Film

G.B.F.

A high school comedy about the frantic race to befriend the school's first openly gay student. G.B.F. lands somewhere between satire and genuine warmth, poking fun at teen clique hierarchies and straight girls' fetishization while letting its characters grow beyond the premise. It's slight but quick-moving, with heart underneath the snark. For anyone who enjoyed the genre's better teen comedies.

TMDb rating3.0

If you liked this

Mean Girls2004

The obvious predecessor: a smarter-than-average teen comedy that understands clique dynamics and makes space for real emotion alongside the jokes. Tina Fey's script lands almost every beat.

But It's been absorbed into culture so completely that the sharpness can blur on rewatching. Also, genuinely quotable comedies age into becoming their own meme.

Mean Girls poster

Clueless1995

The template for teen comedies done right: smart about its world, genuinely funny, and surprisingly kind to all its characters even when satirizing them. Alicia Silverstone is perfect.

But The valley-girl dialogue, once fresh, now reads as occasionally affected. Some '90s references have aged into obscurity.

Clueless poster

Heathers1989

A darker, nastier high school satire that doesn't soften its edge. If you want the cruelty of cliques treated seriously rather than warmly, this is the comparison point.

But It's genuinely bleak and ends in violence. The tone is pitch-black comedy, not the gentler approach G.B.F. takes.

Heathers poster

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Pose2018

Where G.B.F. asks what it means to be a gay best friend, Pose asks what queer community actually is. Same question about identity, performance, and authenticity, from opposite ends of the spectrum.

A series about queer community, trans identity, and found family in 1980s Harlem. It has nothing to do with high school cliques but everything to do with how people define themselves for each other and the real stakes of visibility. Gorgeous, funny, devastating.

But Three seasons, but the first feels like setup for the emotional weight of what comes after. It's far more serious than a teen comedy; some episodes are difficult.

Pose poster
More like this (8)

The Half of It2020

A sharper, more thoughtful take on the gay best friend dynamic, told from the perspective of an Asian-American lesbian who sees through the performance. Much more earnest about identity and what friendship actually means.

But It's slower and less interested in jokes. The tone is melancholy where G.B.F. is energetic; it's about longing, not fun.

The Half of It poster

But I'm a Cheerleader2000

A queer teen comedy that's genuinely in on its own joke, bright and colorful and unashamed of being silly. It loves its characters without letting them off the hook.

But The low budget is visible in every frame. Campy on purpose, which some find dated rather than charming.

But I'm a Cheerleader poster

Love, Simon2018

A modern, glossy high school romance that centers a closeted gay boy. Warm-hearted and funny without being mean, it shares G.B.F.'s belief that teen comedies can make space for real stakes.

But It plays everything a touch safe and earnest. The corporate sheen of a studio film can make it feel less lived-in than smaller, scrappier comedies.

Love, Simon poster

10 Things I Hate About You1999

Another '90s teen comedy that trusts its audience's intelligence and gives every character dimension. Fast, clever, anchored by genuine performances.

But It's fundamentally a romance, not an ensemble piece. If you're tired of the 'taming of the shrew' plot, you'll see it coming a mile away.

10 Things I Hate About You poster

Easy A2010

A smarter teen comedy about reputation and how students weaponize sexuality and scandal. Emma Stone carries it with genuine charm, and the film has surprising sophistication.

But By the third act it softens its own critique and becomes more conventional. Some jokes don't land; the tone can feel uneven.

Easy A poster

Jawbreaker1999

A wild, darkly comedic look at clique violence and how teen girls navigate power. Rose McGowan is magnetic. It's messier and nastier than most teen comedies.

But The nastiness isn't always in service of something; it can feel mean-spirited. The plot veers into territory some find hard to take seriously.

Jawbreaker poster

Daria1997

Both understand that high school social structures are ridiculous and also that they matter enormously. Both find comedy in the gap between those two truths.

An animated series about high school hierarchy, friendship, and the art of detachment. It's funny because the characters see through the bullshit; it's moving because they care anyway. Smart and sneakily heartfelt.

But Animation can feel disposable to some. It's quieter and drier than most comedies; the humor requires patience.

Daria poster

Paris Is Burning1991

G.B.F. is about being adopted as an accessory. This is about the real thing: chosen family and the performance of self as survival and art. Same world, completely different stakes and authenticity.

A documentary about the underground ballroom scene in 1980s New York, where queer and trans performers of color created family, performance, identity, and community. Raw, moving, joyful, and genuinely important. It's essential watching.

But The format is documentary, not fiction. Some subjects and scenes involve real hardship and loss. It's not entertainment in the traditional sense; it demands respect.

Paris Is Burning poster

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