BEST BUDDY MOVIES

Stories of traveling companions united by the strangest circumstances and transformed into inseparable allies: the buddy movies have written the history of cinema since their origins - in the 1920s with Laurel and Hardy - thanks to their unique mix of entertainment and emotion. Particularly oriented towards comedy and action, it is a type of story which, beyond the characteristics of its protagonists, is essentially based on the encounter between two ways of being as distant as they are, in the end, complementary. Most of the time, we're more interested in whether they end up understanding each other before resolving the conflicts they find themselves in. Because in buddy movies friendship is more important than mystery, the final embrace more than plot twists, mutual understanding more than doubts. Let's find out together which are the best buddy movies to watch in streaming, on the occasion of the release on Apple TV+ of the latest proposal of the genre: Wolfs, with George Clooney and Brad Pitt as protagonists. 

Superbad (2007)

Beyond narrative and aesthetic considerations, the key to every buddy movie is managing to transform the friendship in another protagonist: this is exactly what Superbad does. The quintessential "coming of age" film, it follows two best friends about to enter college, Evan and Seth, who will spend one of their last nights as high school students in total chaos. Directed by Judd Apatow, known for hits such as 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, the film boasts a hilarious supporting cast - among which stands out a very young Emma Stone - and a trio of unforgettable protagonists: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plass, definitely the strength of the entire narrative. Rarely has the friendship between some guys who make their aura of losers the best excuse to be special been described with such success, grace, wit and delicacy as in this little gem.

< 29>Hot Fuzz (2007)

Another unforgettable buddy duo, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost gave sparks in Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, reaching very high peaks with Hot Fuzz. In the 2007 film, they play police officers Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman, an unlikely couple who must investigate a dangerous mystery in a small English town. While any attempt at the Pegg/Frost pairing deserves praise, Hot Fuzz is considered by many fans to be their best adventure yet, thanks to their hilarious chemistry that fuels a brotherly relationship that still moves us today. The premise itself is laughable: Pegg gives life to a London super-cop, one of those who shoot with both hands and jump on the bonnets of moving cars, sent to a small village in the English countryside that is not as peaceful as it seems. Of great referential refinement, it is a hilarious film, which never resorts to easy or crude jokes. Thanks to an agile humour, Wright manages to create a film in which the English laugh at everything and everyone, and at themselves first, which stands out above all for its ability to analyze the defects of a nation through its funny but irresistible protagonists.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Among the first films of director Ridley Scott, this road trip all-female, star-studded movie has revolutionized buddy comedy, with a crossover of film genres - road movie, buddy movie, action, western - historically frequented by men. The irresistible protagonist couple is made up of Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon), two friends in very different moments of their lives who find themselves on the run from the authorities after killed a man who had tried to rape one of them. The two have very different ideas about how to move forward after the accident and end up traveling across the country on a hilarious crime spree. Milestone of feminist cinema, in which the strength of the friendship between the two protagonists guides the entire narrative: in the purest tradition of buddy movies, these two women are willing to escape and constantly put themselves in dangerous situations for each other other.

Wolfs (2004)

The film by Jon Watts premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2024, is nothing more than a light excuse to reunite these two friends and characters, colleagues and superstars on the screen. Basically, it is a New York night comedy in which the protagonists accumulate stumbles, alliances and misunderstandings among the streets and avenues of the city of skyscrapers. Two rival “fixers” meet when they are called upon to cover up the mistake of a high-ranking New York official; They'll have to put aside their arguments - and their egos - to get the job done during one explosive night. This brand new buddy movie exudes from every pore the inexhaustible energy of George Clooney and Brad Pitt: it is precisely the love-hate relationship between their characters and the charisma of these super stars that fuel a simple and functional plot. 

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

It's hard to remember, because the MCU took up much of the last 12 years of <'s career 77>Robert Downey Jr, but in the years preceding Iron Man this extraordinary performer was the protagonist of a simply unique buddy movie. Directed by Shane Black, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a noir peppered with postmodern irony, with hilarious performances by Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, respectively in the roles of a petty thief and a private investigator who form an unlikely alliance. Not surprisingly, the pair is considered one of the greatest "buddy duos" ever, thanks to their brilliant chemistry and the similar sense of humor they share. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a comedy as funny as it is black, an homage to the classic hardboiled narrative that results in a film with all the right ingredients to earn cult status of the genre.

by Agnese Albertini of CinemaSerieTV.it for Filmamo.it