Hot-and-heavy romance, conversion camp takedowns & more book-to-film adaptations to stream this weekend

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!

Aristotle & Dante And The Secrets Of The Universe is now screening in limited release, and the coming-of-age romance, based on the book by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, is getting rave reviews. This week’s picks are all films based on books, including some deep cuts from beloved queer authors.

Read on for film adaptations of queer books to stream this weekend.

The Night Listener

Based on the chilling novel of the same name by seminal queer author Armistead Maupin, 2006’s The Night Listener stars the late, great Robin Williams as gay radio host Gabriel Noone, who finds himself enveloped in a disturbing mystery. Gabriel reads a remarkable memoir of a young boy, Pete, who escaped from a terribly abusive family and strikes up a friendship with him over late-night radio calls. But when holes start to appear in Pete’s story, Gabriel decides to investigate and meets his adoptive mother, played to unsettling perfection by Toni Collette. 

Available to rent on Microsoft Store, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Youtube, Apple TV, Vudu and Redbox.

The Color Purple

The Color Purple is having a bit of a moment, with a new film adaptation of the musical set to release later this year. But the original 1985 film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey (!!!), still stands on its own as a powerful and epic experience. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple follows the life of Celie (Goldberg), a woman in early 20th century Georgia, who is abused by her father and forced to marry an older, equally abusive man (Danny Glover). When Celie meets showgirl Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), the two fall in love and dream of a better future. Winfrey also stars as Sofia, a confident woman who inspires Celie to assert herself.

Now streaming on Tubi. Available to rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, Redbox, DirecTV and Spectrum.

My Policeman

Okay, hear us out—we know this 2022 romance by Michael Grandage, based on the novel by Bethan Roberts, mostly got its buzz from Harry Styles playing gay. But it’s also got great performances by David Dawson and Emma Corrin, and explores an interesting time in British history where being gay was literally against the law. The sweaty sex scenes are just icing on the cake, though we admit we’d have liked to see more of everyone’s cakes in the actual film. 

Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The Miseducation Of Cameron Post

This 2018 coming-of-age film, based on the book by Emily M. Danforth and directed by Desiree Akhavan, tells the story of Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz), a teenager in the early ’90s who is sent to a conversion camp after being caught having sex with her girlfriend (Quinn Shephard). At the camp, Cameron meets Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck) and Jane Fonda (Sasha Lane), two fellow misfits with unique backgrounds. Like all good movies on the subject matter, The Miseducation of Cameron Post features strong-willed kids fighting back against judgmental and dangerously misguided zealots, as well as cathartic same-sex love.

Now streaming on Hulu, Peacock, AMC, Roku, Hoopla, Kanopy and Redbox.

The Kicker….

Books are so important to a child’s development. Reading is fundamental, after all. Here, RuPaul teaches children the art of reading. You’ll never look at Eloise the same way again—the library is open.