this mind-bending masterpiece is The movie deftly combines science fiction ideas with a profoundly emotional narrative about generational trauma and acceptance. Beyond its innovative portrayal, it is evidence of the strength of unqualified love in all its manifestations.
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Am I OK?
🎬 Release Year: 2022
⌛ Runtime: 86 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: HBO Max
✨ A refreshing take on late-blooming love
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Lucy’s coming out in her 30s causes a seismic change in the lifetime friendship between Lucy and Jane. This movie distinguishes itself by accurately depicting finding your sexuality later in life. Dakota Johnson gives a heroine negotiating self-discovery much into her adolescent years sensitivity and genuineness. The movie masterfully shows how you may embrace your actual self at any point in life.
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Crush
🎬 Release Year: 2022
⌛ Runtime: 92 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu, YouTube
✨ A delightful rom-com that breaks the mold
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: This great teen comedy turns the script on conventional high school romance. Joining the track team to follow her crush, an aspirant artist discovers she is falling in love with someone quite different. The movie sees queerness as simply another aspect of high school life: no anxiety, just real teen romance with all its awkward, lovely moments.
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Looking for Her
🎬 Release Year: 2022
⌛ Runtime: 95 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A heartwarming holiday romance
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: One issue arises when Taylor’s family wants to see her girlfriend “Jess” for Christmas: they have already split up. Her fix is Hiring an actress from a newspaper advertisement. Olive answers the ad “Look for Her” and struggles financially in meantime. From a basic layout, what develops a moving tale about discovering love in unlikely locations?
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Ma Belle, My Beauty
🎬 Release Year: 2021
⌛ Runtime: 93 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A sensual exploration of past relationships
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Against the breathtaking setting of Southern France, this indie treasure follows former polyamorous couples whose unplanned reunion sparks old loves and jealousies. The movie celebrates the beauty of French country life while deftly examining difficult marital dynamics.
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See You Then
🎬 Release Year: 2021
⌛ Runtime: 74 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ An intimate look at love and transition
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Ten years following their split, Kris invites her ex Naomi to dinner for a night of healing and introspection. The film presents a complex study of identity, development, and the changing nature of love as they investigate their common history and personal paths—including Kris’s transition.
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Walk With Me
🎬 Release Year: 2021
⌛ Runtime: 90 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Netflix, YouTube
✨ A journey of self-discovery and new beginnings
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: This sensitive film catches the complexity of coming out later in life after following the emotional trip of a young mother who leaves her spouse to find her place in the world. Her unplanned relationship with another lady creates fresh opportunities for self-discovery and love.
The Half of It
🎬 Release Year: 2020
⌛ Runtime: 104 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Netflix
✨ A fresh spin on classic romance
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Following quiet student Ellie Chu as she assists a jock in writing love letters to a lady they both secretly love, Director Alice Wu creates a careful updating of Cyrano de Bergerac. Set in a tiny village, the film, with real heart and realism, investigates sexuality, cultural identity, and familial expectations achieving a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
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Spring
🎬 Release Year: 2020
⌛ Runtime: 88 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A gentle coming-of-age story
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: With amazing realism, this subtle drama catches the known events of high school life. Offering a fantastic mood-lifter after a difficult day, the film addresses friendship, the excitement of college, and the pleasure of being honest to oneself through its straightforward but touching technique.
Booksmart
🎬 Release Year: 2019
⌛ Runtime: 102 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A witty celebration of female friendship and self-discovery
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Olivia Wilde’s first directing reinvents the high school comedy for a fresh audience. The film stands out for its easy inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters following two overachievers seeking to fit four years of fun into one night. Amy’s queerness is simply a feature of who she is; it does not create drama.
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City of Trees
🎬 Release Year: 2019
⌛ Runtime: 82 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A quiet exploration of self-discovery
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: The movie centres a lady battling social anxiety and unemployment who unexpectedly connects with former high school classmate Sophie. Its real depiction of personal development and developing relationship shows how love may motivate good transformation, therefore drawing viewers in even without much drama or conflict.
Mercy’s Girl
🎬 Release Year: 2018
⌛ Runtime: 96 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A story of faith, love, and acceptance
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: This film gently explores the junction of faith and sexuality following Mercy, a very religious woman whose purposeful life alters after a fortuitous meeting with a special girl at a restaurant. Their inherent bond results in a partnership that questions religious ideas and family expectations.
