It is certainly progress when the greatest danger in a thoroughly gay film is no longer society’s homophobia, but rather the loss of one’s own six pack abs (or the involuntary learning of the offside rule in football). Based on the playful, ambiguous title “Jim Queen”, Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané deliver an over-the-top satire with their consistently entertaining debut film that dismantles clichés and stereotypes in a fun, often crude manner.
The directors intended their colorful and rousing animated film to be an ode to the LGBTQIA+ community – and even if this time the G from LGBTQIA+ is primarily served, “Jim Queen” proves to be a pointed, accurate queer firework whose density of gags and lack of inhibition even comes close to the genre leader “South Park”.
Without his defined abs, Jim Parfait’s influencer career would be in serious jeopardy!
The Parisian influencer Jim Parfait (original voice: Alex Ramirès) has become a star as the Gym Queen. He works practically day and night to perfect his abdominal muscles, for which he is admired not only in the gym but especially on social media. But then the unthinkable happens: Jim’s abdominal muscles withdraw little by little! Jim suffers from heterosis, a virus that inexorably transforms gay men into stereotypical heterosexuals who no longer care about their bodies and instead develop a sudden interest in football!
One of Jim’s biggest fans is the young, slight Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), who has so far hidden his homosexuality – especially from his mother Christine Bayer (Elisabeth Wiener), a grey-conservative minister in the French government, who overly protects him from all the dangers in the world. But then Lucien finally gathers the courage and sneaks into a nightclub, where he meets his idol Jim personally. Together, the unlikely duo sets out to find the mysterious Dr. Ragout, which is said to be in possession of a remedy…
Cheers to the prostate
To call “Jim Queen” sex-positive would be the understatement of the century. Gentle (straight) souls who break out in a sweat at the sight of oversized, animated butt plugs will probably only be able to view some scenes through their spread fingers. Although the density of anal gags is extremely high in the barely 80 minutes, “Jim Queen” also radiates a wonderfully optimistic party atmosphere (for the whole family). For despite all its crudeness, the film is permeated by the unmistakable message that despite all the differences and contrasts, there is much more that unites people than divides them.
Even though this message obviously means all LGBTQIA+ characters, “Jim Queen” is primarily about the most diverse parts of the gay community. During his forays through Parisian clubs, saunas and other meeting places, Lucien discovers wide-eyed representatives of a wide variety of fetishes: some get intoxicated by the smell of worn sneakers, while the BDSM splinter group operates under the politically incorrect name GAYstapo and intends to protect the pleasure of the prostate – with absolutely all means possible. The stocky, strong and very hairy gay men commonly known as bears actually appear here – the animation genre makes it possible – as bears.
The conservative minister’s mother wants to prevent her son Lucien from coming out as gay by all means.
Is that politically correct? Of course not. But in view of the speed of the production, including the extravagant musical numbers, any thought as to whether some passages might go a bit far or whether the anti-gay virus, which is obviously based on the AIDS epidemic, might be tasteless, is already nipped in the bud.
Luckily, because in the end you can only agree with the directors’ decision that, if in doubt, it would be better to include one more gag than to worry too much about questions of taste. In its fast-paced style, “Jim Queen” proves that the best way to combat homophobia and prejudice is still to make fun of yourself, to adopt clichés and stereotypes and thereby undermine them.
Conclusion: An over-the-top, sex-positive, irreverently crude animated comedy that playfully satirizes clichés and stereotypes.
We saw “Jim Queen” at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere as part of the midnight section.