Pride Month is the perfect time to celebrate identity, representation and most of all, love. The origins of Pride date back to 1969, when members of the LGBTQIA+ community rebelled against the police raids at The Stonewall Inn in New York City. It’s a powerful time during when the queer community claim their voices are unapologetically bold and free. But Pride doesn’t always have to be about vibrant parades and elaborate parties to be meaningful. The celebration can be quiet too. It can look like taking a break from the festivities, curling up on the couch with your favourite snacks, a bottle of wine, and pressing play on the queer rom-coms of your choice. Who can resist a good love story anyway?
For decades, romantic comedies have given us unrealistic meet-cutes, overly charming characters and oftentimes happy endings—but what they haven’t always given us is inclusivity and diversity. Too often, queer characters were relegated to comic relief or reduced to tired stereotypes. If LGBTQ+ characters were featured in films, they were most likely there to support the growth of the protagonist—often by being the quintessential sassy gay best friend.
Thankfully, that’s changing. The recent years have seen a new wave of queer romance movies made more mindfully, dedicated to celebrating queer audiences and giving them significant representation on screen. From royal scandals and fake relationships to Bollywood weddings and sweet young queer love, Vogue Singapore rounds up a selection of heart-warming queer rom-coms that give the characters the perfect meet-cutes, angst and the swoon-worthy happy endings they’ve always deserved.
1 / 13
Anything’s Possible
In this coming-of-age romantic comedy, which marks Billy Porter’s feature film directorial debut, we follow Kelsa, a trans teenager surviving through senior year of high school. An unexpected romance blossoms when Khal, her adorable classmate, asks her out. As their relationship blossoms, the couple must navigate the ups and downs of first love while dealing with peer pressure, family expectations, and the uncertainties that come with growing up.
Watch Anything’s Possible on Amazon Prime.
2 / 13
Heated Rivalry
Based on the book of the same name, Heated Rivalry tells the story of two professional hockey players who are arch-nemeses on the ice, but, behind closed doors, this very rivalry masks a long-term, hidden relationship. From their early teenage encounters to becoming captains of opposing NHL teams, their relationship navigates years of emotional tensions, yearning, and the added pressures of continuing a secret same-sex relationship in a hyper-masculine sport.
Watch Heated Rivalry on HBO Max.
3 / 13
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
This Bollywood comedy of errors follows Sweety, a young woman from a conservative North Indian family who is constantly pressured to marry a suitable boy and settle down. While her father assumes her reluctance to suitors is because she is in love with a boy from a different caste, Sweety is quietly grappling with her sexual identity for years and is in love with a woman named Kuhu. When her relationship is threatened with exposure, she finds an unexpected ally in a playwright who becomes determined to help her tell her story.
Watch Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga on Netflix.
4 / 13
Cloudburst
This painfully funny story follows Stella and Dotty, an elderly lesbian couple, who after spending a lifetime together find their relationship in peril when Dotty’s granddaughter threatens to separate them. Together, the pair flee their nursing home and embark on a Thelma and Louise-style road trip to Nova Scotia to get married. The film beautifully shows that love comes in all forms, and that the love between Stella and Dotty is truly the kind that comes once in a lifetime. Expect both tears and laughter—it’s an emotional rollercoaster at times, but one you surely would not want to miss.
Watch Cloudburst on Apple TV+.
5 / 13
Dating Amber
Set in conservative 1990s rural Ireland, Dating Amber follows best friends Eddie and Amber—two closeted teens who decide to fake a relationship to hide their sexualities. As they navigate high school gossip and the pressures of living in a small town, their pretend relationship becomes a safe space. But after a few secret trips together to Dublin, the two teens discover that faking it can only take them so far.
Watch Dating Amber on Apple TV+.
6 / 13
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
This riotously funny romantic comedy tells the story of Kartik and Aman, a gay couple living in Delhi. Their relationship is challenged when they travel to the latter’s hometown to attend a family wedding. When Aman’s parents learn about their relationship, tensions rise as they struggle to accept the truth about their son. The film wittily blends humour with a sensitive portrayal of the challenges faced by queer couples in India, who continue to navigate life in a largely unaccepting society.
