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weekend watch

From Elton John to Ricky Martin, great performances from queer pop stars to stream right now

By Lee Meyer July 26, 2024 at 11:00am
Image Credits, clockwise from top left: ‘Tommy,’ Sony Pictures | ‘American Crime Story,’ FX | ‘Three Months,’ MTV Films | ‘Glass Onion,’ Netflix

Welcome to your weekend streaming recommendations, a.k.a. the Weekend Watch, a handy guide to the queerest film and TV content that’s just a click away!

As confirmed earlier this week, out pop icon Omar Apollo will star in Luca Guadagnino’s next film, Queer, an adaptation of William S. Burrough’s novel. But Apollo’s not the only artist to dabble in serious acting—this weekend’s streaming picks all feature major queer stars of the music world who flexed their acting muscles, from comedy to drama to, of course, musicals.

Read on for movies and television shows starring LGBTQ+ pop stars.

Three Months

“All I ever wanted was a boy to dry hump in the back of his dad’s Prius,” says Troye Sivan’s Caleb in the 2022 film Three Months. Written and directed by Jared Frieder, Three Months tells the story of Caleb, a high school graduate who learns he’s been exposed to HIV. After realizing that he has to wait three months to find out if he’s HIV+ or not, Caleb joins a support group for other gay men with HIV or who have been exposed and meets a cute new friend, Estha (Viveik Kalra), who changes his bleak perception of life. Three Months also stars Ellyn Burstyn, Louis Gossett Jr. and Judy Greer—and includes some fantastic original songs by Sivan!

Now streaming on Paramount+. 

Tommy

Sir Elton John appears as the legendary “Pinball Wizard” in the 1975 film adaptation of Tommy, written and directed by Ken Russell. In Tommy, the titular nonverbal, deaf and blind young man overcomes a tragic upbringing when he displays a gift for playing pinball. The film is set to the music of The Who and stars a cast of heavy hitters, including the Who’s lead singer, Roger Daltry, as Tommy, with Ann-Margret, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner and Jack Nicholson. 

Now streaming on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, and Microsoft Store.

The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

This heavily stylized take on the murder of Gianni Versace explores the days and events leading up to the murder of the iconic fashion designer (played by Édgar Ramírez) by Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss in the role of his career). Years before Palm Royale, Ricky Martin dipped his toe in the acting pool to play Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s sexy partner. While some of the real-life parties were unhappy with the dramatization of Versace’s death, including D’Amico, the series—and performances—received critical acclaim. 

Now streaming on Hulu.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Janelle Monáe, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, plays the mysterious Andi Brand, one of several wealthy people invited to a tech guru’s (Edward Norton) island paradise for a murder mystery weekend. When intrepid gay detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, playing against type as a hilarious and neurotic investigator) receives an invitation, he realizes a real murder may occur. Glass Onion is chock full of twists and turns that we wouldn’t dare spoil here, and it’s another star-studded affair: other rich jerks involved in the shenanigans include Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., and Dave Bautista.

Now streaming on Netflix.

The Kicker…

How’s this for an inception? In this Saturday Night Live sketch, superstar Timothée Chalamet plays the spirit of pop superstar Troye Sivan, who invades a woman’s dreams as a sleep demon. Chalamet can barely keep his cool throughout the hilarious skit. 

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