The Best Lesbian Rom Coms to Help You Celebrate Pride

Actresses Jennifer Westfeldt(right) and Heather Juergensen promoting their film Kissing Jessica Stein at the W Hotel in West L.A. — Getty Images

Lesbians deserve happy endings, too. While mainstream romantic comedies seldom feature a girl meets girl narrative, it’s important for lady-loving women everywhere to see this kind of positive representation. Often, what we see onscreen inspires possibilities in our own lives — which is why we wanted to round up the very best lesbian rom coms to curl up and watch with your lady lover (or straight girl crush? Kidding, stay away from that toxic situation, friends!) or fave gal pals.

Here are the 10 best sweet lady-loving rom coms to watch right now.

I Can’t Think Straight (2008)

Happily ever after just got complicated! Engaged to a wonderful man, Tala (Lisa Ray) is preparing for an epic, elaborate Arabic wedding when she meets awkward, aspiring British-Indian writer Leyla (Sheetal Sheth). As their friendship blooms, the two women accidentally develop an attraction that becomes increasingly difficult to resist. The affair sparks self-discovery, sweet inspiration and delicious drama we love to see. This sexy Sapphic rom com with good representation is a must-watch for anyone who appreciates the journey of true love.

D.E.B.S. (2004)

A lesbian supervillain and a straight-questioning spy? Sign us right up! Angela Robinson’s feature-length film named after the 2003 short of the same name follows the connection between student spy-in-training Amy Bradshaw (Sara Foster) and super criminal Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster). It’s campy, co-stars Holland Taylor and has an amazing ’80’s soundtrack (the New Order and Erazure montages are on point). It was a bomb at the box office but remains a queer treasure today. Never forget director Robinson has made her mark in LGBTQ+ pop culture with key episodes of The L Word and recent films such as Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.

Imagine Me and You (2005)

In this adorable romantic dramedy, we have Coyote Ugly‘s Piper Perabo and Game of Thrones‘ Lena Heady hogging the cute as two women completely incapable of resisting true love. True love, in case you’re wondering, comes to us as an unstoppable force after florist Luce (Heady) meets the bride (Perabo) on her wedding day — when she marries her husband, Heck (Matthew Goode). Unfortunately, even queer rom coms can get caught up in the whole on-screen characters who find love through cheating trope, and Imagine Me and You is no different. But the inevitability of their love will get you every time.

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Don’t sleep on this satirical ’90s hidden gem. The star-studded cast includes Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey, RuPaul, Eddie Cibrian, Michelle Williams and more. But I’m a Cheerleader centres on Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose friends and parents team up to send her to straight camp to help cure her lesbianism. Of course, while undergoing the wild treatments, she embraces her sexual identity and orientation and falls in love with another failed straight. It’s equal parts hilarious as it is heartwarming and adorable. Two, four, six, eight, watch this movie for your date.

Saving Face (2004)

Rewind to 2004 for Alice Wu’s first masterpiece Saving Face — a Chinese-American lesbian rom com that centres on a Gaysian surgeon, her surprise pregnant and unwed mother and her secret dancer girlfriend. If you can believe it, it was the first Hollywood film that offered Chinese-American representation since The Joy Luck Club had come out back in 1993. Significantly less tragic than the 1993 drama, Saving Face explores the queer Asian identity and experience in America through a hilarious lens. Even better? The rom part of this rom com will no doubt give you all the feels (y’know, the kind that makes your heart sigh and smile all at once).

Happiest Season (2020)

Yes, it’s a holiday film — but it’s also a lesbian rom com written and directed by Clea DuVall (refer to But I’m a Cheerleader) that stars Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as our lady-loving leads. Happiest Season also stars Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, Mary Steenburgen and more. It’s a painfully relatable film for any queer woman who has had to live through the closeted girlfriend experience. Just this spring, this seasonal romantic comedy took home the GLAAD Media Award in the “Outstanding Film — Wild Release” category. The LGBTQ+ representation in this movie helped fill the very big gap in the holiday film genre, let’s be real.

Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)

This indie darling rom com is written, co-produced and stars Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film follows pretty, neurotic, Jewish Jessica Stein, a copy editor at a New York City newspaper — who craves a connection and goes on many horrible pre-Tinder blind dates with Mr. Wrongs. One day, she finds her favourite quote about relationships by Rilke in the ‘Women Seeking Women’ section of a paper and submits to her curiosity. After an unexpected attraction to the woman who penned the ad, audiences are invited on a journey of self-discovery, identity-exploration and meaningful friendship.

The Half of It (2020)

While this film is as much of a coming-of-age story as it is a rom com, Alice Wu’s second queer classic follows the complicated connections of three small town high school students: Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), Paul Munksy (Daniel Diemer) and Astor Flores (Alexxis Lemire). It’s a modern loose retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac with a Sapphic twist that will inevitably warm your heart. It’s smart and funny and everything you want in a film.

The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls Falling in Love (1995)

There were some iconic lesbian films that came out in the ’90s: Gia, Fried Green Tomatoes, Bound, The Watermelon Woman, High Art and a couple others. Unfortunately, while they explored the queer woman identity, they had little comedy to offer to make this list. Before becoming Tina Kennard on The L Word, Laurel Holloman starred in The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls Falling in Love opposite Nicole Ari Parker. It’s a story of two very different high school girls who slowly fall in love and it’s adorable to watch. Many millennial lesbians have enjoyed this old chestnut — and if you haven’t caught it yet, we invite you to indulge in this delicious serving of cute.

Gray Matters (2006)

This rom com feels like it flew right under the radar. Gray Matters follows Gray Baldwin (Heather Graham), her brother, Sam (Tom Cavanagh) and their co-dependent lifestyle. This brother and sister duo love doing all the things together — until someone mistakes them as a romantic couple, causing them to pause on their life choices. Ready to open up their horizons and consider mates, the pair meet a woman called Charlie (Bridget Moynahan) at the dog park that takes a shine to ’em. Let’s just say she ends up in a whirlwind romance with Sam, ends up locking lips with Gray and everyone’s world changes. Side note: It’s kind of nice seeing Sex and the City‘s Natasha getting her happy ending on screen, let’s be honest.

Better Than Chocolate (1999)

This Vancouver-shot very gay rom com is, indeed, Better Than Chocolate. The film gets its name from Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan’s song “Ice Cream” and features a storyline about a book shop that references what actually happened with Vancouver’s Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium and it’s real-life battle with Canada Customs. But the movie itself? It follows Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) and her new romance with Kim (Christina Cox) — and what happens when Maggie’s mom and brother are forced to stay with her in her sublet. Between her work at the book shop and hiding the fact she’s a lesbian from her family, Maggie continues to try and enjoy her new lover. While the main romance is adorable, the supporting characters in this film are what make this Canadian movie great.