Line #44 LGBTFanbase/LiveActionFilms


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2	[[LGBTFanbase LGBT Fanbases]] in LiveActionFilms.
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5	* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': Blatant LGBT Fanbase bait.
6	** If watching ''300'' doesn't make you long for [[BaraGenre mansex]], you're [[MisaimedFandom missing the point entirely]].
7	** The film reviewer from ''The Advocate'' called it "the most homoerotic '''''and''''' the most homophobic movie of the year."
8	* While ''Franchise/TheAddamsFamily'' has always been loved by queer audiences due to its overall message that it's okay to be different, the 1993 film ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues'' has developed a cult following in the LGBT community thanks to Creator/JoanCusack's over-the-top performance as villainess Debbie, as well as Creator/ChristinaRicci taking a more central role as Wednesday.
9	* A number of classic [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Golden Age Hollywood]] films, particularly those starring (or concerning) Creator/BetteDavis and Creator/JoanCrawford have strong gay fanbases. The two actresses' combination of Old Hollywood glamor, hammy performances, and strong personalities (laced with tragedy in the case of Crawford) inspired a whole generation of {{Drag Queen}}s and served as role models to CampGay men who grew up watching their films.
10	** ''Film/AllAboutEve'': Contains a coded gay character in the form of Addison, as well as strong performance from Bette Davis as an actress.
11	** ''Literature/MommieDearest'': The film appealed to gay Joan Crawford fans both for the subject material, as well as due to its extreme campiness.
12	** ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'': Another movie about showbiz featuring a glamorous but vulnerable actress who performs with over-the-top theatricality. The climax of the film, when deluded WhiteDwarfStarlet Norma Desmond prepares to perform again, has become iconic.
13	** ''Film/WhateverHappenedToBabyJane'': Features hammy performances from both Joan Crawford AND Bette Davis. The makeup and looks in the film inspired the visual aesthetic of many a DragQueen.
14	* ''Film/TheBabadook'' gained an LGBT Fanbase almost entirely through MemeticMutation after Netflix [[https://i.redd.it/ql4yjo7s6e3y.png categorized the movie as an LGBT film]], leading to the Babadook being adopted as an [[https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/6/9/15757964/gay-babadook-lgbtq ironic (but surprisingly strongly embraced) gay icon]], especially during 2017's Pride Month, when the meme really took off.
15	* Creator/JoelSchumacher's Batman films, ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', may have been panned by critics and audiences, but they've developed a gay male following due to their "anatomically-correct rubber suits," Creator/ChrisODonnell ''in'' the anatomically-correct rubber suits, and Creator/UmaThurman's take on Poison Ivy, which remains a DragQueen staple to this day.
16	* ''Film/TheBirdcage'', as well as the play it's based on, ''[[Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles La Cage aux Folles]]'', natch.
17	* ''{{Film/Burlesque}}'' has developed its fair share of followers due its cast of Christina Aguilera, Cher, Stanley Tucci and Julianne Hough. The whole film focusing on a burlesque contained with female dancers and some homoerotic subtext towards its female dancers.
18	* ''Film/CalamityJane'', which has some [[HoYay Les Yay]] between the main female characters to the point where it's been been shown at LGBT festivals. The film is about a tomboyish Calamity Jane learning to become more girly with the help of a singer named Katie, but the romance subplot is overshadowed by Jane and Katie's PseudoRomanticFriendship. The song "Secret Love" has been [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpreted]] by modern viewers as [[{{Tsundere}} Jane]] realizing her love for [[HeterosexualLifePartners Katie]] rather than Bill. This was discussed in ''Film/TheCelluloidCloset''.
19	* ''Film/CharliesAngels2019'': The film is popular amongst queer women. Besides the attractive and badass female leads, Sabine is highly indicated to be lesbian or bi. Being played by the openly bisexual Creator/KristenStewart helps.
20	* ''Film/CloudAtlas'' has a pretty sizable LGBT fanbase due to the relationship between Robert Frobisher and Rufus Sixsmith. It is also popular with transgender viewers due to the numerous {{Cross Cast Role}}s and the involvement of The Wachowskis (both of whom are transgender).
21	* Some of Creator/DarioArgento's films have a pretty strong LGBT following due to their GenderBender imagery and colorful visual style.
