The word "icon" gets thrown around a lot in a pop culture landscape littered with phrases plucked from queer culture. But 78-year-old filmmaker John Waters is undeniably an icon.
He is as well known for his gleefully provocative movies like Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and Pink Flamingos as his proudly "trashy" personal aesthetic, which includes his eternally slicked-down hair and pencil-thin mustache. So, when you're looking for terrific picks for must-see movies during Pride Month, who better to go to than Waters? (Of course, anything from his filmography is also a great place to start.)
In Mashable's interview with Waters about the Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of Cry-Baby, we asked him what essential movies he'd like more queer people to see. "Just good cinema. I would say gay is a good start. It's not enough though," he said, before calling out some recent highlights.
"I saw two really good gay films lately: Femme. And I like Love Lies Bleeding. And I like Drive-Away Dolls. So, I saw three good ones. I wish the lesbian bars that I went to were that good!"
Femme
Written and directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, Femme is a dark drama about hate crimes, repression, and messy revenge. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Culprits, Candyman) stars as Jules, a queer British man who's gruesomely attacked at the corner store when dressed in full drag. Later, Jules runs into one of his attackers, Preston (George MacKay), at a gay sauna; unrecognizable out of drag, Jules seduces Preston. Mashable contributor Jason Adams praised the movie in his review: "What could've been a straight-forward revenge tale, Femme rejects the straight in favor of something fascinatingly messier."
How to watch: Femme is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
Love Lies Bleeding
From heralded Saint Maud director Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding is a gnarly thriller in which a surly gym manager (Kristen Stewart) falls for a dazzling bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian). But to win their happy ending, they'll have to confront a kingpin (Ed Harris) with a soft voice and a big gun. In my review, I cheered, "As harrowing as it is tender, as horny as it is horrifying, Love Lies Bleeding is one of the best films of 2024."
How to watch: Love Lies Bleeding is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
Drive-Away Dolls
Created by married collaborators Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, Drive-Away Dolls is a queer action-comedy that drew inspiration from Waters' wilder crime movies, including Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star as a pair of lesbian besties who go on a road trip that runs them afoul of some dangerous men, all thanks to a suitcase full of special dildos. In our Mashable review, I wrote, "Thrillingly, Drive-Away Dolls is where the Coen Bros. aesthetic and queer cinema collide… [A] joyous romp, stuffed with fun, sex appeal, and stars. What more could we ask for at a night out at the movies?"
Asked what about these movies appealed to Waters, he said, "No, no, no, I'll [expand on] them later. I write a 10-best list every year. We'll see if they're on there. We've got the rest of the year. But I gotta save that for that."
How to watch: Drive-Away Dolls is now streaming on Peacock.
What about Challengers?
Speaking of queer cinema that's earning rave reviews, what does John Waters think of Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, the love triangle/sports drama starring Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, and Zendaya? "That's the throuple movie, right?" He hasn't seen it yet. "But it's on my list."
Waters admitted that the reason he hasn't watched Challengers is pretty simple: "It put me off because it's about tennis, something I have no interest in. Like a pickleball sex movie? I wouldn't want to see [that] either."
