Film
Latter Days
A romantic comedy-drama about a West Hollywood party boy and a closeted Mormon missionary who fall into an unexpected, complicated relationship. It's funny and tender but unafraid to sit with genuine pain—the clash between desire, faith, and belonging. For anyone who's loved a film about people caught between worlds.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like love stories where two people who should not fall for each other slowly, awkwardly, sincerely do, and where faith and desire are both taken seriously.
Skip it if you want a brisk, gag-packed comedy, because the laughs come in gentle waves and the romance is earnest, talky and often melancholy about what its characters cannot have.
What it asks of you: Around two hours of patience with long conversations and quiet pauses, plus tolerance for frank sexual content and a tone that shifts between giggly and heavy.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Brokeback Mountain2005
The definitive modern gay love story: two men across decades, told with devastating restraint. It earns every heartbreak through specificity and refusal to look away.
But Bleak and austere in a way that leaves no room for comfort. If you need resolution, this won't give it to you.
The Boys in the Band2020
Eight gay men, one apartment, one night of reckoning. Smart, funny, caustic, and built on real affection underneath all the wounding. Feels like eavesdropping on something true.
But Theatrical and talky; if you prefer subtlety to confrontation, the artifice may show. Some jokes haven't aged perfectly.
Prayers for Bobby2009
A mother reckons with losing her gay son to suicide and unlearns her faith's teachings. Achingly human, never preachy. Ryan Phillippe is quietly devastating.
But Devastating is the operative word. This is a film about grief and religious trauma, not a feel-good story.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Latter Days
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Moonlight2016
Both films trace the cost of hiding, but *Moonlight* does it across decades and through pure visual poetry rather than romantic comedy. Different medium, same wound.
Three chapters across a Black man's life: boyhood, adolescence, adulthood. Formally daring, sensory, and quietly devastating about isolation, desire, and the self we show the world. A masterpiece.
But Experimental structure and minimal dialogue. It's impressionistic rather than plot-driven; some viewers find it opaque. Slower than expected.
More like this (6)
Transamerica2005
A trans woman meets her estranged son and they drive cross-country. Funny, awkward, and sincere about identity in ways that still feel radical. Felicity Huffman is extraordinary.
But Low budget and sometimes stagey. Some plot turns require patience and generosity from the viewer.
Weekend2011
Two men meet on a Friday night and spend a weekend falling in love and arguing about politics, art, and what love even means. Vital, alive, genuinely smart.
But Mostly dialogue and almost no plot. It's intimate in a way that can feel claustrophobic if you're not in the mood.
The Family Stone2005
A girlfriend meets her boyfriend's chaotic, deeply WASP family at Christmas and everything goes catastrophically wrong. It's funny, warm, and surprisingly moving about acceptance.
But Ensemble casts can be muddled, and some tonal shifts feel unearned. It's lighter fare than *Latter Days*.
Love! Valour! Compassion!1997
Eight gay men spend a summer together; it's Chekhov by way of a beach house. Theatrical and alive, moving between comedy and real sorrow with grace.
But Deeply theatrical; if you can't surrender to that register, it'll feel affected. Pacing is leisurely.
Beautiful Thing1996
Two working-class teenage boys fall in love on a South London housing estate. Joyful, funny, sexy, and genuinely romantic. Music of the Mamas & Papas never sounded better.
But The utopian ending might feel too easy if you're looking for something that grapples with real consequences.
Trick1999
A charming, scrappy indie about two gay men trying to get together on a single New York night. Witty, unpretentious, and surprisingly warm.
But Shot on a minimal budget; some scenes feel underbaked. Lighter on substance than *Latter Days*, more focused on charm.
People
Cast
Steve SandvossElder Aaron Davis
Wes RamseyChristian Markelli
Jacqueline BissetLila Montagne
Joseph Gordon-LevittElder Paul Ryder
Rebekah JohnsonJulie Taylor
Mary Kay PlaceSister Gladys Davis
Erik PalladinoKeith Griffin
Amber BensonTraci Levine
Khary PaytonAndrew
Rob MacElder Harmon
Dave PowerElder Gilford
Jim OrtliebBrother Farron Davis
Directing
- C. Jay CoxDirector
Writing
- C. Jay CoxWriter
Production
- Dan ShanerCasting
- Michael TestaCasting
- G. Sterling ZinsmeyerCo-Executive Producer
- Kermit JohnsCo-Executive Producer
- Michael WoolCo-Executive Producer
- Tom SotoCo-Executive Producer
- George BendeleCo-Producer
- J. Todd HarrisExecutive Producer
- Scott ZimmermanExecutive Producer
- Jennifer SchaeferProducer
- Kirkland TibbelsProducer
- Chris Anthony MillerProduction Designer