The Best LGBT Teen Movies
by kjtenorman | created - 04 Feb 2016 | updated - 08 Dec 2019 | PublicThe best LGBT-themed films centered around teen and young adult characters. Listed chronologically by release date.
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1. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
R | 104 min | Drama
Two best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert
Votes: 62,085 | Gross: $6.40M
2. Totally F***ed Up (1993)
TV-MA | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Six queer teenagers struggle to get along with each other and with life in the face of varying obstacles.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: James Duval, Roko Belic, Susan Behshid, Jenee Gill
Votes: 3,947 | Gross: $0.10M
3. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
R | 99 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent
Votes: 67,792 | Gross: $3.05M
4. The Toilers and the Wayfarers (1995)
76 min | Drama, Romance
Phillip and Dieter nearly suffocate hiding their sexual identity in the face of puritanical small town values. Joined by a mysterious German relative, the three misfits escape to the big city searching for a place to belong.
Director: Keith Froelich | Stars: Matt Klemp, Ralf Schirg, Andrew Woodhouse, Jerome Samuels
Votes: 553
5. The Doom Generation (1995)
R | 83 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Jordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech, Cress Williams
Votes: 17,984 | Gross: $0.26M
6. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An adventurous love story between two young women of different social and economic backgrounds who find themselves going through all the typical struggles of a new romance.
Director: Maria Maggenti | Stars: Laurel Holloman, Nicole Ari Parker, Maggie Moore, Kate Stafford
Votes: 5,099 | Gross: $1.98M
7. Johns (1996)
R | 96 min | Drama, Romance
It's the day before Christmas, the day before John's 21st birthday. He's a prostitute on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., and he wants to spend that night and the next day at the posh Park Plaza ... See full summary »
Director: Scott Silver | Stars: David Arquette, Lukas Haas, Tony Epper, John C. McGinley
Votes: 1,823 | Gross: $0.05M
8. The Delta (1996)
Unrated | 85 min | Drama
In Memphis, a middle-class white teenager and a black Vietnamese immigrant meet in a gay cruising spot and discover what they don't have in common.
Director: Ira Sachs | Stars: Shayne Gray, Thang Chan, Rachel Zan Huss, Colonious David
Votes: 864 | Gross: $0.02M
9. Beautiful Thing (1996)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Jamie is a shy teenager, often bullied at school. His neighbour Ste has a rough time at home, being beaten by his father and brother. This issues bring them together and they find that what they feel for each other is more than friendship.
Director: Hettie Macdonald | Stars: Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson
Votes: 25,873 | Gross: $1.50M
10. All Over Me (1997)
R | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Claude and Ellen are best friends who live in a not-so-nice area of New York. They're involved in the subculture of '90s youth, complete with drugs, live music, and homophobia. All is ... See full summary »
Director: Alex Sichel | Stars: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser, Wilson Cruz
Votes: 3,483 | Gross: $0.15M
11. Nowhere (1997)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Follows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles high school students and the strange lives they lead.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: James Duval, Rachel True, Nathan Bexton, Chiara Mastroianni
Votes: 10,294 | Gross: $0.03M
12. Edge of Seventeen (1998)
TV-MA | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
Director: David Moreton | Stars: Chris Stafford, Tina Holmes, Andersen Gabrych, Stephanie McVay
Votes: 7,137 | Gross: $0.87M
13. Get Real (1998)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.
Director: Simon Shore | Stars: Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton, Charlotte Brittain, Stacy Hart
Votes: 14,771 | Gross: $1.20M
14. The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
In June, 1983, in Dutchess County, New York, Sebastian Cole joins his mother, step-father, and sister for dinner. Hank, Sebastian's step-father, drops a bomb: he announces he's changing ... See full summary »
Director: Tod Williams | Stars: Adrian Grenier, Clark Gregg, Aleksa Palladino, Margaret Colin
Votes: 2,026 | Gross: $0.10M
15. 54 (1998)
R | 93 min | Drama, Music
The famous 1970s New York City nightclub seen and told through the eyes of a young employee.
Director: Mark Christopher | Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers
Votes: 34,689 | Gross: $16.57M
16. Election (1999)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Romance
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Loren Nelson, Chris Klein
Votes: 105,114 | Gross: $14.88M
17. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
R | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III
Votes: 103,802 | Gross: $11.53M
18. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
Director: Jamie Babbit | Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams, Brandt Wille
Votes: 41,416 | Gross: $2.21M
19. Coming Soon (1999)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Romance
The trials and tribulations of wealthy young Manhattanites and their sexual coming of age, a romantic comedy set at an Upper East Side preparatory school.
Director: Colette Burson | Stars: Bonnie Root, Gaby Hoffmann, Tricia Vessey, James Roday Rodriguez
Votes: 1,847 | Gross: $0.00M
20. And Then Came Summer (2000)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A reunion of family and friends becomes an unforgettable vacation when two teenage boys discover their feelings for each other, only to be found out by their families.
