Queer Up with Lily & Melody

You've probably never heard of Girls Just Want to Have Fun: The Movie, but you should have. This mostly-forgotten cult classic is a truly delightful whirlwind of dancing, teenage drama, and many surprising career beginnings. In this episode, we gush over breakdancing nuns, supportive single fathers, and - most unbelievably - a genuinely heartwarming heterosexual romance! But we're still going to m...

We celebrate two years of Queer Up by once again dipping our toes into the "all mermaids are gay and trans" well. This time, we take a look at Ron Howard's Splash, a film that is both better than it should be, but also not all that great. It is, however, trans as hell. Obviously. Thank you all so much for sticking around for our second year, and please continue to listen, share, and contact us. We...

This time around, we're very excited to be joined by Hamish Steele, creator of the comics Deadendia and Go-man!, as well as the Netflix animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park. Hamish has brought us the cult classic comedy horror musical Little Shop of Horrors (1986), a film that's practically oozing with queer and trans vibes. We discuss how the film manages to be both goofy and sincere, Rick M...

In this episode we do a fit check for our napalm era, as Holly Amareta joins us to discuss the barely-subtextual queerness of KPop Demon Hunters. Is KPop Demon Hunters a trans allegory? Is Jinu transfem or transmasc? Are all trans people demons? And which HUNTR/X members are Lily, Melody, and Holly respectively? It's our longest episode yet, and this is what it sounds like. CW: Discussions of tran...

It's time for our only-slightly-delayed Queer in Review! As we did last year, we run down some of the queer media we enjoyed and discovered in 2025. Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/ Donate to Melody's bottom surgery fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robin-get-gender-reassignment-surgery Theatre: "4000 Days" by Peter Quilter, directed by Charly Sommers "No Ap...

We're back! Kinda! To celebrate that we're once again able to record, we had a quick talk about some episodes we decided not to make, and why. CW: Discussions of transphobia, homophobia, ableism, racism Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/ Donate to Melody's bottom surgery fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robin-get-gender-reassignment-surgery Hosted on Acast. S...

The heavens over Berlin is beautiful, but they could definitely stand to contain more gays. This time, we discuss Wim Wenders' classic Wings of Desire (as well as its sequel and American remake), why its themes still resonate today, and why it's kinda weird that it's so very straight. It's set in Berlin, for crying out loud! CW: Discussions of suicide, depression, child death, fascism, substance a...

In this episode, we discuss the ableist dystopia of Gattaca, where perfection is everything and the scope of what counts as acceptable human variation is narrowing. What place does such a world have for queerness? CW: Discussions of ableism, suicide, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/ References: Masculinity, Masquerade, and Genetic Imp...

Your Name is a film about the first ever cis T4T relationship, and we are joined once again by Raptor to talk about it. It's an incredible film that touches on gender, grief, human connections, and the value of fighting for your happiness. We also talk about body swap stories in general and the value of kissing your bros. Oh, and we also have a new theme song! CW: Discussions of death, natural dis...

What couple possibly be more gay than to plan and execute a multi-million dollar heist with your homies? And yet, neither of the crews from the all-male or all-female spend literally any time kissing each other. Let's fix that in this episode, where we break down what works and what doesn't about Ocean's Eleven and it's female-centric spin-off, and what kind of queer spin we can give these charmin...

Queer Up is a year old and we celebrate by revisiting our underwater roots. After celebrating you, our amazing listeners, we look at the largely forgotten mermaid movie Aquamarine. It's what happens when you attempt to cram a season of a mediocre sitcom into 100 minutes of film, and a good testament to why the gays are better at mermaid stories. CW: Discussions of suicidal ideation, parental traum...

This episode is a true Venominomenon! Along with our guest Pim, from the excellent Youtube channel Pim's Crypt, we dig into the entire Venom trilogy of films. Besides fangirling out about these genuinely delightful films, we explore their (often very explicit) queer themes, and discuss how the third film drops the ball on what makes the series so enjoyably gay. No need to worry, though; we know ho...

