Best Buddy Movies- Part 3
Posted on 1 Aug 00:00
Watching films is a great form of entertainment to do alone or with others. Society gets a lot of its societal ques from films. Some imitate popular actors and actresses in lifestyle, dress code, or even gait and hairstyle. One such example of movie genre filled social mores is buddy films. This articles features a few excellent examples of buddy films.
'Midnight Cowboy' movie was written by Waldo Salt based on James Leo Herlihy’s The Midnight Cowboy.
Plot: This film’s plot is set in New York City. It depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: naïve sex worker, Joe Buck, and ailing con man, Enrico ‘Ratso’ Rizzo. Joe, new to the game, struggles to survive on the streets of New York City, along with the resilient outcast Ratso Rizzo. Gradually, the unusual pair evolves from devious business partners to best friends.
Director: John Schlesinger.
Main Cast: Jon Voight (as Joe Buck) and Dustin Hoffman as Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo.
Critical Reception: 'Midnight Cowboy' received generally positive critical reviews. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune said of the film: ‘I cannot recall a more marvelous pair of acting performances in any one film.’ Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: ‘Midnight Cowboy's' peep-show vision of Manhattan lowlife may no longer be shocking, but what is shocking, in 1994, is to see a major studio film linger this lovingly on characters who have nothing to offer the audience but their own lost souls.’ The film was a box office hit and a tremendous commercial success, grossing $44.8 million on a budget of $3.2 million budget.
Awards and Nominations: At the 42nd Academy Awards, 'Midnight Cowboy' won three awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 1970, the British Academy of Film Awards nominated the film for six roles; Best Film (Jerome Hellman), Best Direction (John Schlesinger), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Dustin Hoffman), Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Jon Voight), Best Screenplay (Waldo Salt), and Best Editing (Hugh A. Robertson). The film won all these awards from the British Academy Film Awards. 'Midnight Cowboy' is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture and has since been placed 36th on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films of all time and 43rd on the AFI’s 100 greatest films of all time 2007 updated version. In 1994, the Library of Congress deemed the Midnight Cowboy ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically significant’ and selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. John Schlesinger won the Best Foreign Director and Best Directing awards from David di Donatello Awards and the Directors Guild of American Awards.
The screenplay was written by Robert Towne, based on a 1969 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan.
Plot: 'The Last Detail' depicts two navy officers as they bring a convict to prison on the order of navy authority’s. On their way, the two men warm to the convict, and develop a fondness for him which make it hard for them to fulfill their mission.
Director: Hal Ashby.
Main Cast: Jack Nicholson (as Signalman 1st Class Billy L. ‘Badass’ Buddusky), Otis Young (as Gunner's Mate 1st Class Richard ‘Mule’ Mulhall), and Randy Quaid (as Seaman Laurence M. ‘Larry’ Meadows).
Critical Reception: This film received very positive reviews, especially because of Nicholson’s performance. The film received very positive reviews. In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, ‘It’s by far the best thing he’s ever done,’ referring to Nicholson's performance. Variety magazine also praised Nicholson, writing that he was ‘outstanding at the head of a superb cast.’ Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film four stars out of four, writing that Nicholson ‘continues his impressive string of performances’ and that the screenplay ‘is both funny and wise. It captures all the silliness, stupidity, and veiled warmth of men in groups.’ The film was a commercial success, grossing $10 million on a $3 million budget.
Awards and Nominations: 'The Last Detail' became widely known for its use of profanity and was consequently nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nicholson), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Quaid), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and Nicholson was awarded Best Actor. The Golden Globe nominated the movie for two roles, Nicholson for Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama and Quaid for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Nicholson won a BAFTA award for his role in the film and the Best Actor awards from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle.
3. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
This film was adapted from the 1888 Rudyard Kipling 'The Man Who Would Be King' novella.
Plot: This film is about two rogue ex-soldiers, former non-commissioned officers in the British Army, who set off from late 19th-century British India in search of adventure and end up in faraway Kafiristan, where one is taken for a god and made their king resulting in tragic consequences.
Director: John Huston.
Main Cast: Sean Connery (as Daniel Dravot), Michael Caine (as Peachy Carnehan), and Christopher Plummer (as Rudyard Kipling).
Critical Reception: This movie generally received positive critical reviews. John Simon of New York magazine considered the film to be Huston’s best work since The African Queen, twenty-three years earlier. Jay Cocks of Time commented ‘John Huston has been wanting to make this movie for more than twenty years. It was worth the wait.’ Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and wrote, ‘It’s been a long time since there's been an escapist entertainment quite this unabashed and thrilling and fun.’
