10 Queer Teen Rom-Coms to Make Your Summer a Happy One

Coming-of-age movies should be a natural home for queer romance, but there are surprisingly few old-fashioned teenage rom-coms that prominently feature LGBTQ+ characters. Highbrow queer films like Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers are wonderful, but sometimes you just want something unserious, comforting, and fun. We’re talking, of course, about queer teen rom-coms. 

Here are 10 queer teen rom-coms, then, that will leave you in a good mood. We picked movies that vary in style, tone, and aim but that are all fundamentally lighthearted, feature teenagers as main characters, and have at least one significant queer character or storyline.

It’s important to note that we live in a world where queer representation is still flawed. Many of these movies aren’t perfect, or even feature perfect representation, whatever that means. But we hope that across the list you’ll find something that connects.

1. Alex Strangelove (2018)

Director: Craig Johnson

Gawky, romantic, and wildlife-obsessed teenager Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny)—his real name—bonds with a fellow nerd named Claire (Madeline Weinstein) over a shared love of cephalopods. They soon begin a romantic relationship, but Alex starts to question his sexuality when he meets a gay teenager named Elliot (Antonio Marziale) at a party. It’s a sweet and charming movie from writer-director Craig Daniels that leaves you with the comforting sense that everything is going to turn out okay. Bonus points for exploring a love triangle—of sorts—that humanizes everyone involved. 

2. Booksmart (2019)

Director: Olivia Wilde

Two teenage girls who spent most of their high school experience studying decide to go all out on a wild adventure the night before their graduation. Also, it stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. What more needs to be said? Booksmart deftly satirizes the idea of high-level high school academic achievement, taking aim at which character archetypes in the typical high school film are afforded depictions of intelligence and agency, while featuring scene-stealing supporting turns from Billie Lourd and The Righteous Gemstones‘ Skyler Gisondo. If you’re looking for a funny, chaotic story about female friendship and pop feminism with an endearing queer romantic subplot, you can’t go wrong with this one.

3. Bottoms (2023)

Director: Emma Seligman

Writer-director Emma Seligman is a master of Gen Z humor, and she knocks it out of the park with Bottoms, a queer comedy about Josie (Ayo Edebiri) and PJ (Rachel Sennott), two awkward teenage lesbians determined to find girlfriends. Their strategy—starting a fight club in the hopes that their crushes, two of the most popular girls in school, will join—is a bit unorthodox, but you have to respect their creativity. Bottoms takes place in a heightened high school setting that pokes good-natured fun at jocks, gym teachers, and pointless social hierarchies. Come for Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, and stay for a wild, absurdist story with a big heart. 

4. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Director: Jamie Babbit

For the few who don’t know, But I’m a Cheerleader is a comedy about gay conversion therapy—seriously! It’s also perhaps the quintessential example of queer teen rom-coms, featuring a laundry list of now-famous actors including Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, and Melanie Lynskey. The movie follows Megan, a high school cheerleader sent to a conversion therapy camp by her parents on suspicion of being a lesbian (the evidence: she’s a vegetarian, she has posters of women in her locker, and she doesn’t particularly enjoy making out with her jock boyfriend). A true classic, But I’m a Cheerleader is the rare incisive rom-com that manages to be romantic, hilarious, and meaningful, often within a single scene. 

5. Crush (2022)

Director: Sammi Cohen

Teenage romcoms don’t get much more prototypical than Crush, a classic YA love triangle that follows Paige (Rowan Blanchard), a high school girl dealing with unrequited feelings for popular girl Gabby (Isabelle Ferreira). But after Paige winds up on the track team, she finds herself gravitating towards Gabby’s sister AJ (Auli’i Cravahlo), one of the team’s star runners. Further complicating matters is a mystery about an unknown graffiti artist who keeps vandalizing the school. Paige and AJ have compelling chemistry that keeps the emotions high as the movie plays up its central love triangle to maximum effect. 

6. My Old Ass (2024)

Director: Megan Park

Elliot (Maisy Stella) is a teenage lesbian who lives on her parents’ farm in Canada and is enjoying her last summer before she leaves for college. After getting high on mushroom tea with her friends, she finds herself visited by an older version of herself, played by Aubrey Plaza. Older Elliot has some pieces of advice for younger Elliot—including that she stay away from a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White). But when Elliot later encounters Chad, she finds herself romantically attracted to him, which leads her to question the way she’s defined her sexuality up until this point in her life. 

7. Love, Simon (2018)

Director: Greg Berlanti

Based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon follows a closeted gay teenager as he begins emailing with an anonymous gay student at his high school who goes by the pseudonym “Blue.” The movie is sweet and sensitive, full of first romantic experiences, heartwarming friendships, and general teenage angst. If you like it, you can always check out the spin-off TV series Love, Victor.

8. Plan B (2021)

Director: Natalie Morales

Plan B is a politically conscious road trip comedy directed by Natalie Morales that keeps its foot on the gas. The morning after having sex for the first time, Sunny (Kuhoo Verma), a teeanger living in South Dakota, makes the unfortunate discovery that the condom is still in her body. So, she and her best friend Lupe (Victoria Moroles) set off on a road trip to their nearest Planned Parenthood to acquire a plan B pill. On said road trip, the two take on drug dealers, online love interests, and some watershed friendship moments. 

9. Prom Dates (2024)

Director: Kim O. Nguyen

This raunchy, zany comedy stars Antonia Gentry and Julia Lester as Jess and Hannah, two best friends trying to find last-minute dates to prom—and they’re willing to do whatever it takes. Jess is just getting out of a relationship with a boyfriend who cheated on her, and Hannah is in the process of coming out as a lesbian. The comedy of Prom Dates may skew a bit broad, but there are still laughs to be had, especially when the movie taps into an over-the-top coming-of-age spirit. 

10. The Half of It (2020)

Director: Alice Wu

Quiet and understated, The Half of It follows Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) as she starts writing love letters to the beautiful, popular Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) on behalf of her neighbor Paul (Daniel Deimer), who has a crush on Aster but isn’t the most naturally gifted with language. Needless to say, Ellie soon begins to fall for Aster herself. The Half of It takes a lot of teen tropes and gives them a bit of a serious, introspective spin. Ellie’s feelings for Aster are genuine, but so is her growing friendship with Paul. And what does it really mean for Aster to fall for the author of the letters when she’s been fundamentally misled about who that person is? Some of the answers the movie offers are a little easy, but the characters are likable enough that you can’t help but root for them to work everything out. Queer teen rom-coms don’t get much more thoughtful.