What would a world built and inhabited entirely by robots be like? It turns out, very much like the one we live in now - gender roles included. In this episode, we dive into the strange, undercooked world of Bluesky Studios' 2005 Robots, and examine its strange approach to sex and gender. We talk about robot skirts, robot penises, and robot misogyny. References: The Art of Robots by Amid Amidi How...

Two decades after its release, Let The Right One In continues to be one of the most beloved vampire love stories of all time. And yet, it seems many have forgotten, or completely missed, the inherent queerness at its core. In this episode, we investigate the queer history of John Ajvide Lindqvist's masterful debut, and the original Swedish film adaptation, and discuss how we could bring these them...

One of the most beloved live-action Disney films from the 90s gets a queering up in this episode. We specifically examine two characters and their joint journey towards self-acceptance, while imagining why their story gives big gay vibes. We also take the opportunity to talk generally about this delightful gem of a film, and remind ourselves just how good John Candy was. CW: Mentions of racism, st...

In our first episode of the year, we're taking a break from queering up to instead talk about some existing queer media that we enjoy. We'll be recommending some of our favourite queer films, books, and games, in a relaxed chat before we head into 2025 gayer than ever. Films: Tokyo Godfathers (2003) Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (2011) Merry & Gay (2022) Portrait of a Lady on Fire...

Everything is pleasant in Pleasantville - until it isn't. In this episode, we watch a film that feels out of time in many ways, but still manages to be strangely prescient. We dig into the many mixed metaphors of Gary Ross' splendid debut film, and see how it could be read a parable for queer awakenings. CW: Mentions of misogyny, racism, racial violence, Nazism, fascism References: DVD Commentary...

Robert Downey Jr really wanted to play a gay Sherlock Holmes and he so nearly did. In this episode, we look at the somewhat maligned Sherlock Holmes films directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Downey Jr and Jude Law. We discuss why the first one is such a delightful romp and how the two leads play with the intensen queer subtext to great effect. We spend less time talking about the dreadful sequel, ex...

In a shocking twist to our usual formula, we are compelled to say many nice things about a Tim Burton film. You see, once upon a time, Burton truly had the juice and made a messy masterpiece that's only sort-of a Batman film. We are also extremely proud to welcome our very first guest; the amazing Raptor, who will help us tackle this delightful disaster. Follow her on https://bsky.app/profile/ohth...

Equilibrium is a film that we have a lot of feelings about, which is perfectly fitting. We take a look at this unfairly maligned flop from the post-Matrix era of philosophical action films, and discuss how its themes of emotional repression, self-expression, and waking up to who you truly are can be turned into a queer story. Also, about how totally awesome gun kata is. CW: Death, suicidal ideatio...

Well, we've had a good run, so it was about time we watched something mediocre. In this episode, we take a look at Tim Burton's mostly failed attempt to recapture the magic of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and why it fails to make us care for its tepid characters or lifeless love story. It needs a good queering up, and we're just the ones to do it. CW: Mentions of death, suicide, forced marriage...

In this episode we learn why Bend It Like Beckham is a modern classic and why it has such a massive queer fanbase. We had to take our own shot at queering up this delightful coming-of-age classic - and explore if there is any truth to the rumour that the film was always intended to be even more gay. CW: Mentions of racism, sexism, homophobia, generational trauma References: Q&A: Keira Knightle...

Some like it hot - but how about we make it even hotter? In this episode, we tackle a true comedy classic, which ended up breaking boundaries both for the American film industry and for queer representation on screen. And it's our job to make it even queerer. CW: Alcohol, gun violence, mentions of transphobia, acephobia, and homophobia References: Behind the Scenes of SOME LIKE IT HOT: Secrets, Sc...

For our first Queer Up, we tackle one of the most influential animated films of all time: Disney's The Little Mermaid. We dig into its queer legacy and themes - both that of the 1989 film but also the original story by Hans Christian Andersen - to see how we can turn it into an explicit story of self-acceptance, transitioning, and community. And why Flounder needs to end up on the cutting room flo...