Best Buddy Movies- Part 6
Posted on 1 Nov 00:00
Sometimes, the number of movies available make it a challenge to find a suitable movie, especially for family viewing. However, there are multitudes of family viewing buddy films available today.. This article lists a few excellent buddy films.
1. Stranger than Paradise (1984)
Plot: The plot of 'Stranger than Paradise' depicts card-shark hustler, Willie, and his sidekick, Eddie. Willies is expecting a visit from his cousin, Eva, and is not happy about it. However, Willie warms up to his cousin, but then she ditches them and goes to visit her aunt in Cleveland, Eddie is upset and he and Eddie set out on a road trip to seeEva. The road trip turns out to be a blessing in disguise which exposes them to new experiences and changes their otherwise boring lives.
Director: Jim Jarmusch.
Main Cast: John Lurie (as Willie), Eszter Balint (as Eva), Richard Edson (as Eddie), and Cecilia Stark (as Aunt Lotte).
Critical Reception: 'Stranger than Paradise' received many positive reviews. 20 critics reviewed the film under Rotten Tomatoes. On Rotten Tomatoes' aggregator, the movie has a 96% approval rating which translates to 75/10. One of the critics, Pauline Kael, had every good thing to say about the movie. This is part of her commentary, “And when Willie and Eddie go to see her, all they see is an icy wasteland – slums and desolation – and Eddie says, ‘You know it's funny. You come to someplace new, and everything looks just the same.’ The film has something of the same bombed-out listlessness as Paul Morrissey's 1970 'Trash' – it’s Trash without sex or transvestism. The images are so emptied out that Jarmusch makes you notice every tiny, grungy detail. And those black-outs have something of the effect of Samuel Beckett’s pauses: they make us look more intently, as Beckett makes us listen more intently.”
Awards and Nominations: At the 1984 National Society of Film Critics, the movie was voted for Best Picture. The year 2002 saw the film being preserved by the National Film Registry after the US Library of Congress deemed it ‘culturally, aesthetically, and historically significant’ and selected it for preservation. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Alternate 100 and the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies list included Stranger than Paradise movie in their lists. In Entertainment Weekly’s The Top 50 Cult Films list, the movie was ranked 26th. On Empire Magazine’s list of 50 greatest independent films of all time, Stranger than Paradise emerged 14th.
2. 50/50 (2011)
The movie’s screenplay was written by playwright Will Reiser, who includes and reflects his own battle with cancer in '50/50'.
Plot: This film depicts a 27-year-old radio journalist, Adams. Things have been going well until he is diagnosed with spinal cancer. Amid the pain and frustration, Adams sees something great in life- friendship and love. Adams' mother and his friend Rogen offer him great support. He tries to remain upbeat and, and with time, seeks therapy from Doctor Anne. Eventually, their relationship risks crossing the boundary of a doctor and a patient relationship.
Director: Jonathan Levine.
Main Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Adam Lerner), Seth Rogen (as Kyle Hirons), Anna Kendrick (as Katherine McKay), and Bryce Dallas Howard (as Rachael).
Critical Reception: This film received critical acclaim, especially due to Gordon-Levitt’s great performance and the excellent screenplay by Reiser. This film was a tremendous commercial success, grossing $41.1 million on a budget of $8 million. The film’s average rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregator was 7.70/10, and a reciprocal 93% approval rating derived from 200 reviws. Rotten Tomatoes had its site's consensus reading, ‘A good-hearted film about a difficult topic, 50/50 maneuvers between jokes and drama with surprising finesse.’ Metacritic also used 42reviews to comment on the film. Its weighted review earned the film a 72% rating, suggesting a ‘generally favorable review.’
Awards and Nominations: At the 69th Golden Globe Awards, '50/50' film received two nominations, Gordon-Levitt’s Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) nomination, and the movie's Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) nomination. In 2011's top ten best films list, the 50/50 movie appeared in Box office, The Arizona Republic, Daily News, TV Guide, MTV, Tampa Bay Times, New York Post, and USA Today.
Plot: This film features the adventures of two good-hearted but dumb guys who travel to return a suitcase that one of them stumbled upon in the line of duty. They travel from Providence, Rhode Island, to Aspen, Colorado, to return a young woman's briefcase. Unknown to the men, the lady had intentionally left the briefcase full of cash as a ransom for the abductors who had kidnapped her husband. The guys' good Samaritan gesture sets off a series of misadventures.
Director: Peter Farrelly.
Main Cast: Jim Carrey (as Lloyd Christmas) and Jeff Daniels (as Harry Dunne).
Critical Reception: This movie was a tremendous success, grossing $243 million on a $17 million budget. It has developed a cult following since it was released and shot. The film received mixed critical responses, with Rotten Tomatoes awarding it a 68% approval rating and a 6.11/100 weight based on 53 reviews. The site had it consensus reading, 'A relentlessly stupid comedy elevated by its main actors: Jim Carrey goes bonkers, and Jeff Daniels carries himself admirably in an against-type performance.’ Metacritic’s 14 reviews awarded the movie a 41/100 rating, suggesting a ‘mixed critical reception.’