22	* The Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse has quite the LGBT fanbase as well:
23	** Many LGBT people who'd [[{{Gayngst}} struggled with their identities]] in some form expressed a feeling of identifying with Superman's own feelings of loneliness, isolation, and identity issues. It also helps that his actor, Creator/HenryCavill is a TallDarkAndHandsome MrFanservice {{Hunk}}, an aspect that is appreciated well by gay and bisexual male fans.
24	** ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': It goes without saying that this movie had gay and bisexual women practically swooning, not just over Creator/GalGadot but the entire island of Themyscira. The plot centers on a gorgeous superheroine who comes from a LadyLand of [[AmazonianBeauty insanely beautiful]] [[ActionGirl badass women]] who have long since concluded that men are necessary for procreation but "not for pleasure." Do the math. It also helps that actress Elena Anaya, who plays one of the villains, Dr. Poison, is openly gay in real life.
25	** ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'', much like ''Wonder Woman'', features a largely-female cast led by the canonically bisexual Harley Quinn, whose story arc involves her finding her own path separate from the Joker after he suddenly breaks up with her. The way Harley and Dinah Lance are both rather appreciative of Huntress adds fuel to the fire. It also helps that Harley's actress, Creator/MargotRobbie, has been reported to be really wanting ComicBook/PoisonIvy incorporated into the DCEU.
26	* ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'' maintains a significant cult following within the LGBT+ community, to the point where screenings of it are common during Pride Month celebrations. Tom Campbell, the executive producer of ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'', states that much of the appeal among LGBT+ audiences lies in the main characters "trying to win a game that's rigged against them" while jumping through the hoops of glamour, something that resonates well with their own plights.
27	* ''Film/TheDevilWearsPrada'': This film has a large fanbase of lesbian and bisexual women, mainly due to a lot of the actresses already having some, especially Creator/MerylStreep. The focus on fashion and Nigel being gay have also led to a large fanbase of gay men.
28	* Creator/EdWood has become something of a gay icon since the [[Film/EdWood 1994 Tim Burton movie]] brought him a modicum of mainstream acknowledgment. Not only are his films as {{camp}} as twelve tents, making them the definitive SoBadItsGood viewing experiences, but many of them feature largely sympathetic (if [[FairForItsDay dated]]) portrayals of cross-dressers, which resonates both with actual cross-dressers and [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide generally feminine men]].
29	* The [[Film/Ghostbusters2016 2016 reboot of]] ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' developed quite a solid lesbian fanbase. This is thanks in large part to EnsembleDarkhorse Jillian Holtzmann who, although not actually identified as such, is played by an openly gay actress. WordOfGod also claims that the character was intended to be openly identified as such in the film, but studio pressure required the makers to make it (slightly) more subtle. In addition to this, the character of Erin Gilbert also has a backstory which strikes a chord with the LGBT community, being someone who was forced to conceal a vital part of their identity and try to pass as 'normal' from an early age due to parental and societal pressure and was bullied and outcast due to this, leading to numerous issues with fitting in as an adult [[note]]The 'vital part' in this case is that she saw a ghost as a child, but it's not hard to see the parallels if so inclined[[/note]].
30	* ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' has a strong LGBT following for multiple reasons: 1. Its four leads, Creator/HughJackman, Creator/MichelleWilliams, Creator/ZacEfron, and Creator/{{Zendaya}}, are all well-regarded in the community; 2. The movie's subplot about the circus freaks taking pride in the things that make them different resonated strongly for obvious reasons; 3. Most importantly, its SignatureSong "This Is Me" has become a battle hymn for the LGBT community and was the unofficial [[PrideParade Pride anthem]] of 2018. In some cities it was the ''official'' anthem/slogan for Pride that year.
31	* ''Film/JennifersBody'': Despite Jennifer and Needy's relationship being described (not entirely inaccurately) as queerbait, ''especially'' the scene where they make out for no apparent reason, this film has a rather large following among queer women. The film's iffy use of the DepravedBisexual trope is fully acknowledged, but the general attitude is, "It's schlock, but it's ''our'' schlock" (similar to how some queer fans view the older and even campier movie ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'').