Watch Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan on Amazon Prime.
7 / 13
Red, White & Royal Blue
Based on the novel by Casey McQuiston, this charming enemies-to-lovers story follows Alex Claremont Daiz—the son of the President of the United States of America and the Prince of Britain, Henry, as the two get into a nasty fight causing an International scandal. Following this, they are forced into a fake friendship to ease tensions. As they spend time together, witty banter gives way to affection and sparks fly. While the plot may be predictable, the chemistry between Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine is what truly makes you want to root for them at the end of the day.
Watch Red, White & Royal Blue on Amazon Prime.
8 / 13
D.E.B.S.
In this campy spy comedy, a top-secret government agency hires four exceptionally smart high school girls trained to fight crime. When star agent Amy is assigned to capture the notorious villain Lucy Diamond, an unexpected romance blossoms between them; torn between duty and desire, Amy must choose between the love she never expected and the job she worked so hard for.
Watch D.E.B.S. on Netflix.
9 / 13
The Wedding Banquet
A remake of the 1993 Oscar-nominated Ang Lee classic of the same name, The Wedding Banquet is a comedy of errors that follows two queer couples—gay partners Chris and Min and lesbian couple Lee and Angela—as they strike a deal to exchange a visa marriage for IVF money. Chaos unfolds when Min’s grandmother arrives and throws an extravagant Korean wedding banquet. With a star-studded cast featuring Oscar-nominated Lily Gladstone, SNL star Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran and Han Gi-chan, alongside the legendary Joan Chen and Youn Yuh-jung, this film is a poignant exploration of the raw challenges of starting a queer family.
Watch The Wedding Banquet at The Projector.
10 / 13
A Nice Indian Boy
Cultures collide in this romantic comedy when Naveen Gavaskar, a shy Indian-American doctor, falls deeply in love with Jay, a confident white photographer raised by Indian parents. As their relationship deepens, Naveen struggles to introduce Jay to his traditional and conservative parents. What follows is a heartfelt and hilarious journey through awkward family dinners, a classic Bollywood-inspired proposal, and a truly authentic story about acceptance.
Watch A Nice Indian Boy on Apple TV+.
11 / 13
Semantic Error
With K-dramas flooding our screens, this lovely enemies-to-lovers Korean film might have gone unnoticed by some. Based on the series of the same name, the story follows Sang-woo, a rule-abiding computer science major who removes freeloading classmates from a group project—one of them being the popular design student Jae-young, whose graduation is now at risk. As they are forced to work together, their polar opposite personalities clash, and eventually, sparks fly as hatred gives way to love. This slow-burn romantic comedy shows us that sometimes love is the most beautiful error.
Watch Semantic Error on Netflix.
12 / 13
Saving Face
A classic in Asian queer cinema, Saving Face follows Wilhelmina Pang, a young Chinese-American surgeon living in New York City, who is a lesbian but remains closeted to her conservative immigrant family. Wil’s world is turned upside down when her mother, pregnant with an unknown man’s baby, moves in with her. Things further complicate when she falls in the love with the vivacious ballet dancer Vivian Shing. The film delicately explores tradition, acceptance, identity and love in the most beautiful and heartfelt way.
Watch Saving Face on Apple TV+.
13 / 13
But I’m A Cheerleader
A high school student, Meghan has the ideal life that every teenage girl dreams of. She’s an excellent student and a popular cheerleader, and she’s dating the captain of the football team. So she’s shocked when her picture-perfect life goes haywire when her homophobic parents stage an intervention, convinced that she’s a lesbian, and send her off to True Directions, a conversion therapy boot camp. At the camp, amidst absurd gender reprogramming drills, she comes across the rebellious lesbian Graham and quickly falls in love with her. As Meghan begins questioning her entire life, she discovers strength in her identity and finds love in the last place she expected.
Watch But I’m A Cheerleader on Apple TV+.
