It's Pride and I'm a gay guy who watches a lot of movies, so here's a bunch of gay movies with happy endings not named Love, Simon, because we have moved past the need for Brokeback Mountain.
Trick (1999): A cute little romcom about a one night stand going horribly, horribly right. It's a shame this movie isn't more popular because it's so charming and has so much fanfic potential.
Shelter (2007): I mean, this is a classic. Surfers, found family, pining, what not to like?
The Thing About Harry (2020): Ridiculously cheesy, ridiculously cute. It's essentially a modern Trick with an enemies to friends to lovers slant. Good for some mindless fun.
Goodbye Mother (2019): As a gay Vietnamese man I will never not shut up about how well this movie portrays that intersection. A story about a gay expat visiting his hometown with his boyfriend, the nuance, the drama, the tensions are all so very real to how gay men in Vietnam have to navigate around the question of family.
We are Gamily (2017): In the same vein as Goodbye Mother but with a more comedic slant. A gay couple has to pretend to be straight when a parent comes to visit, it's funny and heartwrenching at all the right moments, and heartwarming to boot.
Just Friends (2018): Dutch Shelter. Explores the tension between gay men and their mothers, particularly between a refugee family.
God's Own Country (2017): Happy Brokeback Mountain, an aimless Scottish farmer with an ailing father finds his purpose with help from a migrant worker. It's poignant, beautifully shot, and quietly understated. A must watch.
Maurice (1984): Edwardian gays. Ahead of its time and an affirmation that it's okay to move on from your first love, as well as the ultimate smashing of class divides.
The Way He Looks (2014): A blind boy falls in love with a new classmate, it's both a coming of age and a study on disability. It's so sweet and the ending is the ultimate catharsis.
Handsome Devil (2016): An Irish schoolboy befriends the new transfer athlete and discovers they have more in common than he thought. A really excellent portrayal of friendship and solidarity.
TW: These next movies all have references or show self harm, but they all ultimately end happy. No more images from here out because I've reached the limit.
Hidden Kisses (2016): Two teenagers experience their coming out process while romantically involved. I love that it shows both characters and demonstrates how the experience is different for everyone.
Latter Days (2003): Gay Mormon meets party boy and the rest is history. It's a little cheesy but the guys are hot and the love story is ultimately so uplifting you can't help but smile.
Fire Song (2015): An Anishnabe teenager struggles with the decision to leave his reservation and attend college. Probably the darkest movie on the list, but it also tells such an important story about aboriginal communities and the struggles of people who have been extremely marginalized.
Save Me (2007): A struggling drug addict checks into an ex-gay ministry. The most nuanced portrayal of these ministries I have seen yet and also a wonderful story of self discovery of not just the main character, but the cast that surrounds him as well.
Honorable mentions to Giant Little Ones Getting Go: The Go Doc Project, and Boy Erased because while in my opinion, they have excellent and happy endings, the main charcters do not get (substantially) hitched at the end and some people don't like that.
In no way is this a comprehensive list, and I'm always looking to expand my repetoire with more lesbian and trans stories (send me reccs!). This is just a reminder that there's space for stories with gay characters to end happy and that Brokeback Mountain is the exception, not the norm.
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