Happy Pride month, hopeful romantics! This month is especially exciting since we can -finally! - see friends with the weather getting warmer and things opening up in Ontario. With all that excitement, don't forget to take some time to kick back and watch one (or more) of our incredible picks for June. From funny to emotional to campy, we hope that the movies on this list bring you as much joy as they brought us <3
The Half of It
Netflix
A rom-com lover since I was young, I think I unconsciously searched for this romantic comedy in recent years when many romantic comedies did not incite this type of yearning nor perfectly illustrate what it means to be understood. The fairly recent success of Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys I Loved Before likely further ensured that there would be an audience, ripe to watch this film, led by personable Asian protagonist Ellie (Leah Lewis), but Alice Wu, director of this film is very much a veteran of bringing diversity to the silver screen. And she does it well, capturing elegantly the meaning of feeling different in many ways, beyond and within traditional high school subscribed thought (sexual orientation, ethnicity, maturity, intelligence, and class). Importantly, she also illustrates the uncanny talent for unlikely humans to understand and see each other for who they are. There’s something refreshing about the depiction of love in this film - you find yourself falling in love with every single character, a difficult feat. Love is shown not always in grand overreaching gestures, but as realistic, kind and gentle (and often awkward and/or food-oriented). I’d argue that the main three characters are some of the most endearing and charming personas written in recent years - Ellie is genuine and sharp, Aster is effortlessly magnetic, while Paul remains so sweetly clueless, and all three are caught in some of the most beautifully frustrating and satisfying romantic dynamics. The script and execution of scenes flushed with dramatic irony are incredible and hilarious and ultimately make me wish I could experience this again for the first time. I can’t, but if you’ve been living under a rock, this romantic comedy is not worth missing out on - I’d argue it reignited my love for romantic comedies and reminded me of the best of love. Take a bold stroke, and take a look.
- Alexa
Alex Strangelove
Netflix
Alex Strangelove is centred around Alex Truelove (what a name for a rom-com!) a high school senior and self described “wildlife nerd” who starts dating his long-time best friend Claire, with whom he runs an animal-focused video series at their school. Sounds like the typical rom-com where the one you were looking for was there all along right? Not quite. This movie - like real life - is a bit more complicated. After his friends make fun of him for waiting a long time to have sex with his girlfriend, Alex and Claire make a plan to get a hotel room the following week. However, during the preceding week, while Alex is getting increasingly nervous about having sex for the first time, he goes to a party and meets Elliot, who immediately clicks with Alex and shows an interest in him, leading Alex to question his sexuality. Alex Strangelove is a dorky, insightful, feel-good movie about friendship, finding yourself, and overcoming the obstacles that that brings. It’s also got an amazing scene of Elliot dancing to the B-52’s “Dance This Mess Around” - a true classic!
- Kate
Kissing Jessica Stein
Disney +
Offering a delightful new take on the successful-but-single-career-woman trope, Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) follows the neurotic Jessica, a Jewish editor for a New York magazine who has grown weary at her unsuccessful, repetitive attempts at heterosexual relationships. Jessica has a penchant for the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and happens to find a shared love for the poet with the free-spirited Helen Cooper, who works at an art gallery. The Rilke quote that sets up the ethos and groundwork of the film goes something like this: stagnation is not only to blame for the incessant monotony and repetition of relationships that never go right; it is also shyness, uncertainty, and the fear of stepping out one’s feigned sense of comfort and normalcy that prevents one from experiencing something new in relationships. What is unique about this film is that there is an authenticity to their relationship in the sense that it is an exploration of each other and their bisexuality is that it is not catered to men, and it resists being a site of spectacle, awe, and objectification. Kissing Jessica Stein is not only a film about lesbianism and bisexuality; it is also about traversing the fluidity of sexuality, the blurring of lines in friendships and romantic relationships, and about discovering parts of yourself that were previously dormant. As Jessica and Helen discuss, finding the “right one” requires some blending, that’s not unlike the blending one does with their favorite lipsticks in order to create that one desirable shade! - Monica
I Love You Phillip Morris
Kanopy
Based on a true story, I Love You Phillip Morris is about the real con artist Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) who escaped prison multiple times to reunite with his boyfriend Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). It’s a darkly comedic movie with lots of scheming and plot twists - but at its core, it's really about the power of love. Steven begins the movie as a church-going cop with a wife and child, but after a brutal car crash, he re-evaluates his life and decides to embrace being gay. He leaves his family and moves to Florida where he gets a boyfriend and becomes a con man. All the lying and illegal activities catch up to him, and he is sent to prison, where he meets the love of his life, Phillip Morris. When they are separated, Steven will do whatever it takes to reunite with him, and breaks out of prison multiple times to do just that. I Love You Phillip Morris is surprising and funny, and yet (incredibly) true.
