7 Romantic Comedies That Deserve An LGBTQ Reboot
Have you ever watched a rom-com at home and thought "this but make it LGBT"?
Same. We, as queer people, deserve more romantic comedies. Beautiful ones, hilarious ones, stupid ones, all of it. We just want what straight people have had for decades.
And since Hollywood loves a reboot, I thought, why not throw around some suggestions that would be guaranteed* hits?
*I can't really guarantee they'd be hits, but I can guarantee that I would watch all of these.
1.13 Going On 30 (2004)
Queer people are no strangers to delayed adolescence, and I love the idea of a closeted and scared 13-year-old gay kid getting a glimpse at what their life might be as a fabulous out-and-proud adult.
Fun Queer Detail: Tom-Tom, Jenna's bully originally played by Judy Greer, also grows up to be gay. Surprise, surprise.
Casting Suggestions: Dan Levy as "Jenna", John Early as "Tom-Tom", Samer Salem as "Matt"
2.Notting Hill (1999)
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant both have a lot of entries into the genre that could be on this list, but I'm going with Notting Hill because 2022 needs a cottage-core lesbian bookstore romance set in the English countryside.
Fun Queer Detail: "I'm just a girl standing in front of another girl asking her to love her."
Casting Suggestions: Adelaide Kane as "Anna", Evan Rachel Wood as "William"
3.Clueless (1995)
The movie that spawned a thousand yellow plaid Halloween costumes and a million "ugh, as if"s around the world. Clueless is obviously gay canon, so we'd love to see a young gay fashionista make waves as as updated Cher Horowitz.
As hot as Paul Rudd is, I think we can probably do away with the stepbrother-as-love-interest part of the movie. If you're looking for stepbrothers falling in love, DM me and I'll suggest some websites where you can find lots of related films.
Fun Queer Detail: When Tai comes out of the closet, Cher and Dionne take it upon themselves to befriend him and teach him everything there is to know about being a fabulous gay teen in Beverly Hills.
Casting Suggestions: Justice Smith as "Cher", Bretman Rock as "Dionne", Joshua Bassett as "Tai", Ronen Rubinstein as "Josh"
4.27 Dresses (2008)
This movie put a face (Katherine Heigl's, to be exact) to the joke "always the bridesmaid, never the bride." You all know that person — the Team Mom who is organized, supportive, and always there when you need them. Queer people know this sidekick role all too well, and I would love to see a reboot of this film put a trans woman into the spotlight — and a show-stopping wedding dress for number 28.
Fun Queer Detail: Bisexual writer Kevin decides to profile Jane's 27th time as a bridesmaid for Them, which kicks off an unexpected romance as Kevin encourages Jane to be the star of her own show.
Casting Suggestions: Tommy Dorfman as "Jane", François Arnaud as "Kevin", Josie Totah as "Casey"
5.Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Crazy Rich Asians is one of the most successful rom-coms of the past decade, and the only thing that would shock this very traditional and wealthy family further is a gay love interest. Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Singapore, so this romance would have a lot of hurdles, but we'd be rooting for them every step of the way.
Fun Queer Detail: Bring Nico Santos back and give him a love interest, too!
Casting Suggestions: Jake Choi as "Rachel", Vincent Rodriguez III as "Nick"
6.The Shop Around The Corner (1940)
This enemies-to-lovers tale that later inspired Nora Ephron to write You've Got Mail follows two bickering department store coworkers that don't know they're falling in love as anonymous pen pals. Modern-day Saks Fifth Avenue would be a perfect setting for two headstrong and snarky gay clerks to fall in love in 2022, if you ask me.
Fun Queer Detail: Instead of writing letters, love blossoms anonymously on the location-based gay dating app, Grindr. True love can happen on Grindr, folks!
Casting Suggestions: Keiynan Lonsdale as "Klara", Jonathan Groff as "Alfred"
7.Marry Me (2022)
In J.Lo's latest musical rom-com, a pop star pulls the ultimate "U-Haul" and marries a random man in the crowd at her concert. While Marry Me proved to be a hit for Peacock, reviews were mixed on the chemistry between Lopez and Owen Wilson, so let's leave the married-at-first-sight story to the experts, shall we?
Fun Queer Detail: Cameos from queer artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Janelle Monáe, Kehlani, and King Princess.
Casting Suggestions: Hayley Kiyoko as "Kat", Kristen Stewart as "Charlie", Zolita as "Bastian"
What romcom do you think could be remade into great queer love story? Pitch us in the comments and we'll add our favorites to this post!
I want to see ideas for Lee Pace...
