As I noted in a prior monthly post, 5 Queer Music Films, there’s a fine line between a queer musical and a queer music film.
According to IMDb, a music film is one that: “contains significant music-related elements while not actually being a Musical; this may mean a concert, or a story about a band (either fictional or documentary). Subjective.”
It really comes down to whether the music in a film is part of the story, often being sung by the characters themselves – or rather where the music moves the story along like a soundtrack. But of course, that’s not a clear-cut rule either!
Of the five queer music films I highlight below, three are pretty easy to understand why they are a queer musical film. They focus on iconic music that helps move the story along, including some amazing songs!
However the other two films are a tad confusing why they are a music film instead of a musical film. After all, they both feature performances by drag queens! While I’m heavily relying simply how IMDb has classified these two queer films, I think I understand why they are queer music films instead of queer musical films: the songs themselves are merely performances, they enhance the story but are not necessary to move it along.
So check out these five queer music films and don’t forget to let me know what you think in the comments below!
And if you want to explore even more queer music films, head over the my Queer Film, Shorts, & Series Database page – queer music films have their own section!
5 MORE Queer Music Films
“As Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert’s departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert’s true motives for leaving while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends, including Nick, who is living with AIDS.” – IMDb
To be written… need to rewatch ASAP!
Watch Parting Glances on Plex, GayBingeTV, and Tubi.
“When conservative, Texas church choir director Maybelline (Weaver) inherits her recently deceased son’s drag club, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving alone to San Francisco to save the club from bankruptcy. In this raucous, vibrant environment, she begins to open up and find new meaning for her life, even becoming a mother figure to the club’s flamboyant performers – until a surprise visit threatens to upend her new life.” – IMDb
I discovered “Stage Mother” while perusing on Prime Video – and I absolutely LOVED it! While the storyline echos some other iconic films where a religious Southern mother has to accept her son’s sexuality circa his death (“Our Sons”). However, this time we get drag queens – some incredibly talented drag queens once our “stage mother” finally steps up and takes charge. It’s quite an endearing story overall. If you haven’t had the chance to watch “Stage Mother”, then you’re missing out!
Watch Stage Mother on Amazon, Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Tubi.
“Cherry Pop! is a crazy night in the life of a small local bar’s drag show. It’s about a newcomer struggling with being the outcast on his first night. And a legend coming to terms with life after her last night in drag. And it’s about a bunch of other back-stabbing queens with their own problems who just plain can’t stand each other. Even the stories of some of the patrons play a part in the chaos. Cherry Pop is a real-time roller coaster ride where you better be strapped up, tucked in, and ready to go!” – IMDb
“Cherry Pop” is an interesting premise of a queer film that unfortunately falls a bit flat. Even after a second watch, I’m torn with whether I enjoy it or not. Don’t get me wrong, there are some funny and good moments! But I’m familiar with a few of the queens who star in this, and something’s off. Many of the lines are delivered with the oomph I expected. However the biggest reason I’m not a massive fan of this queer film is actually some of the drag numbers. There’s a fine line between comedy and distasteful, and more are in the latter category than the former! Overall, “Cherry Pop” is not a horrible film – but even though it’s an expansion of an earlier queer short film, I think it needed a bit more work in order to truly shine!
Watch Cherry Pop on Amazon, Prime Video, Apple TV+, YouTube, and WolfeOnDemand.
“Like mother like daughter. Punk rock one-hit wonder Dani Destroyer and her punk-playing daughter Kat (played by a real-life mother-son duo) transform their angst into lyrics, as they navigate intimacy issues and the tendency to ruin perfect moments in their search for true love. This music-inflected movie centers around two twisty love triangles.” – IMDb
Normally I’m not a fan of queer films where folks try to pull the cinematic triple hat-trick of director, writer, and lead – but I was pleasantly surprised with “Stupid For You”! Jude Klassen is not only a talented musician, but shows her skill in writing and directing as well. And it runs in the family because Kat, the daughter of Jude’s character Dani, is actually played by Jude’s son. Although I must confess that while Mikhael Klassen-Kay does a great job playing Kat, I was rather surprised upon learning a male actor portraying a female role in 2022. Despite that, the songs actually are a high point in a storyline that is rather similar to many other high school romance storylines. Overall, “Stupid For You” is an enjoyable lesbian film to watch!
Watch Stupid For You on Prime Video, Vimeo, and Tubi.
5
“An anthology film retelling the story of the famous Studio 54, a hot disco hangout for the social elite of New York. The movie follows several characters at once, some of whom are in desperate straits and on the verge of crashing.” – IMDb
“54” is a queer film with a rather interesting cinematic history. Just before the film was released in 1998, the studio fired director Mark Christopher and forced a major edit of the storyline that forced major reshoots and essentially removed Shane’s bisexuality. It flopped. However a bootleg version that reincorporated the cut footage was shown at the OutFest film festival in 2008 – which drew enough attention that in 2015, the studio worked with Christopher to release a Director’s Cut that restored nearly 45 minutes of the original storyline. THAT is the version that I watched, and frankly it’s the one one worth watching. It’s not the smoothest cinematographically due to the major cutting issues, but “54” is a captivating film that draws you into the world of Studio 54 at it’s decadent heyday! This queer film is definitely worth watching, especially because it features a bisexual storyline.
Watch 54 on Amazon, Prime Video, Apple TV+, YouTube, and Paramount+.
So what did you think about these 5 MORE Queer Music Films that I’ve chosen? Hopefully they are ones you haven’t seen before – and that you want to watch now. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
(Remember that you can Pin your favorite queer music film to your Pinterest boards for later!)
But remember that are MANY more queer music films out there. I haven’t been able to add them all to my Queer Film, Short, & Series Database – let alone review many of them.
And if I still haven’t include your favorite queer music film anywhere on the site, let me know HERE. I will certainly add it to my Database – and perhaps give it a full review.
