LGBT films that buck the trend (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock, Lacuna Filmes/Polana Filmes)

From Boys Don’t Cry and Brokeback Mountain to Milk and Moonlight, the majority of mainstream LGBT movies seem to revel in melancholy, mopiness or unremitting misery.

It’s why Love, Simon, a resolutely feel-good affair devoid of any major tragedy, makes such a refreshing change.

In the week that Hollywood’s first gay teen movie hits cinemas on this side of the Atlantic, here’s a look at 10 other relatively carefree LGBT films which broke the mould by delivering a happy ending.

The Way He Looks


This Brazilian high school romance stars Ghilherme Lobo as a blind student whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new classmate named Gabriel.



Based on an award-winning short film, The Way He Looks is a consistently endearing coming-of-age, which perfectly captures all the trials and tribulations of teenage love.

Fourth Man Out

A bro comedy with an LGBT twist, Fourth Man Out stars Evan Todd as a twentysomething New Yorker whose friendship with his dude squad is tested when he comes out.

Parker Young (Suburgatory), Chord Overstreet (Glee) and Jon Gabrus (Younger) play the three buds who all deal with the news differently in a film far more charming and warm-hearted than its premise suggests.

The Birdcage

Starring Nathan Lane and the late great Robin Williams, this 1993 remake of Franco-Italian farce La Cage Aux Folles is one of those rare LGBT films that’s a joy to watch from start to finish.

Here, the two comedic heavyweights play flamboyant partners who agree to go back into the closet when their son’s right-wing future in-laws come to town.

But I’m A Cheerleader

Starring Natasha Lyonne (American Pie, Orange Is The New Black) as a gay teenage cheerleader sent to conversion therapy camp by her ultra-conservative parents, this 1999 cult hit may sound pretty depressing on paper.

However, But I’m A Cheerleader proves to be anything but as Lyonne and her equally spirited campmates rebel against the program in a hilarious fashion that recalls the colourful satires of John Waters.

G.B.F.

Natasha Lyonne also shows up here as a teacher in a playful high school comedy described as an LGBT take on Mean Girls.

G.B.F. stars Michael J. Willett (Faking It) who becomes the ultimate aspiring prom queen accessory when he’s unwittingly outed by his classmates.

Of course, he soon proves that there’s more to his personality than being the stereotypical gay best friend.

Imagine Me & You

The LGBT movie got the Richard Curtis-style treatment in 2005 with this unashamedly old-fashioned rom-com set in London.

Starring Piper Perabo as a newlywed bride who begins to question her sexuality when she meets Lena Headey’s florist, Imagine Me & You may be pure fluff, but sometimes that’s all you want in a movie.

Big Eden

Directed by Thomas Bezucha (The Family Stone), Big Eden is another rom-com, which proved that not all LGBT stories have to drown in despair.

Released in 2000, the festival hit stars Arye Gross (Ellen) as an openly gay New York artist who returns to his highly accepting Montana hometown where he finds himself torn between his high school crush and a sweet Native American bartender.



Shelter

Part coming-out movie, part-coming-of-age, Shelter deservedly won countless festival awards on its release in 2007.

Jonah Markowitz’s directorial debut tells the story of a young artist who’s sacrificed his dreams to look after his dysfunctional family. But when his surfing buddy’s brother enters the picture, his whole world ends up changing for the better.

D.E.B.S.

There’s certainly little time for moping about in this high-octane spoof of the Charlie’s Angels franchise.

D.E.B.S. (Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength) focuses on the titular school uniform-clad team whose ringleader ends up falling in love with the criminal mastermind (Jordana Brewster) they have been hired to take down.

Sure, it’s not the most sophisticated parody around, but it’s refreshing to see this kind of comedy play its lesbian romance entirely straight.

Beautiful Thing

A kitchen sink council estate, the music of Mama Cass and playwright Jonathan Harvey’s wonderful way with words are the magic ingredients of this much-loved 1996 classic.

Beautiful Thing has its gritty moments, but is largely a simple, sweet-natured tale about two closeted teens (Scott Neal and Glen Berry) falling in love.

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