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Sex. It’s a fact of life—and cinema. It’s one of humankind’s most instinctual, natural, and necessary acts. Which is probably why every class of erotica is streaming all over screens big, small, and handheld. But before you dive head-first into your go-to porn hub again, consider elevating the “wham, bam, thank you, ma’am” with our curation of the best sex movies.
Bolstered by gripping storylines, dynamic character arcs, and provocative fantasies, our roundup highlights those films that explore sex and relationships in all its nuances. Sex can be sticky, it can be sweaty, it can even be funny, and you deserve a film that reflects that. A movie that is more than its sex scenes—but all the better because of them.
From sex-positive comedies that find the awkward in getting laid to enthralling queer romances perfecting the art of afternoon delight, the following list of the best sex movies will not only get you in the mood, but leave you completely satisfied. So let’s get it on.
Bound
The Wachowski siblings’ directorial debut, Bound, stars Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon as lovers Violet and Corky, who hatch a plan to rip off a mob boss and pin the blame on a crook named Caesar. It’s a mix of caper, gangster, comedic, and erotic fare, but really, it’s just the well-made queer love story you may have missed when it premiered in the ’90s. No worries, though, you can make up for it now.
Fire Island
Writer/star Joel Kim Booster throws gasoline on sexual liberation in his screenwriting debut, Fire Island, and then lights a match. Of course, that’s not to say everyone is bumping and grinding in this raunchy romantic comedy inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. It just means that Booster’s characters are free to do what they want and who they want in New York’s utopian gay paradise. And that’s hella hot.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Who would have thought a film about sex would have so little sex, but still be so damn sexy? Such is the case with Sophie Hyde’s chamber piece. About a widow who’s never had an orgasm and the escort who she recruits for a skin-tastic voyage, this indie will surprise you. Yes, there are some sensual scenes, but the film offers a lot more than just finding the big O. Like great conversation and thoughtful insight.
Grease
Watch this teen-dream sing-along set it in the ’50s today, and blushing revelations will happen. “Grease Lightning” is not just about old Dan’s super-awesome car. Sexual references and blatant innuendos are everywhere—some you’ll still have to Google, even as an adult (See: fongool)—as the cast, led by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, navigate hormones, romance, and their senior year.
Infinity Pool
Director Brandon Cronenberg (yes, that Cronenberg) defies the boundaries of conventional storytelling with his latest, a mind-bending labyrinth of lust and hedonism starring Alexander Skarsgard and another brilliant performance by Mia Goth. The two play James and Gabi, strangers who get to know each other real quick on a beachy vacay. Things get weird, whacky, and wet—really wet.
Jason’s Lyric
Poetic cinema from director Doug McHenry and writer Bobby Smith Jr., Jason’s Lyric is a story about love, family, and adversity. It stars Allen Payne and Jada Pinkett Smith as Jason, a store clerk who has a way with words, and Lyric, the woman who inspires his prose. Passionate but not without its hurdles, their love affair gets suuuuper steamy. We’re talking about the, ahem, completely nude pas de deux the two enjoy in a secluded field.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
The story has been adapted more than seven times for the screen, but Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre finally gets it right. Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell star as the Lady and her grounds’ gamekeeper, the titular pair who start up a torrid love affair. And after you see these two drop trou in a downpour, don’t be surprised if you, too, look as though you were just caught in the rain.
Malcolm & Marie
We should note first off that Sam Levinson’s stunning black-and-white pandemic film about a director and his girlfriend’s big night gone wrong is more a sexy movie than a movie about sex. The fact that it stars the beautiful John David Washington and the dazzling Zendaya is reason enough to tune in, but watching the two get tangled up in real-shit emotion—the fight, the fury, the passion—is honestly almost an aphrodisiac.
Mulholland Drive
There are two things movie watchers remember about David Lynch’s cult 2001 classic: a) that it’s bizarre AF, and b) that Naomi Watts and Laura Harring each give uber-sexy performances. The two star as Betty and Rita: Betty, a bright-eyed blonde aspiring actress; Rita, a mysterious brunette who has no memory. Together, they uncover Rita’s identity, all while giving in to every sexual desire along the way.
X
Indie horror maestro Ti West flirts with big leagues with his single-letter offering about a film crew who shoot their video nasty in a backwoods farmhouse located on the property of an oddball couple. No doubt missing a pair of X’s in its title, the film stars Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega, and a stellar Mia Goth. There’s blood and guts, but it’s all broken up with super-horny sequences of sexual activity.
Sex and Lucía
Despite its blunt titling, this award-winning Spanish romance is more than bedsheets-deep. About a trio whose lives are linked through one man’s novel, it stars Paz Vega as the titular waitress who heads to an island to grieve her lover. Although, grieving through flashbacks and a plot that defies chronology are the last things on anyone’s mind.
She’s Gotta Have It
Spike Lee’s debut black-and-white joint about a Brooklyn woman juggling three relationships is an experiment in monogamy, Black sexuality, and female autonomy. Its heroine, Nola Daarling, even spawned a reimagined series from Lee, one in which she will have you know, she’s “damn sure no one’s property.”
Stranger by the Lake
It’s not often films that don’t skimp on unsimulated sex repeatedly make film critics’ best-of lists, but here we are. From start to climax, French director Alain Guiraudie’s lakeside thriller fondles the senses as protagonist Franck mills about a cruising spot looking for a solid mate. In his sights? Michel, a tall, dark, and handsome stranger who may or may not be a callous killer.
Easy A
Once you forgive the low-hanging Nathaniel Hawthorne references penetrating Will Gluck’s self-aware film, this Emma Stone vehicle is more enjoyable than a pocketful of sunshine. She plays Olive, a wannabe high school vixen whose sexual exploits are nothing but fiction—and yet her journey through slut-shaming and sullied reputations is nothing short of adolescent enlightenment.
Teeth
Masquerading as a puberty horror, this critically acclaimed romp starring Jess Weixler is actually body horror with a feminist bent. Inspired by vagina dentata (“vagina with teeth”), a misogynistic myth used to dissuade women from promiscuity, Teeth chews over the audacity of a maturing woman to actually indulge her sexual compulsions, and it does so with some pretty good gore while it’s at it.
The Handmaiden
No matter how perfect the plan, love, lust, and lechery will always get in the way. And Chan-wook Parks’s Handmaiden, a tale of intrigue and deception, is no different. Assigned to a beautiful heiress to secretly help a Japanese Count seduce and rob her, handmaid Sookee finds that she, instead, wants the affluent woman all to herself.
DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
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