- Emma
Love, Simon
Criterion On Demand
Do we love Love, Simon? Potentially. Do we like Love, Simon? Oh, I think so. Do we love what Love, Simon means to generations of young people? Absolutely. Look, this is what straights got by the dozen in the 2000s so it’s about time the LGBTQ community got a piece of the mainstream Hollywood studio love story pie. It has all the hallmarks not of a great movie but of a great romcom. It’s heartwarming, sentimental, mildly comedic, and goes down easy. Watch this movie if you like: romantic scenes at carnivals, adults playing high schoolers (a rom-com tradition that they couldn’t pass up!) and/or movies about blackmail.
- Macy
But I’m a Cheerleader
Amazon Prime, Tubi
This film was exactly what I thought it was going to be but also the opposite of what I thought it would be. Extremely fun and camp, But I’m a Cheerleader is about a cheerleader whose conservative family and friends, convinced she is gay because she is a vegetarian, send her to a conversation therapy camp where she discovers that she is, in fact, queer and falls for another girl there. Sounds kind of tormented and upsetting, right? Well, it is, but it isn’t. Leaning heavily into the set design and the screenplay, this film is so tongue in cheek, it’s tongue in throat. I mean, it stars RuPaul as a camp counsellor (emphasis on camp). Way ahead of its time (but now a cult classic), But I’m a Cheerleader is the most fun you’ll have watching a rom-com about conversation therapy.
- Macy
Big Eden
Kanopy
Big Eden is slow-moving and charming; as a love story set in a small town (and set to country music), it would be easy to dismiss this movie as cheesy - but instead, Big Eden manages to be genuine and heartfelt. When artist Henry Hart finds out his grandfather has had a stroke, he moves from New York back to his small hometown, Big Eden. While back, he re-connects with the townspeople, wrestles with his feelings about an old friend and with coming out to his grandfather, all while falling in love. The townspeople of Big Eden are supportive and overly involved as they try to ensure a happy ending for all. I’d recommend this movie if you want to be transported to a picturesque small town, where community and family are what matters most!
- Emma
Rafiki
Kanopy
This movie was somehow light as a feather yet as heavy as a stone. Candid but also transparent in its storytelling, this film is a refreshing, queer take on Romeo & Juliet. It’s rather fast-paced and doesn’t dwell in one spot for long at all, making each beat a new plot point, essentially. This is a unique take on other romance films that dwell and sit in the slow moments. While there are few of those, overall it was an expansive, full Shakespearean play packed in a tight 83 minutes. The two main actresses, playing politically-opposing romantic leads, had great chemistry and sunk into their roles, while the supporting actors rounded out the cast enthusiastically. If you’re in the mood for a crisp take on the star-crossed lovers trope set in modern-day Kenya, this is your film.
- Macy
Imagine Me & You
Amazon Prime
This movie was so much more fun than either of us thought it would be. It’s certainly a product of its time (2005), but if we had to choose a movie to put in the 2005 time capsule, it would be this. It’s got all of the the perfect traditional rom-com jobs - especially Lena Heady’s character Luce, who works as a florist. Heck (Matthew Goode) also has the traditional ambiguous businessman job (which he hates), but we were confused about what his full name was for a little while. (Turns out it’s Hector.) Right at the beginning of the movie, Heck is getting married to his fiance Rachel, but at their wedding, Rachel shares a lingering look and a funny encounter with Luce, prompting much confusion, lots of chance (and not-so-chance) encounters, and many discussions of love at first sight. This movie also has prime rom-com tropes like incredible houses and offices in the heart of London, and children who are smarter than most of the adults. Honestly, we just wanted everyone in this movie to be happy by the end - except Cooper, maybe, who is Heck’s annoying best man. To get the full effect of watching this movie, here is a very pared down list of our thoughts while watching:
Love their fashion sense - scarves
“I wish you’d get a life” - jesus lmao
As a tennis player?? Bad stereotypes, this movie is problematic
Most awkward porn purchase ever
Mom walks in!!
Children romance is kinda meh
Kate and Alexa are nerds and we’re discussing where diaphragms are
Lilies mean “I dare you to love me” - dies
The dramatic tension in this movie
Such great lines lmao “holding cup of hot coffee and needing to sneeze”
The most successful couple was the children's romance??
Good scriptwriting!
Alexa watched this movie in a mood and she feels a lot better now lol
Matthew Goode can marry me any time
Mom and dad vibing in the taxicab
We learn way too much about their sex lives
Traffic is really romantic huh?
Really well done writing
And there’s a baby??? Cooper wtf how’d he get a baby?
- Alexa and Kate
Fried Green Tomatoes
Netflix
Truly a wonderful film that is full of emotional ups and downs. This movie is portrayed from one modern woman’s point of view, and her new found friend’s flashbacks of her own past. As these two women get to know each other, an unexpected friendship is created while they share stories and anecdotes about their lives. While the storyline may seem obvious to the viewer, there always seems to be an unexpected turn of events that tug at the heart strings. Major characters die, people who seem like the perfect couple do not actually fall in love, and a court ruling that seems to be clear cut is not quite what it seems.
- Ruiying
The Feels
Kanopy
Oh, the feels! Celebrating their bachelorette party, lesbian couple Andi and Lu host a get together with their friends in wine country, having high hopes that everything will run smoothly. However, things begin to go array when Lu reveals (under the influence of molly) that she has never had an orgasm. Alas, the pandora’s box has opened and from it spills forth the elusive, enigmatic, female orgasm. Interestingly, the film treats the female orgasm as a reactionary force that in its absence for Lu evokes discussions about personal relationships (communication, trust, divorce) and the collective (the stigma and secrecy around the female orgasm and pleasure) not only through the film’s plot, but also from asides where each character is asked about their relationship to sex, which only adds to the film’s charm as a largely improvised, amateur production. Will Andi and Lu’s relationship survive the drama that spills out of such a revelation?
- Monica
Hearts Beat Loud
Kanopy
It takes a lot to pull off a movie about music using original music. Did this film pull it off? In my humble but now publicly shared opinion, no, it did not. But this film had a few things going for it. For one, I appreciated that the lead character, a just-graduated teen, wanted to pursue a career as a doctor despite her musical gifts. It’s a definite stereotype reversal, because usually the parents are against an artistic career but, in this film, her father is the one pushing a career in music against her academic wishes. We love some studious representation. This one is also a triple whammy since it’s more about the father-daughter relationship than any love story (hey Father’s Day!) but also features a lesbian romance and a middle-aged single parents coupling. Needless to say, Hearts Beat Loud ticks a lot of boxes for academics, children and parents, queer individuals, and/or middle-aged people. So that’s basically everyone.
- Macy
Honourable Mentions
Sex Education
If you have ever felt unsure, uncomfortable, or just like you wanted to explore your sexuality but never had quite got to just yet, then Sex Education is the series for you. This show follows Otis (Asa Butterfield), an awkward, anxious high school student who has little to no experience in the lovemaking department. However, thanks to his mother, who happens to be a sex therapist, his exposure to sex inadvertently makes him quite the expert in the matter. Having indirectly acquired sexual knowledge from his mother’s itinerary of sexual literature, toys, and art, he uses this to his advantage by offering sex advice to his fellow classmates to elevate his social status and make some cash. Sex Education examines teenage sexuality in a refreshing, inclusive light by looking at topics as diverse as sexual assault, pregnancy, fetish, kink, LGBTQ relationships, and STDs. Illustrating young love with characters that are just burgeoning in their sexuality creates a very emotional series; not only do the characters learn about their own sexuality, but the show also mediates the viewers’ own questions and experiences with sex where a new and greater level of understanding can occur. You will not regret viewing Sex Education!
- Monica
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