Check out a pair of ‘90s wedding comedies with unexpectedly forward-thinking queer representation, a standup special, an animated series, moving indie films, and more hitting Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime this month.
Elena Undone: 10th Anniversary: August 1 on Hulu
It’s been ten years since Nicole Conn released Elena Undone, perhaps the strongest of her narrative films, each of which is about about a steamy lesbian romance. Following the titular Elena, an increasingly disinterested wife to a homophobic pastor, the film revolves around a clandestine relationship she embarks on with Peyton, an openly lesbian writer. As interested in exploring the highs of a new relationship as it is in interrogating the many ways “straight” people keep themselves closed off to potential same-sex love, Elena Undone is a captivating tale of desire, secrets, lies, and familial strife.
Four Weddings and a Funeral: August 1 on Amazon Prime and Hulu
To have a gay character in your film in the ‘90s was already something. To have a gay couple — particularly one as loving, happy, and comfortable in their own skin as Gareth and Matthew — was something else entirely. Yet Four Weddings and a Funeral took a chance, and it paid off handsomely. Starring rom-com mainstay Hugh Grant as the male equivalent to always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride, the film follows him through the titular four weddings and then a funeral where he mourns his late, gay best friend, Gareth. A charming comedy that boldly painted its chief gay romance as its healthiest relationship, Four Weddings feels just as fresh now as it did 26 years ago.
Gayby: August 1 on Hulu
This list features a number of films about friendships between gay men and straight women, but none are portrayed as cheekily as Gayby, a 2012 farce starring Matthew Wilkas and Jenn Harris as longterm friends who follow through on a pact made years prior to have a baby if they were both still single in their 30s. Full of uproarious twists, the film quickly became a favorite on the festival circuit for its witty screenplay and brilliant ensemble. And even though both characters find their own lovers in the end, Gayby insists that it wouldn’t have mattered either way, so long as they have each other.
Hurricane Bianca: August 1 on Hulu
In Hurricane Bianca, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio stars as Richard Martinez, a science teacher who is fired from his job at a Texas middle school for being gay. Left with no other options, Richard turns himself into Bianca Del Rio, a no-nonsense chemist who returns to the school that wronged him and seeks revenge against his homophobic employers. A brisk comedy carried by Bianca’s trademark sass and biting wit, Hurricane Bianca doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does provide ample laughs for anyone who counts themselves as a drag fan.
My Best Friend’s Wedding: August 1 on Hulu
After rewatching My Best Friend’s Wedding, what impressed me most was how open the 1997 film was to subverting the typical romcom ending. Instead, the movie — which stars Julia Roberts as a food critic who doesn’t realize she’s been in love with her lifelong friend until after he gets engaged to another woman — ends with its heroine not in the arms of the childhood beau she spent the entire film chasing, but in those of George (a devastatingly charming Rupert Everett), the gay best friend who supported her throughout her selfish journey to ruin her best friend’s wedding. Even at the height of the rom-com boom, My Best Friend’s Wedding dared to acknowledge that, sometimes, a friendship shared between two people who love each other can be just as important as a romantic partnership.
Pit Stop: August 1 on Hulu
Five years before he directed one of the decade’s best queer films with the superbly heartfelt AIDS masterpiece 1985, Yen Tan directed Pit Stop, a moving film about two Texan men trying to find new love in the present while tethered to complicated relationships from their past. Quiet and pensive, the 2013 film is a visibly low-budget affair, but uses its stripped-back filmmaking style to reflect the insular lives of these small-town gay men. A devastating portrait of queer loneliness, Pit Stop was an undeniable signal that great things would eventually come from this enterprising filmmaker.
What Keeps You Alive: August 1 on Netflix
Typically, one-year anniversaries are romantic — you’re still riding high off the bliss of your nascent union while celebrating an important milestone. But such isn’t the case for Jackie and Jules, the lesbian couple at the center of What Keeps You Alive. After escaping to a cabin in the woods for their anniversary, Jules quickly figures out that Jackie may have ulterior motives for their remote getaway. An unnerving, bloody thriller, What Keeps You Alive is the perfect offering for queer horror fans looking for some scares that also speak to their own sexual identities.
Almost Love: August 2 on Netflix
I first fell in love with Almost Love after seeing it as the Opening Night selection for last year’s NewFest, when it was still titled Sell By. An ensemble comedy about a group of friends navigating life and love in their 30s, Mike Doyle’s directorial debut centers on the complicated five-year relationship between two gay men (a painter played by Scott Evans and a menswear influencer played by The Morning Show’s Augustus Prew) who are now struggling to envision a future with each other. A nonstop laugh-riot with appearances from Patricia Clarkson, Zoe Chao, Kate Walsh, and of course, Michelle Buteau, Almost Love is a charming rom-com that doubles as a love letter to the nonstop hustle and bustle of New York City.
Sam Jay: 3 In the Morning: August 4 on Netflix
Sam Jay has served as Saturday Night Live’s only Black lesbian staff writer since 2017, but with the premiere of her hour-long Netflix special, it’s hard to imagine a world where the queer comedian doesn’t blow up into so much more. A raw and unfiltered peak into her twisted brain, 3 In the Morning is an unapologetic assault on propriety, featuring jokes about the hatred she harbors for dick-sucking, the over-preparedness of white people, Waffle House, and the paranoia she often has about pooping on airplanes (her explanation is surprisingly scientific).
Work It: August 7 on Netflix
In Work It, Sabrina Carpenter stars as buttoned-up high-school senior Quinn Ackerman, who believes that her only way into Duke University is by forming a dance team and winning a prestigious competition. Filled with mesmerizing dance sequences and an endless stream of modern references (“Can you do for the cello what Lizzo does for the flute?” Michelle Buteau asks while pointing out how boilerplate Quinn’s high school resume is), Work It is a zippy teenage romp about chosen family that also stars YouTube sensation Liza Koshy as Quinn’s supportive best friend, To All the Boys’ Jordan Fisher as her love interest, and former them. cover star Keiynan Lonsdale as sassy dancer Isaiah (who insists that you call him “Julliard”).
The Legend of Korra, Seasons 1-4: August 14 on Netflix
When Game of Thrones came to its less-than-stellar conclusion, many were quick to point out that, when it comes to fantasy series that require tons of world-building, Avatar: The Last Airbender and its spinoff, The Legend of Korra, were much more adept at sticking the landing. Earlier this year, Netflix brought the entirety of the former series to its library, and now, just as you might be approaching the end of that 61-episode journey, they are adding the latter — which I’d argue is better than its predecessor, not only because it centers the experience of a complicated young woman, but also because it was a Nickolodeon show that dared to end on a note that confirmed it had been about the romantic connection between two women all along.
Trinkets, The Final Season: August 25 on Netflix
Most high-schoolers form their friendships in the classroom, but for the trio at the center of Trinkets, sometimes your best friendships are formed at Shoplifters Anonymous meetings. Based on the novel by Kirsten Smith, Trinkets follows three very different girls who find solace in each other after bonding over their shared kleptomania. Its second season picks up where the first season ended, immediately diving back into lesbian lead Elodie’s (openly queer actress Brianna Hildebrand) controversial decision to go on tour with a girl she barely knows. A heartfelt exploration of teen angst, Trinkets is unfortunately ending after this season.
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