These buddy movies celebrate dudes just being dudes…and occasionally blowing shit up.
10. "Weird Science"- Buds: Gary Wallace and Wyatt "Tense Up" Donnelly (Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith)
Poor Gary and Wyatt were picked on, put down and shoved aside, until they put their collective brains (and boners) together to create the perfect woman. Together they learned that Blind Dog Bourbon is a killer, Robert Downey Jr. is a prick, and some mutant killers from the future have teaching jobs.
9. "Brokeback Mountain"- Buds: Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal)
Talk about "friends with benefits." Fishin' buddies Ennis and Jack enjoy getting away from the humdrum reality of working life (shitty jobs, bad pay, sex with women) and out into nature, where they can lounge around, drink, and bugger each other like British schoolboys. It's "their time."
8. "Made"- Buds: Bobby Ricigliano and Ricky Slade (Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn)
Sometimes, two guys pair up because, well, one of them annoys and offends everyone he comes within 100 yards of, and the other is cursed with endless patience. At least amateur boxer Bobby gets to occasionally punch Ricky in the face. It's how their dynamic works.
7. "Bad Boys"- Buds: Det. Marcus Burnett and Det. Mike Lowrey (Martin Lawrence and Will Smith)
Smooth ladies man Mike and bumbling hothead Marcus are Miami's best cops, and each other's loyal wingman. Except for that time Marcus thought Mike was banging his wife…or that time Mike actually was banging Marcus' sister. But besides that, they're solid.
6. "Clerks"- Buds: Dante Hicks and Randal Graves (Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson)
One loser equals sadness, depression and despair. Two losers together equal laughs, hockey and pornography! Dante and Randal are as close as the Quick Stop is to RST Video. And their shared loserdom is an inspiration to us all. And by "us all" we mean New Jersey.
5. "Trading Places"- Buds: Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine (Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy)
Like a romance, some friendships start out from a place of pure hatred and grow into a strong, lifelong bond. Louis hated Billy Ray for stealing his job, his girl, his house, and his butler. But eventually the two worked it out by dressing in blackface and screwing over two old men with a convoluted stock scheme. See? You never can tell.
4. "Half-Baked'- Buds: Thurgood Jenkins, Scarface, Brian and Kenny Davis (Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Jim Breuer and Harland Williams)
"No man left behind." What's true in war is true in friendship, and when Kenny gets shipped off to prison, his childhood best friends do everything they can (OK, they sell weed) to get him out. Because splitting Billy Bong Thornton between three people is just unconscionable.
3. "Tapeheads"- Buds: Ivan Alexeev and Josh Tager (John Cusack and Tim Robbins)
As everyone knows, talent is one thing, but showmanship is another. Josh may have the brains, the technical know-how, and the general ability to function in society, but Ivan has the charisma! Together…they're marginally successful music video directors. Dare to dream, friends.
11. "The Last Boy Scout"- Buds: Joe Hallenbeck and Jimmy Dix (Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans)
Another key to a successful partnership is constant bickering. So forcing together two grade-A pricks is a match made in buddy-movie heaven. On one hand, you have Willis' loser private dick, on the other, Wayans' whiny ex-pro quarterback. Who cares if they solve anything? Let 'em at each other!
2. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"- Buds: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Paul Newman and Robert Redford)
You know when you get all liquored up and your best buddy says something like, "Let's quit our jobs and open our own bar!" you kind of ponder it seriously for a minute? Well, intensify the friendship (and the liquor) and suddenly you can see how something like "Let's go on the lam in Bolivia but continue to rob banks" kinda could make sense.
1. "Lethal Weapon"- Buds: Sgt. Martin Riggs and Sgt. Roger Murtaugh (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover)
The pinnacle of the movie buddy system: Riggs is crazy, Rog is practical. Riggs is a loner, Rog is a family man. Riggs is young and reckless, Rog is almost retired. Riggs has a dog, Rog has a cat. The guy who played Riggs is a crazy racist, the guy who played Rog is probably fielding an annoying question about that very racism right now. And yet, they survived four movies and some intense Joe Pesci overacting to reach the Buddy Movie Hall of Fame. Take a bow, guys. You're not too old for this shit. Well, except for that racism bit.
13. "See No Evil, Hear No Evil"- Buds: Dave Lyons and Wally Karue (Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor)
The best pairings are between people who complement one another—so a blind guy and a deaf guy being best friends just makes sense. It's like a guy who can't speak befriending someone who never shuts up (or as it's known in medical circles: "Stedman Graham and Oprah Winfrey.")
12. "Turner & Hooch"- Buds: Det. Scott Turner and Hooch (Tom Hanks and Beasley)
Long before Hanks was Mr. Oscar Winner, he was chasing drooling mutts around and loving every failed comedic minute of it. We just can't bear to watch the final scene when Hooch just sits there as the Nazi tank rolls right toward him (maybe that's something else…).