32	* ''Film/{{M3GAN}}'' gained one from the moment the first trailer was released, which introduced the titular RobotGirl villain wearing a pair of CoolShades and showed her doing a dance that quickly [[MemeticMutation went viral]]. In [[https://screenrant.com/megan-movie-doll-queer-icon/ the actual film,]] her personality becomes increasingly [[AlphaBitch sassy]] as she gains sentience, and her relationship with Cady, a young girl who recently lost her parents and is now being cared for by an aunt who's not cut out for the job, brought in themes of FoundFamily that resonated with a lot of queer fans, even if [=M3GAN=] is the villain here. ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAprAHEw18I spoofed]] her following among gay men by having the sequel blatantly pander to them, making her a FagHag who hangs out at a [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay bar]].
33	* ''Film/MammaMia'' and its sequel ''Film/MammaMiaHereWeGoAgain'' have a solid gay following, which makes sense -- they're campy musicals, and the music is all by Music/{{ABBA}}, who have a gay following of their own. When ''Here We Go Again'' came out, it was often joked online that the main audience would be "gay people and their middle-aged moms."
34	* ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' series, though particularly [[Film/TheMatrix the first film]], has garnered something of a following among transgender viewers with many claiming what Neo (Creator/KeanuReeves) and many of the redpills experience upon learning the truth about the world they lived in heavily resonates with how many transgender people feel while transitioning. Given that the franchise's creators, Creator/TheWachowskis, both later came out as trans women themselves, the film's transgender subtext starts to make sense. The transgender allegory was later [[IKnewIt confirmed]] [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53692435 by co-creator Lilly Wachowski]]. It may or may not be a coincidence that, at the time that the film was made, one of the most commonly-prescribed brands of pharmaceutical female hormone, estradiol, came as a red pill...
35	* While the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' is popular with viewers of all orientations, certain characters and works in particular attract an especially strong queer following:
36	** The ''Film/CaptainAmerica'' trilogy's massive gay/bi following (especially fans of BaraGenre works) reached mainstream levels of infamy during its time due to the films' focus on the [[HoYay intense]] and [[HomoeroticSubtext homoerotic]] bonds between the titular character and the men in his life, several of whom play the role of TheNotLoveInterest to the point that his ''actual'' love interests seem to fall to the wayside. Bucky Barnes in particular has undergone MemeticMutation into [[https://thefanboyseo.com/2021/04/26/bucky-barnes-is-a-disney-princess/ the latest Disney princess]]. The films' homoeroticism played an important role in kickstarting ongoing debates regarding the MCU's (as well as Hollywood's) lack of canonical LGBT representation that continue to this day.
37	** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' is famously beloved, and memetically known as a film made for bisexuals because of Valkyrie and Loki being canonically bi themselves (and Grandmaster being implied to be pansexual), Hela and Grandmaster being incredibly flamboyant antagonists, and the entire cast, regardless of gender, being ridiculously attractive. Thor also has a reputation as lesbian ally for being hypermasculine but kind and respectful to women, while Loki's backstory as a secret Frost Giant raised to believe he was an Asgardian and who is [[BrainsEvilBrawnGood looked down upon]] for embracing "feminine" skills like magic and cunning over brute strength makes him popular with trans fans, furthered when ''Series/Loki2021'' describes him as genderfluid.
38	** ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' is beloved among lesbian/bisexual women for similar reasons as the ''Captain America'' films and is often seen as their DistaffCounterpart due to the LesYay-filled relationship between Carol and her best friend Maria Rambeau serving as its emotional heart, coupled with the absence of any male love interests to get in the way.
39	** Wanda Maximoff as a character came in with a LGBT fanbase from the comics stemming from both being a mutant (the X-men themselves well-known as allegory for being LGBT) and as the mother of two of the most prominent LGBT superheroes, Billy/Wiccan and Tommy/Speed. Her insecurities about being feared and hated for reasons beyond her control before learning to embrace those aspects as one of her strengths, one of the well-known forms of RainbowLens, also carried over to the films.
40	* Thanks to ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' being one of the first mainstream films to tackle LGBTQIA+ themes, it's maintained a devoted following of LGBT fans to this day, even as its depictions grow [[FairForItsDay increasingly outdated]]. It also helps that the creator of the ''Rocky Horror'' brand, Creator/RichardOBrien, identifies as nonbinary.
