A favorite films list is something I’ve been toying with since starting this blog. I started out with my original list of favorites. Over the past decade, I added and subtracted via Reel Charlie posts. Obviously, it was excruciatingly difficult to whittle this list down to 100 titles. I’ll publish an honorable mention list in a separate post of the films that almost made it. In the end, my criteria: select only feature films, no documentaries. That list will come later. And no stand-up comedy or performance. Also, for my own sanity, I limited the list only to films I instantly remember details – performances, lines, sets, costumes, make-up, etc. In other words, there are many films I remember loving, but can’t remember any details. My list below of 100 favorite films I remember vividly.
So in alphabetical order, here are Reel Charlie’s 100 Favorite Films. Many titles link to Reel Charlie reviews. Here we go.
9 to 5 – classic female-focused comedy. Tomlin, Fonda, & Parton. Enough said.
120 battements par minute [BPM (Beats Per Minute)] – French feature film about ACT UP (AIDS activism) Paris during the 90’s.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – Oscar for Best Costume. Perfection comes in 3s.
Avant que j’oublie (Before I Forget)
– a 58 year-old French HIV+ former male prostitute who has refused to take the new HIV meds in 2000, a character never seen before in film.
Beautiful Thing – my favorite coming out film. Sweet, sensitive, innocent, and hilarious with a Mama Cass soundtrack.
Best in Show – Christopher Guest mockumentary dog show brilliance.
The Best Years of Our Lives – Hollywood digs deep with 3 men returning from WWII.
Big Business – Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin times 2.
Brother to Brother – NYC black, gay man learns about the Harlem Renaissance. Breakout film for Anthony Mackie.
La Bûche (The Yule Log) – French holiday film about a chaotic family with secrets.
But I’m a Cheerleader – conversion therapy skewered for the nightmare it is.
Carol – Todd Haynes adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt. 1950’s: two women in love and all its complications and romance.
Christmas in Connecticut – Barbara Stanwick and Dennis Morgan classic holiday Hollywood. A yearly viewing event.
Cloudburst – Brenda Fricker and Olympia Dukakis as an elder lesbian couple facing discrimination from their biological family.
Clue – the board game, the cast, the hysterical buffoonery of it all.
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean – Robert Altman’s female tour de force centered around a James Dean fan club reunion.
Contact – Jodie Foster is “okay to go” in this Hollywood sci-fi classic.
Un conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale) – another French holiday film, this one with Catherine Deneuve as the matriarch – lots of cigarette smoking.
Crooklyn
– Spike Lee magic. This one is my childhood.
Day After Tomorrow – Hollywood takes on climate change.
Desperately Seeking Susan – Susan Seidelman’s wacky mistaken identity movie starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna.
Dick – a good comedy can feed your soul. A good comedy about two teenage girls taking down Nixon is priceless.
Donnie Darko – mystical and ethereal yet grounded 100% in the early 80’s including a kick ass soundtrack.
Drôle de Félix (Adventures of Felix) – the first HIV+ character in cinema who is not dying, depressed, or left behind.
Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory) – Almodovar’s biographical perfect film.
Edge of Seventeen (1998) – another joyous gay male coming out film taking place in the early 80’s. Authentic. Lea Delaria.
Edward II – Derek Jarman’s take on 14th century queer British Royalty. Annie Lennox sings.
Eve’s Bayou – atmospheric and complex family drama from Kasi Lemmons.
Far from Heaven – Todd Haynes homage to Douglas Sirk’s melodramas. A masterpiece.
Le fate ignoranti (His Secret Life)– Ferzan Ozpetek’s melodrama about a dead man and the wife and male lover who adored him.
Fargo – Stunning Coen Brothers mystery creating one of cinema’s most best-loved character, Marge Gunderson played by Frances McDormand.
Funny Girl – Barbra Streisand musical genius.
The Garden – Derek Jarman’s experimental film combines Christian iconography, gay male relationships, and gay political activism.
Gaudi Afternoon – Susan Seidelman’s adaptation of Barbara Wilson’s Cassandra Reilly Mysteries.
God’s Own Country – Rural Yorkshire indie film exploring the burgeoning love story between two young men.
Gods and Monsters – Adapted from Christopher Bram’s novel, Frankenstein director James Whale’s final chapter starring Ian McKellen.
Gosford Park – Robert Altman’s classic upstairs downstairs whodunnit written by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes. Glorious.
Ha-Buah (Bubble, The) – Israeli film about a forbidden love story between an Israeli man and a Palestinian man. Modern LBGLTQ take on Romeo and Juliet.
Hairspray – John Waters goes mainstream but retains his perverse take on suburban America. This is the original film.
Halloween – the original, the only, the scary.
The Heiress
– Hollywood creates movie magic with Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift.
Hollywood Je t’aime – easy breezy indie about a sexy, gay, French man who comes to L.A. to find fame and forget his lost love.
Howards End – Merchant Ivory strike gold once again with this perfect E.M. Forster adaptation.
Hunger – British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen’s searing portrait of the 1981 Irish prison hunger strike.
I Do – pre marriage equality romantic film about a guy trying to figure out how not to get deported as he meets the love of his life.
Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) – based on the WWI truce between the Scots, French, and Americans.
Julia – semibiographical film on Lillian Hellman’s friendship with WWII war dissident Julia.