Director: Jeff London | Stars: Patrick Webber, Tim Madonna, Holly Waddell, Mathieu Smith
Votes: 487
21. L.I.E. (2001)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama
A 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.
Director: Michael Cuesta | Stars: Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay
Votes: 10,494 | Gross: $1.14M
22. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.
Director: Roger Avary | Stars: James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel
Votes: 53,618 | Gross: $6.53M
23. The Mudge Boy (2003)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The film follows the story of Duncan, a fourteen-year-old misfit farm boy trying to fill the void and alleviate the numbness left by his mother's passing. Unable to let her go quite yet, ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Burke | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Richard Jenkins, Tom Guiry, Pablo Schreiber
Votes: 4,700
24. Camp (2003)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Musical, Drama
After a series of Broadway flops, songwriter Bert Hanley (Dixon) goes to work at a musical camp for young performers. Inspired by the kids, he finds an opportunity to regain success by staging an altogether new production.
Director: Todd Graff | Stars: Don Dixon, Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin de Jesus
Votes: 6,195 | Gross: $1.63M
25. Mysterious Skin (2004)
Unrated | 105 min | Drama
Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elisabeth Shue, Chase Ellison
Votes: 76,708 | Gross: $0.70M
26. Dorian Blues (2004)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
High school senior Dorian begins a gay man's odyssey when he determines that he's gay and decides to come out. Chief among concerns is the reaction of his father, who has never liked him.
Director: Tennyson Bardwell | Stars: Michael McMillian, Lea Coco, Steve Fletcher, Mo Quigley
Votes: 2,504 | Gross: $0.07M
27. A Home at the End of the World (2004)
R | 97 min | Drama, Romance
A boy who has experienced many losses in his life grows to manhood and enters into a love triangle with a woman and his boyhood friend.
Director: Michael Mayer | Stars: Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Robin Wright, Sissy Spacek
Votes: 14,060 | Gross: $1.03M
28. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallée
Votes: 34,306
29. The Curiosity of Chance (2006)
98 min | Comedy
A confident, out-of-the-closet gay teenager has the support of an eclectic range of friends while dealing with a homophobic bully during his first year at an international high school.
Director: Russell P. Marleau | Stars: Tad Hilgenbrink, Brett Chukerman, Aldevina Da Silva, Pieter Van Nieuwenhuyze
Votes: 3,176
30. Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
A lyrical telling of the coming of age of a 13-year-old boy who learns to cope with his newfound sexuality and his unrequited love for the cool kid in school.
Director: Cam Archer | Stars: Malcolm Stumpf, Patrick White, Max Paradise, Fairuza Balk
Votes: 2,297 | Gross: $0.01M
31. Another Gay Movie (2006)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy, Romance
Four gay high school friends make a pact to lose their virginity before they go to college.
Director: Todd Stephens | Stars: Michael Carbonaro, Jonathan Chase, Jonah Blechman, Mitch Morris
Votes: 9,481 | Gross: $0.65M
32. Running with Scissors (2006)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
A teenage boy comes of age in the 1970's, sent by his neurotic, pretentious mother to live with a jolly, vulgar psychiatrist and his eccentric extended family.
Director: Ryan Murphy | Stars: Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Gwyneth Paltrow
Votes: 23,282 | Gross: $6.75M
33. Shelter (II) (2007)
R | 97 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
When his college dreams are sidelined by family obligations, a young man finds comfort in surfing with his best friend's brother.
Director: Jonah Markowitz | Stars: Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, Tina Holmes, Jackson Wurth
Votes: 24,160 | Gross: $0.14M
34. Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007)
Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
High School grad and all American gal, Anna, finds her purpose and herself after she hooks up with the radical feminists in The Itty Bitty Titty Committee.
Director: Jamie Babbit | Stars: Melonie Diaz, Ana Mercedes, Cecile Rivore, Marisa Ramirez
Votes: 3,039 | Gross: $0.02M
35. Were the World Mine (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A bullied and demoralized gay student at an all-boys school uses a magical flower derived from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream' to turn many in his community gay, including a comely rugby player for himself.
Director: Tom Gustafson | Stars: Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams
Votes: 5,936 | Gross: $0.12M
36. Dream Boy (2008)
R | 88 min | Drama, Romance
Based on the novel "Dream Boy" by Jim Grimsley, this film chronicles the relationship between two gay teenagers in the rural south in the late 70's.
Director: James Bolton | Stars: Stephan Bender, Thomas Jay Ryan, Diana Scarwid, Tom Gilroy
Votes: 4,414 | Gross: $0.01M
37. Tru Loved (2008)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Tru moves to a conservative suburb where her friendship with the closeted football player is jeopardized when she starts their school's first Gay-Straight Alliance.
Director: Stewart Wade | Stars: Najarra Townsend, J.J. Soria, Howard Booth, Jay Costelo
Votes: 952 | Gross: $0.01M
38. Kaboom (2010)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
A sexually "undeclared" college freshman's clairvoyant/prophetic dreams are the first sign that something very strange is going on involving his classmates -- with him at the center.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida
Votes: 13,883 | Gross: $0.12M
39. North Sea Texas (2011)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Romance
A teenage boy's search for love finds him fixated on a boy who lives nearby.
Director: Bavo Defurne | Stars: Ben Van den Heuvel, Eva van der Gucht, Thomas Coumans, Katelijne Damen
Votes: 10,025 | Gross: $0.03M
40. Private Romeo (2011)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A modern take on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. Set at an isolated all-boys military academy, it follows the forbidden relationship between two cadets.
Director: Alan Brown | Stars: Hale Appleman, Charlie Barnett, Adam Barrie, Chris Bresky
Votes: 2,418
41. Pariah (I) (2011)
R | 86 min | Drama
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Director: Dee Rees | Stars: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Pernell Walker
Votes: 7,601 | Gross: $0.76M
42. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 550,888 | Gross: $17.74M
43. Nate & Margaret (2012)
Not Rated | 80 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Nate is nineteen. Margaret is fifty-two. Their odd, quirky, totally working friendship gets rattled when Nate gets his first boyfriend, who drives him away from Margaret as she tries to pursue a life as a stand-up comedian.
Director: Nathan Adloff | Stars: Natalie West, Tyler Ross, Conor McCahill, Gaby Hoffmann
Votes: 600
44. Geography Club (2013)
PG-13 | 84 min | Comedy, Drama
At Goodkind High School, a group of students with varying sexual orientations form an after-school club as a discreet way to share their feelings and experiences.
Director: Gary Entin | Stars: Cameron Deane Stewart, Justin Deeley, Meaghan Martin, Wesley Eure
Votes: 6,292
45. G.B.F. (2013)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
What happens after Tanner is outed by his classmates and becomes the title "gay best friend" for three high school queen bees?
Director: Darren Stein | Stars: Michael J. Willett, Paul Iacono, Sasha Pieterse, Andrea Bowen
Votes: 11,505
46. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 163,987 | Gross: $2.20M
47. The Way He Looks (2014)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.
Director: Daniel Ribeiro | Stars: Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim, Lúcia Romano
Votes: 27,782 | Gross: $0.10M
48. Pride (I) (2014)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Director: Matthew Warchus | Stars: Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine
Votes: 61,972
49. Date and Switch (2014)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two guys who make a pact to lose their virginity before prom find their friendship tested when one of them comes out of the closet.
Director: Chris Nelson | Stars: Nicholas Braun, Hunter Cope, Dakota Johnson, Gary Cole
Votes: 8,519
50. Boys (2014 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A sexually awakening gay teen athlete finds himself in a budding relationship with his mutually attracted relay race teammate.
Director: Mischa Kamp | Stars: Gijs Blom, Ko Zandvliet, Jonas Smulders, Ton Kas
Votes: 16,226
51. Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015)
Unrated | 87 min | Drama
Preacher's kid Henry Gamble is turning 17 today. Bring your swimsuit.
Director: Stephen Cone | Stars: Cole Doman, Joe Keery, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Pat Healy
Votes: 3,378
52. Closet Monster (2015)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A creative and driven teenager is desperate to escape his hometown and the haunting memories of his turbulent childhood.
Director: Stephen Dunn | Stars: Aaron Abrams, Jack Fulton, Joanne Kelly, Isabella Rossellini
Votes: 9,256 | Gross: $0.04M
53. Slash (I) (2016)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Freshman Neil's Vanguard stories are all he cares about...until he meets the older Julia, who pushes him to put his own fan fic online. When the website's moderator takes a special interest in Neil's work, it opens up a whole new universe.
Director: Clay Liford | Stars: Tishuan Scott, Lucas Neff, Courtney Bandeko, Michael Johnston
Votes: 1,212
54. Call Me by Your Name (2017)
R | 132 min | Drama, Romance
In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
Director: Luca Guadagnino | Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar
Votes: 317,029 | Gross: $18.10M
55. Love, Simon (2018)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Simon Spier keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends and all of his classmates: he's gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
Director: Greg Berlanti | Stars: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford
Votes: 126,464 | Gross: $40.83M
56. Alex Strangelove (2018)
TV-MA | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Alex, high school class president, nerd and a straight A student, has been dating Claire a long time. They decide to sleep together but then he meets a gay guy and he's confused.
Director: Craig Johnson | Stars: Michael Abela, Daniel Doheny, Brendan Archer, Madeline Weinstein
Votes: 19,642
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