41	* ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'': Holmes and Watson. Most prevalent in the [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 2009 film]] where the homoerotic angle was purposefully pushed.
42	-->'''Jude Law [Watson]:''' I knew enough about Sherlock Holmes to know that there was a lot of unchartered material. I knew [Downey's casting] was going to be something exciting, and therefore the project was going to be something exciting. And as soon as I met him, we got on very well - which is a good sign - and we both agreed that we wanted to really make this a piece about the relationship between Watson and Holmes.
43	-->'''Creator/RobertDowneyJr. [Holmes]:''' I think the word bromance is so passe. We are two men who happen to be roommates who wrestle a lot and share a bed.
44	* ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' has become a gay favorite due to its sexuality and SoBadItsGood campiness. Shadowcasts and parodies of the movie by {{Drag Queen}}s are common and are an annual event at the Castro Theatre, capital of San Francisco's {{Gayborhood}}.
45	* While it was roundly condemned by most LGBT groups on release for its flawed portrayal of transsexuality, ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' is still appreciated by parts of the lesbian community because of Jodie Foster having since come out as a lesbian and their identification with Clarice's struggles in a violent, male-dominated world.
46	* The SlasherMovie genre has always been popular with gay men, not just for the camp value, but mainly because they often subconsciously identify with the hero/heroine, usually the FinalGirl, overcoming evil with smarts and strength, and the transformation they have to go through as a character often resonating with gay viewers. Some also find subtext in the sexual repression typically found in the Final Girl.
47	** The ''Film/{{Scream}}'' franchise particularly stands out for its gay male following. This is usually attributed to its slightly campy tone, snarky dialogue, the theatricality of the killers (especially in their dramatic speeches after their unmaskings), the fact that ''anyone'', regardless of gender or sexual orientation, can be said killer, and writer/creator Creator/KevinWilliamson being openly gay himself. The first film also has heavy homoerotic undertones between [[spoiler: Billy and Stu]]; they were inspired by the famously gay Leopold and Loeb killers. [[https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/16/horror-movie-villains-ranked-queer-lgbtq/ One LGBT site]] even named Ghostface the queerest horror movie villain.
48	* The ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise in general got quite a strong lesbian fanbase, due almost entirely to Linda Hamilton's powerful performance and muscular, androgynous appearance in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', which made her something of a sex symbol for {{Butch Lesbian}}s and women who appreciate them.
49	* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' is a classic example, heavily contributing to Creator/JudyGarland's own LGBT fanbase. Many in the gay community could relate to Dorothy's longing of escape to a better place, "some place where there isn't any trouble." Dorothy's acceptance of the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Lion also struck a chord among many gay men who felt confident that Dorothy would also accept them in open arms without a second thought. ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend_of_Dorothy "Friend of Dorothy"]] even became an euphemism for a gay man). The Wizard and Glinda also don't try to solve or "cure" the characters' problems, and instead pointing out that they had what they wanted all along. All of this heavily resonated with an early LGBT audience, and the fact that film provided heavy camp on top of that only sealed the deal.
50	* ''Film/TheWomen'' was another early film popular with gay men, in part because director Creator/GeorgeCukor was gay himself, and also because of the campy female performances, particularly from Creator/JoanCrawford (herself a classic gay icon). Gender studies theorist David M. Halperin once noted that the film would be shown at the Castro movie theater in San Francisco, and "The audience would be full of gay men who knew the movie by heart and who would recite the lines out loud in unison with each other and the actresses."
51	* ''Film/{{Xanadu\|1980}}'': A {{camp}}y {{Disco}} [[AllGaysLoveTheater musical]]. How much gayer can you get? The film's gay and female fanbase pushes it out of flop territory and into CultClassic.
52	* The ''Franchise/XMenFilmSeries'', for reasons similar to the [[ComicBook/XMen comic book ]] as well as the involvement of gay actor Creator/IanMcKellen and bisexual director Creator/BryanSinger. Creator/ElliotPage publicly coming out in 2014 also helped boost LGBT interest in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', even though his character was DemotedToExtra.
53	%%* ''Film/ShowMeLove''

Context LGBTFanbase / LiveActionFilms