Film

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

A 1995 indie romance about two girls from opposite sides of the tracks—one working-class and rebellious, the other wealthy and sheltered—who fall into an unlikely, messy, thrilling love. It's warm and funny, never preachy, genuinely interested in how differently they see the world. For anyone who loves a queer love story that isn't ashamed to be a love story.

TMDb rating3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a queer coming-of-age romance told with a sly, scrappy sense of humor, where the class gap between the two leads gets as much attention as the attraction itself.

Skip it if you need a tight plot or polished craft, since this is loose, episodic and happy to wander off on tangents some viewers will find tiresome.

What it asks of you: Ninety-four minutes, unhurried and loose, with a light touch that lets scenes breathe; it rewards patience more than close attention.

If you liked this

But I'm a Cheerleader2000

A sharp, bright comedy about a cheerleader sent to conversion camp who discovers her sexuality and herself. It has the same generous heart and refusal to make queerness the tragedy—just the plot.

But The camp-movie satire can feel broad and dated if you're not in the mood for it. Aggressively cheerful isn't everyone's speed.

But I'm a Cheerleader poster

Imagine Me & You2006

A woman falls for a florist the day after her wedding. Funny, romantic, gorgeously shot, and genuinely explores the collision between sudden love and real obligation without punishing anyone for it.

But The lightness occasionally sidesteps harder questions. Some will find it a bit too neat and forgiving to feel completely earned.

Imagine Me & You poster

Water Lilies2007

A French coming-of-age film about desire, friendship, and class among teenage swimmers. It's sensual and poetic without being explicit, and captures that specific ache of being young and wanting something you can't name yet.

But Very little happens in plot terms. If you need narrative momentum or clear resolution, this will frustrate you.

Water Lilies poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Show Me Love1998

Both films are low-budget indie love stories from the 90s that care more about the texture of falling in love than proving love is valid. They trust the feeling over the message.

Lukas Moodysson's Swedish film about two girls who fall in love in a small town while the world around them seems indifferent or hostile. It's tender and real in a way that feels almost documentary—just two people figuring it out.

But The subtitles, the slowness, and the lack of any triumphant arc will lose people looking for comfort or catharsis. It ends quietly.

Show Me Love poster
More like this (8)

Appropriate Behavior2015

Desiree Akhavan's smart, witty film about a bisexual woman navigating family, exes, and identity in New York. Funny and genuinely tender, with a protagonist who isn't simplified to make her lovable.

But The tone can be hard to pin down—comedy and hurt sit right next to each other, which some find jarring rather than enriching.

Appropriate Behavior poster

Carol2015

A achingly beautiful 1950s romance between a housewife and a department store clerk. Todd Haynes shoots longing the way it deserves. It's about how love can be both transformative and impossible at once.

But Slow-burn to the point where some find it remote. The period setting and restrained performances require patience.

Carol poster

Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019

A French period piece about an artist and her subject who fall in love while a portrait is being painted. Sensual, intelligent, and genuinely erotic without showing much of anything. Stunning.

But The pacing is glacial and deliberately distant. Not a film that reaches for your hand; you have to reach for it first.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire poster

The Half of It2020

A smart, funny teen comedy-drama where a girl helps her crush woo another girl, then realizes she's in love too. It's as interested in friendship and loneliness as it is in romance.

But Can feel earnest to the point of saccharine. The messaging is sometimes more visible than the character.

The Half of It poster

Red, White & Royal Blue2023

A royalty-and-politics rom-com where the First Son falls for the British Prince. It's unabashedly fun, fast, and doesn't apologize for being a love story about guys who fall for each other.

But The political intrigue is window dressing. If you want real stakes, the film will let you down.

Red, White & Royal Blue poster

Fingersmith2005

A BBC miniseries about con artists and desire set in Victorian London. Twisty, gorgeously shot, and features a sapphic relationship that's complex and human rather than decorative.

But Three hours is a commitment. The plot has a mechanical quality that some find clever and others find cold.

Fingersmith poster

The Sun Is Also a Star2019

Both films believe in the reality of sudden, cross-the-divide connection and don't need months to convince you it matters. They're about the intensity of recognition, not the labor of compatibility.

A one-day romance between a girl facing deportation and a poet in New York. It's high-concept—they meet on a street and have hours together—but it lands the specific magic of feeling everything at once with someone new.

But The artificiality of the setup can feel manipulative. Some find it charming; others find it cynical dressed as romantic.

The Sun Is Also a Star poster

My Own Private Idaho1991

Both reject the idea that queer love stories need to earn their keep by being inspirational or tragic. They just let desire exist, messy and real and sometimes unresolved.

Gus Van Sant's dreamy, strange film about two hustlers and the love that can't quite surface between them. It's formally inventive, genuinely moving, and doesn't wrap queer desire in a reassuring bow.

But It's experimental and digressive. The narrative is loose, the pacing unconventional, and it doesn't explain or resolve itself. Easy to get lost in, hard to describe.

My Own Private Idaho poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by