Awards and Nominations: This film was nominated for four Academy Awards; Best Art Direction (Alexandre Trauner, Tony Inglis & Peter James), Best Writing (John Huston & Gladys Hill), Best Costume Design (Edith Head), and Best Editing (Russell Lloyd). Maurice Jarre was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. BAFTA Awards nominated Head for Best Costume Design and Oswald Morris for the for Best Cinematography.
4. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Plot: This film’s plot is about the robbery of a card shark who loses a lot of money to a crime lord in a rigged card game. To pay the debt, he and his buddies rob a small gang next door and mayhem ensues.
Director: Guy Ritchie.
Main Cast: Nick Moran (as Eddie), Jason Flemyng (as Tom), Dexter Fletcher (as Soap), and Jason Statham (as Bacon).
Critical Reception: This movie received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 65 reviews, with the site’s critical consensus reading, ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' is a grimy, twisted and funny twist on the Tarantino hip gangster formula.’ On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating ‘generally favorable reviews.' The movie was a box office hit and a tremendous commercial, accruing $28 million with a $1.35 million budget.
Awards and Nominations: The 1998 British Academy Film Awards nominated the movie for the outstanding British Film of the Year. In 2000, Ritchie won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
Plot: This movie’s plot depicts a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives- Martin Riggs, a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and Roger Murtaugh, a 50-year-old veteran of the force, nearing retirement, who work together as partners. A series of nail-biting events occur due to the pairing of this mis-matched pair.
Director: Richard Donner.
Main Cast: Mel Gibson (as Sergeant Martin Riggs) and Danny Glover (as Sergeant Roger Murtaugh).
Critical Reception: This film's critical reception was generally positive. Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie an 80% approval rating based on 56 reviews with the site's consensus reading, 'The most successful installment in a phenomenally successful franchise, 'Lethal Weapon', helped redefine action movies for the 1980s and 1990s.’ On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68%, based on 23 critics, indicating ‘generally favorable reviews.’
Awards and Nominations: Produced on a $15 million budget, it grossed $120.2 million worldwide and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing (Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, and Bill Nelson). The film lost the award to the 'Last Emperor').
6. Superbad (2007)+
Plot: 'Superbad's' plot depicts two teenagers, Seth and Evan, who are about to graduate from high school. Before graduating, the boys want to party and lose their virginity, but their plan proves harder than expected.
Director: Greg Mottola.
Main Cast: Jonah Hill (as Seth), Casey Margolis (as Young Seth), and Michael Cera (as Evan).
Critical Reception: 'Superbad' received acclaim from critics, with praise going to the screenplay and performances. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 88% based on reviews from 208 critics, with the website’s consensus reading, ‘Deftly balancing vulgarity and sincerity while placing its protagonists in excessive situations, Superbad is an authentic take on friendship and the overarching awkwardness of the high school experience.’ On Metacritic, the film has a 76% based on 36 reviews, indicating ‘generally favorable reviews.’
Awards and Nominations: 'Superbad' was listed as #487 on Empire's 500 Greatest films of all time. It won the following awards; two 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards (Seth Rogen for Best Writing and Michael Cera for Best Male Performance), the 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2007 (Michael Cera for Most Promising Performer), the 2007 Austin Film Critics Association Awards (Michael Cera for Breakthrough Artist Award), and the 2008 Young Hollywood Awards (Emma Stone for Exciting New Face).
7. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
This film was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay Simon Says by Hensleigh. 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' is the third movie in the Die Hard films franchise, after 'Die Hard 2' (1990). It is followed by 'Live Free or Die Hard' (2007) and 'A Good Day to Die Hard' (2013).
Plot: This film portrays an NYPD Lieutenant who must enlist the help of a reluctant partner and a local shop owner, to stop a former colonel from East Germany from detonating bombs across New York.
Director: John McTierman.
Main Cast: Bruce Willis (as Lieutenant John McClane), Jeremy Irons (as Simon Peter Gruber / Colonel Peter Krieg), and Samuel L. Jackson (as Zeus Carver).
Critical Reception: Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 59% approval rating based on 73 reviews, with the site’s consensus reading, ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance gets off to a fast start and benefits from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson’s barbed interplay, but clatters to a bombastic finish in a vain effort to cover for an overall lack of fresh ideas.’ On Metacritic, the film has a score of 58%, based on 19 critics, indicating ‘mixed or average reviews.’
Awards and Nominations: Michael Kamen won the BMI Music Award. At the 1995 Awards Circuit Community Awards, the film was nominated for the ACCA Best Stunt Ensemble Cast Award. The film also received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Action/Adventure Film.
Conclusion
It is obvious for many reasons why buddy movies are among the most popular film genres. These are seven of the most popular of the buddy films.
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