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The Miseducation of Cameron Post
🎬 Release Year: 2018
⌛ Runtime: 91 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
✨ A powerful indictment of conversion therapy wrapped in a coming-of-age story
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: As Cameron, a teenage sent-to- a conversion therapy centre student, Chloë Grace Moretz gives a breakout performance. Based on Emily M. Danforth’s praised book, the movie strikes a mix between its dark subjects and moments of resistance and optimism. Its careful treatment of difficult material earned the Sundance Grand Jury Prize.
JT LeRoy
🎬 Release Year: 2018
⌛ Runtime: 108 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A fascinating exploration of identity and authenticity
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Inspired by a real-life literary controversy, this riveting drama stars Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart in a tale of how a celebrated late ’90s LGBTQ novelist was exposed to be a hoax. The movie explores closely issues of gender, identity, and the stories we tell others and ourselves.
First Girl I Loved
🎬 Release Year: 2016
⌛ Runtime: 90 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Netflix
✨ A raw and honest portrayal of first love
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Based on the genuine experiences of the director’s sister, the movie centres on 17-year-old Anne falling in love with the most sought-after student in her school. The scenario gets wonderfully complex when she tells her best friend Clifton, who secretly loves her. With amazing compassion, the movie catches the real discomfort and intensity of adolescent love.
And Then There Was Eve
🎬 Release Year: 2017
⌛ Runtime: 98 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A complex exploration of love and identity
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: This careful drama centres on a woman struggling with the death of her husband and unintentionally discovers love with someone else. The movie gently explores ideas of loss, identity, and the surprising pathways love can follow.
Carol
🎬 Release Year: 2015
⌛ Runtime: 118 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Netflix
✨ A masterful period romance
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Filmed in 1950s New York, this remarkable dramatisation stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in a forbidden love story that questions social mores. With great care to detail, Director Todd Haynes creates every frame winning six Oscar nominations. The way the movie explores desire and disobedience against mid-century American conformity is still quite relevant.
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Freeheld
🎬 Release Year: 2015
⌛ Runtime: 103 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
✨ A powerful true story of love and justice
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: As Laurel Hester, a decorated police woman battling terminal disease and bureaucracy to get pension benefits for her domestic partner (Ellen Page), Julianne Moore starred. Based on actual events, the movie effectively shows how the continuous struggle for equal rights and social progress may be sparked by personal love stories.
Camp Belvidere
🎬 Release Year: 2014
⌛ Runtime: 86 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A summer romance with depth and heart
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Set in a summer camp, this indie treasure chronicles the passionate love affair between 18-year-old camp leader Rose and the experienced camp nurse Gin. Their relationship grows organically against the summer activities, allowing a gentle investigation of first love and age-gap romance.
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A Perfect Ending
🎬 Release Year: 2012
⌛ Runtime: 110 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A sophisticated exploration of late-life awakening
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: As Rebecca, a supposedly flawless housewife whose life transforms upon meeting a high-end escort called Paris, Barbara Niven starred. The movie deftly explores issues of sexual awakening, personal independence, and the bravery to pursue pleasure at any stage.
The Kids Are All Right
🎬 Release Year: 2010
⌛ Runtime: 106 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Hulu
✨ A groundbreaking family drama
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Annette Bening and Julianne Moore depict a long-term couple whose family dynamic changes when their kids go looking for their sperm donor father. With its presentation of same-sex family relationships with until unheard-of complexity and nuance, the movie broke new ground and earned four Academy Award nominations so helping to normalise LGBTQ+ families in mainstream media.
Elena Undone
🎬 Release Year: 2010
⌛ Runtime: 111 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A passionate story of forbidden love
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: When Elena, the wife of a pastor and photographer, meets confident out lesbian Peyton, their initial relationship questions all Elena believed about love and identity. The movie looks at ideas of religious faith, sincerity, and the transforming force of love.
Loving Annabelle
🎬 Release Year: 2006
⌛ Runtime: 76 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video, YouTube
✨ A controversial yet sensitive exploration of forbidden love
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Filmed in a Catholic boarding school, it traces the complicated connection between student Annabelle and her instructor Simone. The film investigates ideas of religion, obligation, and unexpected connection while gently managing its contentious topic. The lead chemistry gives this difficult story more nuance.