Awards and Nominations: 'Dumb and Dumber' did not garner any spectacular awards. However, the film found its success at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards. At the MTV Awards, Carrey and Daniels were got a Best On-Screen Duo award nomination. Carrey was awarded the Best Comic Performance Award, and he won it. Carrey and Holly also won the Best Kiss Award.
4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Taika Waititi wrote the film’s screenplay based on Barry Crump’s 'Wild Pork and Watercress'.
Plot: This film features a boy and his foster father who get stranded in the New Zealand wilderness and become the subject of a manhunt.
Director: Taika Waititi.
Main Cast: Sam Neill (as Hector Faulkner), Julian Dennison (as Ricky Baker), and Rima Te Wiata (as Bella Faulkner).
Critical Reception: This movie was a subject of critical acclaim, with Neil and Dennison's chemistry and performance being the outstanding factors. Rotten Tomatoes granted the movie a 97% and a 7.9/10 approval rating with the site’s consensus reading, ‘The charmingly offbeat Hunt for the Wilderpeople unites a solid cast, a talented filmmaker, and a poignant, funny, deeply affecting message.’ Metacritic used 30 reviews to grant the film the 81/100 approval rating, a ‘universal acclaim.’
Awards and Nominations: the movie was recognized in the Empire Magazine’s number one 2016 film.
Plot: This movie features a mild-tempered ex-convict and a chemist as he stops a dishonest brigadier from threatening the government by launching a gas-loaded rocket into the San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay.
Main Cast: Sean Connery (as SAS Captain John Patrick Mason), Nicolas Cage (as FBI Special Agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed), and Ed Harris (as Brigadier General Francis X. ‘Frank’ Hummel).
Critical Reception: This film was a tremendous success, grossing $335 million on a budget of $75 million, and being the fourth-highest grossing film of the year. The film received mixed critical reviews, with the movie receiving both negative and positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes used 65 reviews and awarded the movie a 66% and a 6.63/100 approval rating with the website’s consensus reading, ‘For visceral thrills, it can't be beaten. Just don't expect The Rock to engage your brain.' Metacritic gave the movie a 58/100 approval rating derived from 24 critcal reviews.
Awards and Nominations: At the 69th Academy Awards, the movie received a Best Sound Award nomination. Connery and Cage won the Best On-Screen Duo MTV Movie Award. The movie also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Keith A. Wester).
Wes Anderson teamed with Owen Wilson to write the screenplay based on Anderson’s 1994 'Bottle Rocket' short film.
Plot: This film's plot features a trio robbery plans go haywire. The robbery at the facility seems successful until one of them fails to open the safe, and the other accidentally fires a gun and triggers cardiac arrest in one of them. This doesn't end well.
Director: Wes Anderson.
Main Cast: Luke Wilson (as Anthony Adams), Owen Wilson (as Dignan), Robert Musgrave (as Bob Mapplethorpe), and James Caan (as Abe Henry).
Critical Reception: This film received positive reviews. Based on Rotten Tomatoes’ 65 reviews, the movie earned an 85% and 6.83/100 approval rating. The site's consensus offered the following description of the film, ‘Reservoir Dogs meets Breathless with a West Texas sensibility.’ Metacritic used 24 reviews and gave the film a 66/100 approval rating suggesting a 'generally favorable review.'
Awards and Nominations: Wes Anderson won the Best Filmmaker MTV Movie Award. At the 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards, Wes Anderson, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson won the Special Award for Debut of the Year.
7. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Plot: This film depicts a fictionalized conversation that two people have over an evening meal at Manhattan's Café des Artistes. They discuss many interesting subjects such as the nature of theatre, experimental theatre, and the nature of life. The dialogue takes an interesting turn as the humane Wally's, and the spiritual Andre's opinions contrast one another and they question each other's interests.
Director: Louis Malle.
Main Cast: Andre Gregory (as Andre), Wallace Shawn (as Wally), Jean Lenauer (as a waiter), and Roy Butler (as a bartender).
Critical Reception: Rotten Tomatoes used 23vreviews to rate the film. It gave it a 92% and a 7.3/10 approval rating. Siskel and Ebert praised the film and ranked it as the best film of the year. Throughout the 1980s, the duo would independently rank the movie fourth and fifth-best. Metacritic gave the film a ‘universal acclaim’ rating based on 15 reviews and an 83% rating.
Awards and Nominations: At the Boston Society of Film Critics’ Awards, the movie was ranked as the ‘Best American Film’ in 1982. At the same event, Gregory and Shawn won the Best Screenplay Award.
Movie Buffs Forever stocks classic movies on DVD from the 1940's to the early 2000's. Browse our vast collection of old, rare and out of print classic movies on DVD.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
Why We Still Love DVDs