I’ve already listed my favorite films of the past decade. Many of those films were gay themed, which started me thinking about the gay movies PJ and I have watched over the past ten years. Once I started thinking about it, it turned out to be a lot — without much effort I identified some 75 gay movies and documentaries from the past decade that I’ve seen. Since I regularly teach GLBT lit, it seems worthwhile to record my favorite gay films of the past decade.

To make it a little easier, I thought that I would identify my favorite gay film of the decade and then  a) list the other   films I most like alphabetically rather than try to rank them and b) separate them into two categories: features and documentaries. This blog will just be about the features. Not all of these are “great” movies. They are just the 25 (plus several tied for #26) gay films that I most enjoy, starting with my favorite:

Shortbus (2006)

My favorite gay film of the past decade is John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus. This movie is gay-affirming, sexy, sexually graphic, and just plain fun. What more could you want in a movie?! I originally blooged about Shortbus here.

Here’s the trailer:

The rest of my list will be in alphabetical order.

Big Eden (2000)

More than anything else this gay fantasy of communal acceptance is a sweet, romantic film. One of the things I love about this movie is that it starts out as one story — a gay man’s reunion with his earlier (straight) crush and then becomes something else.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

This iconic film would undoubtedly make anyone’s list of the most important gay films ever, much less of the past ten years. It’s an amazingly affective movie. A hopeless romantic, I can’t help but want Ennis and Jack to live happily ever after. Its realism in depicting how gay men lived before the present era of openness is almost unbearable. And it’s a permanent stain on the history of the Academy Awards that its members’ homophobia prevented it from winning Best Picture. It says so much about our past and our present.And the soundtrack–the four notes on the guitar–is unmistakable.

Camp (2003)

When our former housesitter saw this movie, he made fun of it, but I love it. If I were a kid today, I would give anything to go to a summer camp like this one, and I’d surely fall in love with Vlad just like Michael does. It’s also a great sing-a-long movie. Here’s a brief scene from the movie, which also stars soon-to-be Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick as a ruthless wannabe Elaine Strich:

But the best song is “Here’s Where I Stand:”

Circuit (2001)

This movie is about the circuit party scene. I don’t know anything about these parties personally, so I can’t judge how realistic this movie is, but this movie seems like a realistic depiction of a gay former cop’s descent into drugs and sex. It’s both sexy and a cautionary tale.

East Side Story (2005)

I really like this movie’s tone. It has a little cultural diversity and a little romance. It’s a fun story of a swet, cute Latino man, Diego, who has been sleeping with a closet case, who dumps him rather than accept his sexuality. Diego quickly becomes attracted to another man, who happens to be partnered, which obviously causes some problems.

The Graffiti Artist (2004)

Here’s my original post about this movie.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

One of the great gay films of all time and another John Cameron Mitchell film. I love musicals, and this is the gay musical.

The Houseboy (2007)

Here’s my original post about this movie.

The Journey of Jared Price (2000)

Dustin Lance Black wrote and directed this movie, which tells the story of young gay guy’s experiences in Hollywood. He gets involved with guy who turns out to have a partner already, leaving him with a difficult choice: stay in a bad situation or become homeless and jobless. Corey Spears is especially good as the title character. Here’s a clip:

Kinky Boots (2005)

This British movie is sort of in a similar vein to The Full Monty or Billy Elliot, neither of which I’m including here even though I like them (especially the latter). It’s about guy trying to save the family business, a shoe factory. He’s forced to start manufacturing shoes for drag queens. It’s a lot of fun.

Latter Days (2003)

This is another movie my former housesitter laughed at, but I love it. Sure it’s kind of simple-minded and overly romantic, but what’s wrong with that? It’s sexy and fun! It;s about a Mormon missionary who meets a slutty gay guy, a meeting that transforms them both.

Les Chansons d’Amour (2008)

This is rapidly become one of my favorite movies of all time. Louis Garrel singing! Here’s my original post about this movie. It’s sweet and entirely lovely.

Long-Term Relationship (2006)

Rob Williams is becoming one of my favorite gay independent filmmakers. And Matthew Montgomery is definitely my favorite gay independent actor. This one is about a guy who answers a singles ad — the question is what’s wrong with the gorgeous guy he meets.

Make the Yuletide Gay (2009)

A fun, gay holiday movie starring Adamo Ruggiero. This comedy is about a guy who goes home from college, where he’s totally out. The problem is that he’s not out to his family. So what’s he to do when his boyfriend unexpectedly shows up for Christmas?  Here’s my original review of this movie.

Milk (2008)

Here’s my original post about this movie.

Presque Rein, or Come Undone (2000)

This is one of my favorite movies of the decade, so I’ll just refer anyone who’s reading this to my more general movies post.

Quinceanera (2006)

Here’s my original post about this movie.

Shelter (2007)

In a way, this is another coming out movie, but I really like it’s heart. It’s more than just a conventional coming out film.

Here’s my original post about this movie.

A Single Man (2009)

Here’s my original review of this movie.

Slutty Summer (2004)

This comedy about promiscuous gays in NYC is fun and sweeter than you’d think. And it;s the beginning of little gay franchise!

Socket (2007)

This queer sci-fi movie about electricity fetishists is sexy and fun. When I first saw this movie, I initially didn’t think I’d like it, but it stars my two favorite gay independent film actors–Matthew Montgomery and Derek Long–so how could I resist?

That Touch of Pink (2004)

This gay comedy is just plain fun — it’s not a great movie, but I love it. Alim has a Cary Grant thing. So much so that Grant appears to him and gives him advice based on his movies. When his mother comes to visit, he’s faced with a dilemma: come out and risk disappointing his mother or stay closeted and disappoint his lover, Giles, the gorgeous Kristen Holden-Ried.

3-Day Weekend (2008)

Another Rob Williams (and Derek Long) movie. Here’s my original review of this movie.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002)

One of the great “gay” films of all time. It’s not exactly “gay” — or maybe it’s more than “gay” — but whatever you call it, it’s great! I wrote about it in my favorite movies of the decade post.

So, those are my 25 favorite gay films of the decade. As I said at the beginning, some of them are “great” and some of them are just great fun. It’s difficult to choose just 25, since I’ve seen (and liked) so many gay films in the past ten years. So, here’s a list of films that are more or less tied for the 26th spot: