Be gay, do crime
June 16, 2024 11:12 AM Subscribe
I want to watch re-Bound with some friends before watching Loves Lies Bleeding. Seems like a good time to watch any other queer heist, rampage, crime spree movies you can recommend.
Bonus for a spoiler free synopses, and for generally more joyful, like Dahmer ain’t it. Random gay character need not apply, queer centered bad behavior is what I’m after.
Bonus for a spoiler free synopses, and for generally more joyful, like Dahmer ain’t it. Random gay character need not apply, queer centered bad behavior is what I’m after.
Drive-Away Dolls!
posted by knile at 11:34 AM on June 16 [5 favorites]
posted by knile at 11:34 AM on June 16 [5 favorites]
Maybe Party Monster? There's some fun aspects to the movie, but it's ultimately about a sociopath. It seems like maybe you're asking for more like "Ocean's 11 but with the heist done by queer people".
posted by LionIndex at 11:52 AM on June 16
posted by LionIndex at 11:52 AM on June 16
D.E.B.S. "follows the relationship between spy-in-training Amy Bradshaw and supervillain Lucy Diamond" (from Wikipedia). It's maybe more fantastical than you may be looking for, but still needs to be on this list.
posted by edencosmic at 11:53 AM on June 16 [5 favorites]
posted by edencosmic at 11:53 AM on June 16 [5 favorites]
Itty Bitty Titty Committee, Jamie Babbit's movie about young radical queers blowing shit up in the name of activism. It's great.
posted by fight or flight at 12:58 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
posted by fight or flight at 12:58 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
How To Blow Up a Pipeline (disclaimer, haven’t seen it yet so hope it’s as queer as I’ve read)
posted by ellieBOA at 1:09 PM on June 16
posted by ellieBOA at 1:09 PM on June 16
The Handmaiden by Park Chan-wook might fit on your list. It is like three crime movies wrapped up into one and features a central lesbian romance. The plot is heavier than joyful as it is set in Japan-occupied Korea and explicitly depicts non-consensual BDSM sequences (there is a pervy uncle who intends to marry his niece). But the queer characters definitely behave badly, and throughout the twists and turns of the film they both win and lose in big ways.
posted by crossswords at 1:19 PM on June 16 [4 favorites]
posted by crossswords at 1:19 PM on June 16 [4 favorites]
Noel Coward's Mr. Bridger in the Italian Job isn't the main character but essential to the film.
posted by brujita at 1:42 PM on June 16
posted by brujita at 1:42 PM on June 16
Bottoms. Kinda-sorta like Heathers. I think this is what you're looking for.
Legend, about the real-life Kray brothers (one of whom was gay) who went on a crime spree in London in the 60s. Maybe not quite what you're looking for. Also, I found the dialect pretty impenetrable.
posted by adamrice at 2:35 PM on June 16 [3 favorites]
Legend, about the real-life Kray brothers (one of whom was gay) who went on a crime spree in London in the 60s. Maybe not quite what you're looking for. Also, I found the dialect pretty impenetrable.
posted by adamrice at 2:35 PM on June 16 [3 favorites]
I immediately thought of the underrated Set it Off, in which two main characters are lesbians.
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:42 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:42 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
Omg Bottoms. Yes yes yes.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:57 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:57 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
the rebecca romijn character in femme fatale is ambiguously sexual, but it's a more a plot point than the main thrust (heh). It's a helluva brian depalma heist film.
not available for streaming anywhere, but worth a DVD buy for certain.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:18 PM on June 16
not available for streaming anywhere, but worth a DVD buy for certain.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:18 PM on June 16
Fingersmith (2005) is a mini-series about Victorian crime lesbians. I just love it, highly highly recommend. Appears to be streaming on Britbox.
Basic Instinct isn’t exactly uplifting lgbt cinema but there’s bisexuality and crime.
posted by meowmeowdream at 7:48 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
Basic Instinct isn’t exactly uplifting lgbt cinema but there’s bisexuality and crime.
posted by meowmeowdream at 7:48 PM on June 16 [2 favorites]
I can think of three movies that haven’t been mentioned which might be of interest even if none are exactly what you’re asking for.
The Crying Game. About a IRA terrorist who starts a friendship/relationship with a captive’s lover. When it came out in 1992 it was very much asking people not to spoil anything, so keeping that going.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It’s more like a buddy detective movie with one of the two men being gay. Val Kilmer is hilarious. They absolutely commit crimes (sometimes unintentionally) while trying to crack a case.