Saving Face
🎬 Release Year: 2004
⌛ Runtime: 91 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Netflix
✨ A tender exploration of love across cultural boundaries
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: The ground-breaking film directed by Alice Wu centres on Wil, a Chinese-American physician juggling her love for a dancer named Vivian with her work and conventional family values. Wil has to negotiate difficult family responsibilities as her unwed mother arrives pregnant in search of her own happiness. The movie deftly combines universal ideas of love and acceptance with cultural sensitivity.
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What Makes a Family
🎬 Release Year: 2001
⌛ Runtime: 120 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A pioneering story of LGBTQ+ family rights
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: As Jenny, Brooke Shields plays creates a family using artificial insemination with her spouse. Jenny has to battle her partner’s parents for custody of their child when disaster strikes and her partner dies. For LGBTQ+ couples, this innovative movie addresses significant concerns of legal recognition and family rights.
If These Walls Could Talk 2
🎬 Release Year: 2000
⌛ Runtime: 96 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: HBO Max
✨ A powerful anthology spanning three decades
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Three stories set in the same house spanning several eras are told in this innovative HBO movie. From a moving account of 1961’s partnership rights to a contemporary narrative about beginning a family in 2000, every section reflects the changes in lesbian life in America. Ellen DeGeneres, Sharon Stone, and Vanessa Redgrave provide really strong performances.
High Art
🎬 Release Year: 1998
⌛ Runtime: 101 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
✨ A complex drama about art, love, and ambition
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Star in this highly praised picture about a magazine editor pulled into the seductive realm of a famous photographer are Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell. Against the artistic landscape of New York, the film deftly addresses ideas of passion, creativity, and addiction with unvarnished truth. The subtle technique of director Lisa Cholodenko won the movie immediate cult popularity.
The Truth About Jane
🎬 Release Year: 1996
⌛ Runtime: 87 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A sensitive coming-out story
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Particularly with her mother, this made-for- TV movie tracks young Jane as she comes to terms with her sexuality and negotiates family connections. The way the movie realistically depicts family dynamics and the coming-out process in middle America is remarkable.
Bound
🎬 Release Year: 1996
⌛ Runtime: 108 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Prime Video
✨ A groundbreaking neo-noir thriller
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Combining classic noir elements with a torrid romance between an ex-con (Gina Gershon) and a mobster’s fiancée ( Jennifer Tilly), the Wachowski sisters’ directorial debut With real chemistry between its stars, this chic thriller broke genre preconceptions. Still a pillar of lesbian film, the movie is recognised for its mix of suspense, romance, and assertive female protagonists.
Desert Hearts
🎬 Release Year: 1985
⌛ Runtime: 96 minutes
📺 Where to Watch: Criterion Channel, YouTube
✨ A pioneering lesbian romance
👀 Why It’s Worth Watching: Filmed in 1959 Reno, this innovative movie centres on a professor looking for a divorce who develops feelings for a free-spirited young woman. What many believe to be the first major positive representation of lesbian love was produced by Director Donna Deitch Notable for its realistic depiction of same-sex romance and hopeful ending, the movie helped open the path for next LGBTQ+ films.
American lesbian film’s terrain is always changing, with fresh ideas and narrative devices offered by every decade. From personal indie dramas to big hits, these thirty films highlight the finest of LGBTQ+ narrative in American film. Whether your taste is in romantic comedies, intense tragedies, or coming-of-age tales, this library has something for any audience and records the development of lesbian presence in films.
FAQs About American Lesbian Movies
Q: What are the most recent American lesbian movies worth watching?
A: Recent standouts include “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022), “Crush” (2022), and “Am I OK?” (2022). These films showcase modern storytelling with fresh perspectives on LGBTQ+ experiences.
Q: Which American lesbian movies have received the most critical acclaim?
A: “Carol” (2015, six Oscar nominations), “The Kids Are All Right” (2010, four Oscar nominations), and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022, Academy Award winner) are among the most critically acclaimed.
Q: What are some good American lesbian movies for teenagers?
A: “Crush” (2022), “The Half of It” (2020), and “Booksmart” (2019) offer positive, age-appropriate representations of young lesbian and queer experiences.
Q: Where can I watch American lesbian movies?
A: Most films in our guide are available on major streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max. Some classics might require rental or purchase from specialized streaming services.
Q: What was the first mainstream American lesbian movie?
A: “Desert Hearts” (1985) is often considered the first mainstream American film to positively portray a lesbian relationship, paving the way for future LGBTQ+ cinema.
