You could probably name 25 romance movies off the top of your head… From The Notebook, to P.S., I Love You, and every other cookie-cutter romance in between, you’ve seen them all. However, did you know that there is an entire category of romantic movies you probably have never even heard of before? That’s right– there are a TON of lesbian romance movies worthy of all the attention that the run-of-the-mill flicks seem to attract. If anything, this list of movies may just blow your favorite romance out of the water!
There are a few different genres of movies listed below, so anyone can find something that they like throughout this list. You have your steamy romances, your comedic romantic movies, and even a couple of period movies (periods as in decades, of course), so it is inevitable that you find a flick you can sit down with some popcorn to!
Just because they’re movies with lesbians as the main characters, doesn’t really make them that much different than any other romantic movie. You can laugh, cry, and dream along with these ladies, as they express their love in the only way they know how to! These truly entertaining stories will both tug at your heart strings and tickle your funny bone. Without further adieu, here are our top 18 lesbian romance movies that you’ll wish you watched sooner!
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1. Blue is the Warmest Color
This is a controversial film where a young French woman and an older art student form an emotionally and sexually charged bond with one another after they meet in a lesbian bar. The main character, Adele, tries time and time again to find satisfaction with various male lovers, but none of them seem to compare to the attraction between her and Emma, a mysterious blue-haired woman she encounters on the street.
2. Room in Rome
A Russian woman named Natasha enjoys her holiday in Rome, where she meets the Italian Alba, and they soon spark a steamy affair in a hotel room in Rome. Natasha, a bride-to-be, exchanges life stories and sorrows with Alba, and as the movie unfolds and the attraction grows hotter, you’re left wondering who is telling the truth about her past transgressions, and who is exaggerating in order to impress. After all, they will never see each other again, right?
3. Better Than Chocolate
Maggie, a lesbian who works in an LGBT-centered bookstore known for causing controversy, falls for a young artist named Kim, despite Maggie’s family’s presumed disapproval of her sexuality. After the two move in together, Maggie finds herself torn between revealing her true identity to her mother and brother when they decide to come visit, and keeping herself locked in the closet, avoiding what could end up as the complete severance of her family’s ties.
4. Liz in September
In this flick, two lesbian women bond over the subject of terminal illness. One lost her son to cancer, and the other is currently coping with the fact the she, herself is terminally ill. Liz in September is the film adaptation of one of the most popular plays of American gay theater.
5. Carol
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett star in this film, set in the 1950s New York, where homosexuality was merely a taboo subject, rather than a reality. Therese, a photographer who works at a department store, develops a relationship with a semi-divorced woman named Carol. Their partnership is put to the test many times throughout the film, with Carol’s former husband using the morality clause of their divorce against her, and Therese having to end her relationship with her boyfriend, but their resilience and love prevails nonetheless.
6. All About E
A beautiful DJ named E stumbles upon a bag of money, and is forced to run away to Australia, into the arms of E’s ex girlfriend Trish who broke her heart long ago, along with her her gay best friend Matt. Ultimately, E must face her past and let her family have a chance to accept her for who she is, and find the strength and courage to live out her truest aspirations. All About E combines a comedy, road trip, and love story all within one movie.
7. Stud Life
A lesbian wedding photographer named JJ works along side her gay best friend, Seb, but their closeness is strained when JJ falls for a gorgeous woman. In the end, JJ may end up having to choose between her longtime best friend Seb, and her new muse.
8. Anatomy of a Love Seen
Two young lesbian actresses fall in love while on the set of a movie, and film a lesbian love scene together. After a few months of nirvana, the two decide to call it quits, only to be told they have to re-shoot their steamy love scene in order for the film to be distributed. It’s not quite as awkward as you’d imagine, but this drama/romance sure takes somewhat of an unexpected turn for the two former lovers.
9. But I’m a Cheerleader
Natasha Lyonne, known for her roles in American Pie and Orange is the New Black, stars as Megan in this comical romance as a typical cheerleader. She has the football star boyfriend, the solid cheerleading career, and most everything that your average American girl could only dream of, but she feels that something is a bit off with her. She’s flabbergasted when her parents deem her as gay, and decide to send her to a sexual orientation altering boot camp called True Directions to “get rid” of her gay tendencies. While enrolled in the program, she begins to have feelings for a rebellious teenage lesbian named Graham, confusing her even more.
10. The Handmaiden
A Korean con man hatches an elaborate scheme to seduce and scam a Japanese woman out of her substantial inheritance. He recruits a young, orphaned pickpocketer to assist him in his plan, but when she is hired as the victim’s handmaiden, she finds herself in the woman’s bed, rather than the Korean man. Things go awry, as you’d expect, and nothing seems to go according to plan.
