December 27, 2024
Big Gay Movie Roundup: 13 Notable Films from 2024
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 16 MIN.
Inside Out 2
Pixar suits reportedly insisted on stripping out any queer elements from this delightful sequel to the 2015 hit, absurdly blaming a fleeting same-sex kiss for the failure of an earlier Pixar film, the needless and uninspired "Lightyear." Their meddling utterly fails to remove a sensational lesbian vibe from a story in which the uncomplicated emotions of childhood give way to a cast of more grown up, nuanced, and utterly confusing feelings like Embarrassment, Ennui, Envy, and Anxiety. Attraction isn't personified here, but it hangs in the air every time main character Riley (Kensington Tallman) is around her crush, Valentine (Lilimar).
Yes, Riley is growing up, and "Inside Out 2" manages to address the intense, confounding, and revelatory process of adolescence with compassion, exiling Shame in the process. Riley may or may not be bringing home a same-sex date at some not-too-distant point in the future, but the film's queer viewers will remember all too vividly what it was like to be in the same room as a teenage crush.
"Inside Out 2" is streaming at Disney+.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