Klute – Jane Fonda’s Oscar winning performance as call girl, Bree Daniels.
Lakawanna Blues – S. Epatha Merkerson plays Nanny who runs an 1950’s upstate boarding house for the African American and Latinx community.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – identity, black male friendship, race relations, belonging, and gentrification in modern-day San Francisco.
Legally Blonde – silly as a goose and so much feel-good fun this Reese Witherspoon classic.
Lilies – John Greyson’s adaption of a play about a play within a prison and confronting a bishop for past sins.
Little Voice – Jane Horrocks’ tour de force as the shy “Little Voice” who can sing like the masters.
Lola rennt (Run Lola Run) – German filmmaker Tom Tykwer’s 90’s techno masterpiece.
Lone Star – John Sayles Texas mystery which spans two generations and multiple communities.
Lovely & Amazing – Nicole Holofcener’s gritty film about mothers and daughters.
Making Love – right before AIDS hit, Hollywood dared to produce a story about a closeted gay man married to a woman trying to find his way.
Maurice – Merchant Ivory adapts E.M. Foster’s novel of Edwardian gay male love. Perfection.
Metrosexuality – Rikki Beadle Blair’s amazing patchwork of style, passion, family, love and inclusivity. Major feel-good event.
Milk – Hollywood makes a Harvey Milk biopic and succeeds!
Monsoon Wedding
– Mira Nair’s gorgeous tale of two weddings from different classes in Delhi.
Moonlight – Swept the Oscars and deservedly so. Quiet, introspective film about a young black gay man at 3 stages in his life.
Muriel’s Wedding – “you’re terrible, Muriel!” Must see Toni Collette Rachel Griffiths origin acting comedy genius. ABBA soundtrack galore.
My Beautiful Laundrette – Stephen Frears tale of a young white punk and smart Paki young man who fall in love in 1980’s Britain.
Nashville – Robert Altman’s essemble cast works their magic on the 1970’s mix of music and politics.
Pariah – Dee Rees created a fascinating look at a high school girl in the Bronx who is figuring out how to fit in with her family and her lesbian friends.
Parting Glances – 1980’s indie film about a gay male couple facing a separation while a friend is dying of AIDS.
Pillow Talk – what planet is this genre from? Who cares, it’s delicious Doris Day and Rock Hudson magic.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Girls! Maggie Smith at her best and that’s saying something.
The Queen – Dogs! Helen Mirren at her best and that’s saying something.
Rafiki – Kenyan lesbian love story. Gorgeous.
The Remains of the Day – another Merchant Ivory masterpiece. Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson.
A Room with a View – Merchant Ivory costume drama gorgeousness.
Rope – Hitchcock adapts the Leopold and Loeb story for a creepy good time.
Safe – Todd Haynes’ environmental illness as AIDS analogy skewers the New Age movement, or does it?
Secrets and Lies – Mike Leigh’s incredible film melding class and race.
Serial Mom – John Waters strikes gold again with a perfect suburban mother as serial killer.
Shadow of a Doubt – Hitchcock’s scary story of a beloved uncle who may just be The Merry Widow Killer.
Shortbus – John Cameron Mitchell’s ode to post-9/11 NYC with a healthy dose of real sex.
Silkwood – based on a true story, Meryl Streep stars as Karen Silkwood with Kurt Russell and Cher.
A Star is Born (1954) – Judy Garland triumph.
A Star is Born (1976) – Barbra Streisand triumph.
The Station Agent – perfect indie film about 3 misfits. Patricia Clarkson magic.
The Sticky Fingers of Time
– amazing lesbian and bi women indie film about time travel.
Strangers on a Train – glorious Hitchcock genius with my man, Farley Granger.
Suddenly, Last Summer – adapting Tennessee Williams’ play becomes a screeching film about hidden truths and madness.
Sunshine State – John Sayles’ masterpiece ensemble film about small town Florida developers vs. the locals.
Tangerine – shot on an iPhone with two black trans leads.
Todo sobre mi madre (All About my Mother) – my favorite Almodovar film. Women supporting women traveling through life.
Victim – first time a film character ever came out as gay in a film. Historically important British film.
Victor Victoria – a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Preposterous. Julie Andrews and Robert Preston strike gold.
The Visitor – Tom McCarthy’s quiet immigration film starring Richard Jenkins, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbas, and Haaz Sleiman.
Walk on Water – Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox’s film about a Mossad agent befriending a sister and brother to track down their Nazi grandfather.
The Watermelon Woman – Cheryl Dunye’s brilliant debut film about a video store clerk researching a minor black female actress in film history.
Weekend – Andrew Haigh’s stunning indie about two young men who spend a weekend together wondering if it will become more.
What’s Up Doc? – Barbra Streisand. Ryan O’Neal. Madeline Kahn. Perfect screwball comedy.
White Christmas – the classic. Rosemary Clooney swoon.
The Wizard of Oz – the classic of all classics. Love, love, love.
You Can Count on Me – Kenneth Lonergan’s classic indie film pairing the luminous Laura Linney with Mark Ruffalo as brother and sister stumbling through life.
Zero Patience – a AIDS musical made at the height of the AIDS crisis by a gay male film director? Yes, please.
Dated: November 2020
So, what do you think? What are your favorite films?
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