11. Cloudburst
Stella and Dot, an older lesbian couple, escape from their nursing home and run away on a road trip together. Throughout their 31 years together, they’ve had their trials and triumphs, ups and downs, and everything else under the sun, but they’ve never let it break them apart. They journey to Canada, and on the way, they pick up a young hitchhiker named Prentice, who’s on his way to Nova Scotia to see his terminally ill mother. They all form a close bond along their road trip, and the only thing negative about this movie is that it may make you die from laughter!
12. Jenny’s Wedding
Our main character, Jenny Farrell, keeps her lesbian love life pretty open to the world, or at least to everyone but her family, who still tries to set her up with various men when she comes to visit them. What her family doesn’t know is that Jenny has already met the love of her life– who she has disguised as her roommate for the last 5 years. When Jenny is finally sick and tired of all the hiding and failed set-up attempts made by her family, she confesses that she, in fact, has been in a relationship for the past five years with someone close and dear to the family. In the end, it’s up to Jenny’s family whether they accept her lifestyle or not.
13. Go Fish
In this tale of forbidden love, lesbian Max meets fellow lesbian Ely, who’s quirky, slightly older, a little bit homely, and what seems to be the opposite of what Max is into. They have virtually nothing in common, but still, an attraction forms between the two women. When Max’s long distance girlfriend makes everything come to a complete stop, despite the fact that Max left her behind in order to go to college states away. In the midst of all this, Max’s roommate tries to help Evy with coping with her problems at home.
14. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
Randy Dean, a slacker lesbian gas station worker who is on the more tomboyish side, begins a very unlikely friendship with one of her high school’s most popular girls, which soon develops into a romance. They struggle to come to terms with the fact that they have to eventually reveal their relationship to all of their friends and family, but remain unmoved and still very much in love the entire way.
15. Bound
When Violet, the girlfriend of a ruthless gangster, sees Corky for the first time during an elevator ride, they connect almost immediately. Corky, who was recently released from prison and hired to renovate an apartment next door to Violet, falls just as hard for Violet as she does for her. They ignite a sexy, passionate affair, and devise an elaborate plot to leave their lives behind, with two million dollars of the mob’s money. They risk it all just for love, and a true escape from a life of being bound.
16. If These Walls Could Talk 2
This sequel to the following abortion-centered “If These Walls Could Talk” follows three lesbian couples, all from different decades and walks of life. In the year 1961, Edith suffers the loss of her partner Abby, and must learn to deal with loss and heartbreak. In 1972, Amy and Linda face the turn-of-the-century feminist problems that this time period presents. Finally, in the year 2000, Fran and Kal decided to try and have a baby, via sperm donor.
17. High Art
When Syd, who’s at the bottom of the work chain at a photography magazine discovers that her close neighbor is Lucy, a once-popular fellow photographer, she jumps at the opportunity to truly establish herself and her career. While Syd lives with her boyfriend, she has some unexplained attraction to Lucy, who is in a complicated relationship with a woman addicted to heroin. They begin a romantic relationship, and together they explore the unseen world of artists, in all its drugs and glory.
18. Aimee & Jaguar
The year is 1943, and the Allies are ripping Berlin apart, while the Nazis purge the entire population of the Jews. During all of this mayhem, two women develop a dangerously forbidden relationship. One is Lilly, who runs her Nazi household of four sons along with her husband, and the other is Felice, who is Jewish and is a part of the underground. They cautiously continue with their affair, giving Felice hope that she might just survive this purging of the Jews.
19. Imagine Me & You
In the middle of Rachel and Heck’s wedding ceremony, Rachel notices a woman in the audience, Luce, and develops an instant connection to her. After the wedding is all said and done, the two women become close friends, and Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian. Although Rachel is in a seemingly happy marriage with Heck, but finds herself falling more and more for Luce as she gets to know her. Confused about her sexuality, Rachel realizes that she must choose between keeping her safe, stable marriage to Heck, and her fun, sexy new romance with her friend Luce.
Wrap Up
There you have it, all of the very best lesbian romance movies that are known to man (and woman!) No matter what genre of movie you prefer, you can surely find something you’d enjoy amongst this list of flicks. There are some that’ll make you laugh, some that’ll make you cry, and even a few that will make you do both and everything else in between! Either way, watch one or watch them all, but you will definitely be entertained, no matter what your sexual orientation might be. You don’t have to literally be a lesbian in order to enjoy these movies, but if you are, then maybe watching some of these movies with your partner could spice up your next Netflix and Chill date!