Between Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, Chia and I now have enough lesbian movie nights to last for some time. It’s heartening to see the list of lesbian films and streaming options grow every day–we both still have vivid memories of our childhood days where we could count the list of lesbian movies (both good and bad) on one hand and would have to embarrassingly rent them at our local Blockbuster to watch since we were still very much closeted teenagers then.
So when Happiest Season featuring Kristen Stewart came out on Hulu, we knew we had to watch it immediately and add it to our must-watch list of holiday lesbian movies. But...what do you do after watching Happiest Season? Luckily, there are quite a few other lesbian movies available on Hulu as well and we’ve put together a list for you below.
Hulu offers a free trial so if you’re looking to binge-watch all these movies, make sure you do it within the month! And if you’ve already signed up for Hulu just to watch Happiest Season (like we did), then be sure to make the most out of your subscription by watching all of these lesbian movies below.
To see our ratings and additional insight about each movie below, check out our Ultimate Lesbian Movie Database.
1. Happiest Season
Happiest Season was the holiday lesbian rom com that we were all waiting for and it didn’t disappoint. Featuring an all-star cast–Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and Aubrey Plaza–this film is about a young woman (Abby played by Kristen Stewart) who plans to propose to her girlfriend, Harper (played by Mackenzie Davis) during her family's annual holiday party but discovers that Harper hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents. It has all of the elements of love and laughter that you would want for a holiday movie combined with heartfelt emotional scenes of coming out that we can all relate to.
Read our post about Team Harper vs. Team Riley here.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Set in France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly. While the ending wasn’t necessarily the typical happy ending that you would typically want, the movie, plot, and acting were all well done so it’s definitely a must-watch.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
3. Disobedience
The talented Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star in this drama about a woman who returns to the community that shunned her decades earlier for an attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, the attraction between the two women and their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.
Disobedience is a thought-provoking plot featuring a great cast. The romantic buildup between the two lead female characters are captivating yet nuanced. Both actresses have great chemistry. Disobedience is certainly not a light-hearted movie, but it does a great job of tackling the line between religion and sexuality.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Based on the novel of the same name, The Miseducation of Cameron Post reminds you of a more modern take on the classic lesbian film, But I’m a Cheerleader, on how gay conversion therapies are silly. The plot centers around a teenager, Cameron, who is caught in the backseat of a car with the prom queen and gets sent away to a gay conversion therapy treatment center in a remote area called God's Promise. While she is being subjected to questionable therapies, she bonds with some fellow residents as they pretend to go along with the process while waiting to be released.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
5. Vita & Virginia
Inspired by the real life story of Virginia Woolf where she meets fellow author Vita Sackville-West in London in the 1920s. Despite both of them being married, they embark on an affair that later inspires one of Virginia's novels. While the film stayed largely true to the historical facts, the overall plot and storyline fell flat at some points and the bittersweet ending leaves you wanting more.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
6. Thelma
Thelma is a Norwegian supernatural thriller. Thelma is a lonely and repressed young woman who begins college in Oslo, Norway and starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable, and often dangerous, supernatural abilities and that her feelings for another female student, Anja, triggers these uncontrollable psychokinetic powers.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
7. Princess Cyd
Princess Cyd is a coming of age movie about a 16-year-old girl who visits her aunt in Chicago for the summer. While there, she falls for another girl, and she and her aunt challenge each other's sex and spirit.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
8. Booksmart
Academic overachievers Amy and Molly thought keeping their noses to the grindstone gave them a leg up on their high school peers. But on the eve of graduation, the best friends suddenly realize that they may have missed out on the special moments of their teenage years. Determined to make up for lost time, the girls decide to cram four years of not-to-be missed fun into one night–a chaotic adventure that no amount of book smarts could prepare them for. While the main storyline of the movie isn’t lesbian-focused, one of the main characters does go through a coming out moment and gets to explore her sexuality and romantic interests briefly.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
9. The Girl King
Based on a true historical figure, The Girl King is a portrait of the brilliant, extravagant Queen Kristina of Sweden (she became queen at age six) who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernise Sweden and who have no tolerance for her awakening sexuality. We love movies featuring empowering female characters especially ones based on a true story and this one doesn’t disappoint.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
10. Margarita with a Straw
Margarita with a Straw is an Indian Hindi-language drama film about a rebellious Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who leaves India to study in New York for her undergraduate education. On her journey of self-discovery, she unexpectedly falls in love with a blind girl. It’s a rare coming of age story that beautifully captures different complex topics and nuanced relationships.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
11. A Simple Favor
A Simple Favor is a crime thriller film based on the novel of the same name that stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. The story centers around a small town vlogger, Stephanie (Kendrick) who tries to solve the disappearance of her mysterious and elegant friend, Emily (Lively). While this is not truly a lesbian movie, both lead actresses have a ton of chemistry together and Kendrick and Lively share a super sexy kiss in one of the scenes. If anything, you should just watch this movie for the eye candy–Blake Lively in suits is to die for.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
12. Desert Hearts
Desert Hearts was a groundbreaking classic queer movie during its time (1985). New York professor (Helen Shaver) divorces her husband and has an affair with another woman (Patricia Charbonneau) in 1959 Reno. What’s even better is that it has a happy ending!
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
13. Carmen and Lola
Carmen and Lola is a Spanish coming out drama about two young women who live in the gypsy community. Carmen lives in a Romani community in the suburbs of Madrid. Like every other woman she has ever met, she is destined to live a life that is repeated generation after generation: getting married and raising as many children as possible. But one day she meets Lola, an uncommon Romani woman who dreams about going to university, draws bird graffiti and likes girls. Carmen quickly develops a complicity with Lola and they discover a world that, inevitably, leads them to a life that will be rejected by their families.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
14. Liz in September
Liz in September is a Venezuelan romance drama film about a terminally ill lesbian (Patricia Velasquez) who bonds and falls in love with a woman who lost her son to cancer. While we’re not big fans of movies where the lesbian dies from terminal cancer and parts of the plot for this movie seem overly complicated and unlikely, it still has moments that were deep, funny, and emotion-filled.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
15. AWOL
AWOL is about a young woman, Joey, who is in search of direction in her small town. A visit to an Army recruiting office appears to provide a path and Joey thinks that joining the Army will give her life direction. However, when she meets and falls in love with Rayna, that path diverges in ways that neither woman anticipates.
Warning: this movie does not have a happy ending, which leaves you that much more unsatisfied with it. But if you’re just looking for a new lesbian movie to watch on Hulu and have already gone through the rest on this list, then this movie is another option.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
16. Colette
Colette is a biographical drama that takes place in the 19th century based on the life of the French novelist Colette (played by Keira Knightley), who was not afraid to break both intellectual and sexual boundaries back then. Colette’s character is bold, empowering, and sexy.
This film is one of those higher quality films that’s well-written and features a great cast--something we don’t see often with lesbian movies. I mean, how can you turn down watching anything starring Keira Knightley let alone one that stars her as a lesbian main character!
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
17. Benedetta
Benedetta is a foreign film based on a true story about a 17th-century nun who joins an Italian convent and becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
Admittedly, some parts of the movie are bizarre and will make you raise your eyebrows so I was surprised to learn that it was actually based on a true story that happened hundreds of years ago. If you like foreign historical films with a somewhat unique storyline, then give this movie a watch.
Watch the trailer below:
Watch the full movie on Hulu here.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you can also watch the film on Amazon here.
What are your favorite lesbian movies to watch on Hulu?
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- Cutest Lesbian Couple Moments from Happiest Season