13 cheesy queer comedies from the ’90s for your binging pleasure

Ah, the ’90s. Many call it queer cinema’s Golden Age. It was a decade of profound change when it came to how audiences viewed LGBTQ people in film. Hollywood started depicting queer characters and stories, sometimes more successfully than others. Often this was done through comedies, since laughter tends to be the easiest way of connecting with people.

We’ve compiled a list of 13 queer comedies from the ’90s that you might be interested in revisiting while you’re stuck in quarantine. Some of these films have aged better than others. Almost all of them contain a gay stereotype (or five). And there are plenty of jokes that would never fly today. (Also, many of the actors in them don’t identify as LGBTQ.)

Still, it’s important not to separate these films from their time. It was the ’90s, after all, and people were still trying to figure out how to talk about queer issues. But at least they were trying. Also, without these movies helping to push LGBTQ characters into the mainstream consciousness, we wouldn’t have the infinitely better queer films that we have today, many of which feature actual queer people both in front of and behind the camera.

The Object Of My Affection (1998)

Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd star in this adaptation of gay writer Stephen McCauley’s bestselling novel about two roommates–one straight and one gay–whose relationship is complicated by an unplanned pregnancy. The film includes an A-list supporting cast, including Allison Janney, Alan Alda, and Nigel Hawthorne.

In & Out (1997)

Kevin Kline plays a closeted high school drama teacher from Indiana who is outed by a Hollywood actor who thanks him during an award acceptance speech. Chaos ensues. At the time of its release, the film was widely noted for its 12-second kiss between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck. It was also one of Hollywood’s first attempts at a big budget gay rom-com.

Threesome (1994)

What happens when a beautiful coed with a gender neutral name is accidentally assigned to a dorm room with two guys? A threesome, of course! Lara Flynn Boyle, Josh Charles, and Stephen Baldwin star in this dramedy about college life, love triangles, and what happens when the boundaries of friendship become blurred. Brace yourself for some serious melodrama.

OK, OK, so this one isn’t gay, per se, but it’s still pretty damn queer. (It’s the Spice Girls, after all!) Made at the height of their fame, this musical comedy follows the five British pop stars, who all play themselves, as they prepare to perform a major concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. It’s cheesy. It’s campy. It’s colorful. And it remains the highest-grossing movie of all time by a musical group.

Edge of 17 (1998)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Two drag performers and a trans woman embark on a journey across the Australian Outback to perform a four-week stint at a cabaret in Alice Springs. To get there, they ride a tour bus named “Priscilla” and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters along the way. Need we say more?

Clueless (1995)

While not explicitly gay, the protagonist is a sexually-curious young woman named Cher (pretty gay), who’s obsessed with fashion (also pretty gay), and who’s a terrible driver (also also pretty gay… kidding!). There are also tons of cute guys in the movie, lots of crass jokes, and some funny gay characters, albeit very stereotypical by today’s standards.

Jeffrey (1995)

Steven Weber plays Jeffrey, a gay guy who becomes so disenchanted with sex that he takes a vow of celibacy. No sooner has he sworn off sex than he meets hunky, sensitive Steve. Passion ignites and hilarity ensues. The film features a strong supporting cast queer actors and icons, including Olympia Dukakis, Nathan Lane, Camryn Manheim, Sigourney Weaver, and Christine Baranski, just to name a few.

The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Christina Ricci stars as a pregnant, oversexed teenager who chain smokes cigarettes, steals dead people’s ashes, and sleeps with her brother’s boyfriend. Not all of the jokes have aged well (like Lisa Kudrow’s cringeworthy gag about bi guys), but the film still tackled issues that a lot of Hollywood still wouldn’t touch back then, including HIV/AIDS and the idea of sexual fluidity.

Cruel Intentions (1999)

Another one that isn’t gay, per se, but it still spoke to an entire generation of queer teenagers. Not only is the film all about exploring taboo things, but Ryan Phillippe shows his butt, Josh Jackson has a gay sex scene, and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair share that infamous strand of saliva kiss. Plus there’s the whole underlying theme of challenging the patriarchy and not subscribing to society’s expectations. And the soundtrack is pretty dope.

I Think I Do (1997)

Two college roommates meet up five years later at their former housemates’ straight wedding. Sparks fly as the ex-roommates try to navigate their new romance in this screwball comedy staring Alexis Arquette, Guillermo Diaz, and Tuc Watkins.

 To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo star as three New York City drag queens who travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The film features cameos by RuPaul, Naomi Campbell, Candis Cayne, and Julie Newmar herself, to name a few.

The Birdcage (1996)

We couldn’t put together a list of queer movies from the ’90s and not include this classic. If you haven’t seen it, you should. The film follows a flamboyant, middle-aged gay couple from South Beach whose straight son brings home his fiancé and her ultraconservative parents for the first time.

Related: 10 movies about male strippers to quench your thirst during quarantine

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Larry Kramer will take on COVID-19 in his latest play

Larry Kramer is planning to take his epic battle and chronicling of the AIDS pandemic to a new one: the COVID-19 crisis.

At 84, Kramer already begun work on An Army of Lovers Must Not Die. The writer told The New York Times that the plot deals with “gay people having to live through three plagues.”

The three plagues are COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and the decline of the human body: in other words, aging. True to form, Kramer intends the play as an indictment of US government complacency.