Yet another movie I can think of is 8 Femmes, about a murdered patriarch in a manor and 8 women who are suspects. There’s lesbian elements. It’s a musical.
posted by cali59 at 7:53 PM on June 16
The Crying Game. About a IRA terrorist who starts a friendship/relationship with a captive’s lover. When it came out in 1992 it was very much asking people not to spoil anything, so keeping that going.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It’s more like a buddy detective movie with one of the two men being gay. Val Kilmer is hilarious. They absolutely commit crimes (sometimes unintentionally) while trying to crack a case.
Yet another movie I can think of is 8 Femmes, about a murdered patriarch in a manor and 8 women who are suspects. There’s lesbian elements. It’s a musical.
posted by cali59 at 7:53 PM on June 16
What is re-Bound? Is it a movie besides the 2005 sports movie? Or do you mean you want to re-watch Bound?
If you're not talking about the Wachowskis' Bound, you should definitely watch that.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:28 PM on June 16
If you're not talking about the Wachowskis' Bound, you should definitely watch that.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:28 PM on June 16
Heads up that “The Crying Game” is horribly transphobic even for 1990s standards. I am still troubled by “the surprise” and the ensuing discussion of trans bodies in mainstream media, thanks to being a young trans teen when the movie was released.
posted by hgws at 8:48 PM on June 16 [6 favorites]
posted by hgws at 8:48 PM on June 16 [6 favorites]
Atomic Blonde kinda sorta does this. It's actually a spy flick, with lots of ass-kicking action, and Charlize Theron's title character is definitely queer, though it's not her central character trait.
posted by lhauser at 9:05 PM on June 16 [1 favorite]
posted by lhauser at 9:05 PM on June 16 [1 favorite]
Also is seems wrong to leave out Female Trouble by John Waters, "follows delinquent high school student Dawn Davenport (played by Divine), who runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitchhiking, and embarks upon a life of crime."
posted by brookeb at 10:40 PM on June 16 [1 favorite]
posted by brookeb at 10:40 PM on June 16 [1 favorite]
Butterfly Kiss... not exactly joyful but a wild ride with Amanda Plummer (I've also never met anyone else who's seen it but it really did happen).
posted by kokaku at 4:46 AM on June 17
posted by kokaku at 4:46 AM on June 17
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Brilliant acting from Richard Grant and Melissa McCarthy - it's her best performance by far, and they were both nominated for Oscars - as a pair of queer has-beens who find their criminal niche together. The crime spree is forgery of literary letters (based on a real case) so it's somewhat more subdued than Bound, say, but it's both a caper film and a deeply emotional character study, and just an all-around excellent queer crime movie.
posted by mediareport at 5:19 AM on June 17 [1 favorite]
Brilliant acting from Richard Grant and Melissa McCarthy - it's her best performance by far, and they were both nominated for Oscars - as a pair of queer has-beens who find their criminal niche together. The crime spree is forgery of literary letters (based on a real case) so it's somewhat more subdued than Bound, say, but it's both a caper film and a deeply emotional character study, and just an all-around excellent queer crime movie.
posted by mediareport at 5:19 AM on June 17 [1 favorite]
(oh, and it's also really really funny)
posted by mediareport at 5:29 AM on June 17
posted by mediareport at 5:29 AM on June 17
Booksmart fits into the “hilarious joyful rampage” category and one of the main characters is queer. “On the eve of their high-school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.”
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:54 AM on June 17 [2 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:54 AM on June 17 [2 favorites]
Brooklyn's Nitehawk theater has an ongoing "Be Gay Do Crime" film series
This appears to be a very popular "Be Gay Do Crime" list on Letterboxd
posted by benbenson at 12:16 PM on June 17 [2 favorites]
This appears to be a very popular "Be Gay Do Crime" list on Letterboxd
posted by benbenson at 12:16 PM on June 17 [2 favorites]
Oceans 8 is a super-fun heist film with many twists and turns. While there's no explicit queer relationships, there are some queer-coded major characters.
posted by erst at 1:16 PM on June 17 [1 favorite]
posted by erst at 1:16 PM on June 17 [1 favorite]
Would Dog Day Afternoon count?
posted by Julnyes at 1:39 PM on June 17 [2 favorites]
posted by Julnyes at 1:39 PM on June 17 [2 favorites]
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar.
Yes that’s one movie with a long title.
Awesome cast (including Patrick Swayze) and is touching without being depressing. Three lovely people on a road trip encounter some unexpected obstacles.
posted by knobknosher at 9:29 PM on June 17
Yes that’s one movie with a long title.
Awesome cast (including Patrick Swayze) and is touching without being depressing. Three lovely people on a road trip encounter some unexpected obstacles.
posted by knobknosher at 9:29 PM on June 17
Not a movie, but the podcast Hot White Heist fits your other requirements perfectly.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 7:49 AM on June 18
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 7:49 AM on June 18
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posted by mochapickle at 11:31 AM on June 16 [7 favorites]