“The government has been awful in both cases,” Kramer told the Times. “They were terrible with AIDS and they’re terrible with this thing. One wonders what will become of us.”

Kramer was an outspoken critic of the Reagan White House’s inaction on the plague in the early 1980s. Although the disease was identified in 1981, Reagan refused to mention it publicly until a news conference in 1985 and then in speeches in 1987. By then, thousands already had died and preventable transmissions spread like wildfire. At least 30 million human beings have lost their lives since then, with the vast majority resulting from heterosexual transmissions. It took Reagan’s Christian conservative Surgeon General, C. Everette Koop to battle the disease almost single-handedly from his bully pulpit, refusing to give in to the inaction of antigay activists within the White House who saw the disease not as a virus but as God’s punishment for gay sex.

The world has had the misfortune of two pandemics falling under Republican Administrations who prioritize politics over public health.

In response to Reagan’s inaction, Kramer founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis to provide services to those hard hit by AIDS as well as ACT UP, a street protest group that demanded prevention and treatment for the disease.

Kramer is also known for his novel Faggots about queer culture in the 1970s and The Normal Heart, a play about the toll of AIDS.

This year he published volume II of American People: The Brutality of Fact. Volume I, American People: Searching for My Heart was published in 2015.

Related: The true love story behind Larry Kramer’s classic, furious novel ‘Faggots’

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Trump Wanted to Let Coronavirus ‘Wash Over’ America Before Fauci Pointed Out That ‘Many People Would Die’ – WaPo

In a Situation Room meeting last month, Donald Trump told Dr. Anthony Fauci that he wanted to let coronavirus “wash over the country” before it was pointed out to him that “many people would die.”

The Washington Post reports: “It was the day the administration was adding Ireland and the United Kingdom to its travel restrictions, and Trump wanted to understand why talk of ‘herd immunity’ — allowing the coronavirus to sweep a nation largely unchecked, with the belief that those who survived would then be immune — was such a bad idea. ‘Why don’t we let this wash over the country?’ Trump asked, according to two people familiar with his comments, a question other administration officials say he has raised repeatedly in the Oval Office.”

ICYMI: Dr. Fauci Reflects on Gay Community’s Battle Against HIV/AIDS in Remarks About COVID-19’s Disproportionate Toll on Black People: WATCH

The paper adds: “Fauci initially seemed confused by the term “wash over” but became alarmed once he understood what Trump was asking. ‘Mr. President, many people would die,’ Fauci said. The president said he understood but since then has repeatedly made clear he wants to reopen things soon — although significant roadblocks remain.”

Read the full story HERE.

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Trump Wanted to Let Coronavirus ‘Wash Over’ America Before Fauci Pointed Out That ‘Many People Would Die’ – WaPo

Florida Police Chief Berates Department with Homophobic Rant About Gay Police Officer Who Died of COVID-19: WATCH

Dale Engle, the chief of police in Davie, Florida, allegedly responded to police employees’ concerns about contracting coronavirus by ordering them into formation in a parking, ordering an inspection, and berating them about raising issues with a homophobic tirade about gay BSO Deputy Shannon Bennett, who is believed to be the first officer to have died from the coronavirus in that state.

Engle’s behavior was brought to the attention of Davie town administrators by Mike Tucker of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

Explained Tucker in a letter to Davie town administrator Richard Lemack: “Engle then proceeded to berate these members about the issues they raised, yelling about their ‘baseless’ concerns. During this, members were shocked when Chief Engle cited the tragic death of BSO Deputy Shannon Bennett who recently succumbed to the COVID-19 virus. Chief Engle allegedly yelled about a ‘backstory’ which proclaimed that Deputy Shannon Bennett contracted and died from the virus because he was a ‘homosexual who attended homosexual <sexual> events’ He intimated that it was because of this homosexual lifestyle that Deputy Bennett first contracted a serious underlying disease which aggravated the COVID-19 virus and lead to his death. His rant continued for some time, with the presumable desired effect of intimidating the members and discouraging any other department employees from complaining or expressing concerns in the future.”

Engle reportedly tried to walk back his remarks in a later email to staff, saying they had been taken out of context.

Towleroad obtained a copy of the letter, which you can read below.

Lemack issued a statement on Saturday saying Engle has been placed on administrative leave: “As of April 11, 2020, Police Chief Dale Engle was placed on Administrative leave pending further review of allegations brought forward by the Fraternal Order of Police. The allegations will be investigated in accordance with the Town’s Equal Employment Opportunity compliance policy by outside counsel. The Town will have no further comment until the investigation is completed to protect the integrity of all involved.”

Local 10 adds: “Bennett, 39, was beloved by his community and by the kids where he was a school resource officer in Deerfield Beach.  He’s believed to be the first law enforcement officer in Florida to die from the virus. The Broward Sheriff’s Office said he died ‘in the line of duty.’ … ‘For any reference to be made to the tragic passing of one of our brothers at the Broward Sheriff’s Office is , if true, is absolutely not only unacceptable but is just shameful. And it’s not indicative of the professionals of the Town of Davie that we know,’ said Tucker. Officials said that Engle does deserve due process and there will be an investigation.”

Watch Local 10’s report:

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Florida Police Chief Berates Department with Homophobic Rant About Gay Police Officer Who Died of COVID-19: WATCH