Best Buddy Movies- Part 4
Posted on 1 Sep 00:00
Watching films is one of the activities many people, including families, love watching during their free time. The movies provide any type of temporary escapism desired. Buddy movies are an example of such escapist films. This article discusses just a few popular buddy films available.
Plot: 'The Hangover' is about four friends who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor’s party. Phil Wenneck, Stu Price, Alan Garner, and Doug Billings are friends who travel to Las Vegas to celebrate with a bachelor party the night before Doug's wedding. However, utter shock sets in when Phil Wenneck, Stu Price, and Alan Garner wake up in the morning to find Doug missing. To make things worse, the trio has no memory of what happened the previous night. They must find Doug before the wedding. Their quest if filled with misadventures.
Director: Todd Phillips.
Main Cast: Bradley Cooper (as Phil, a teacher and the leader of the Wolfpack, Ed Helms as Stu, a dentist), Zach Galifianakis (as Alan, Doug's socially inept and future brother-in-law), Ed Helms (as Stu, a dentist), and Justin Bartha (as Doug, the groom).
Critical Reception: 'The Hangover' received positive critical reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 78% approval ratings with comments from 238 reviews. The site's consensus reads this, 'With a clever script and hilarious interplay among the cast, 'The Hangover' nails just the right tone of raunchy humor, and the non-stop laughs overshadow any flaw.’ Metacritic awarded the film 73 out of 100 approval rating, suggesting 'generally favorable reviews.'
Sequels and Adaptations: Two sequels were developed following the success of 'The Hangover'. The two adaptations are 'The Hangover Part II', released on May 26, 2011, and a third and final installment, 'The Hangover Part III', released on May 23, 2013. The two sequels were box-office hits, but, though negatively reviewed.
Awards and Nominations: The Golden Globe Awards nominated 'The Hangover' for the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Award. The film won this award on January 17, 2010. It also won 'Ensemble’ from the Detroit Film Critics Society. The American Film Institute named 'The Hangover' as one of the top ten movies of the year.
Plot: This film's plot revolves around a hitman who decides to retire after one last job, but things suddenly take a different turn. Jeffrey is a mob assassin who has to face the betrayal from his employer when Jennie, a nightclub chanteuse, has her eyes damaged accidentally by surprise crossfire, and will go completely blind if she does not undergo an expensive surgery which Jeffrey takes on another hit job to finance. Jeffrey must reluctantly join hands with the rogue policeman Detective, Li Ying, and pursue the criminals who are after him.
Director: John Woo wrote and directed 'The Killer'.
Main Cast: Chow Yun-fat (as Ah Jong), Danny Lee (as Detective Li Ying), Sally Ye (as Jennie), and Kenneth Tsang (as Sgt. Tsang Yeh).
Critical Reception: This film’s critical reception was generally positive. Variety praised the movie and described it as, ‘extremely violent and superbly made actioner demonstrates the tight grasp that director John Woo has on the crime meller genre.’ The New York Times’ Steven Holden said this about the film, ‘Alternately gripping and laughable" and that "The scenes of gore and destruction are even more spectacular than Hong Kong's fog-shrouded skyline.' Rotten Tomatoes held the film in the highest regard, giving it a 98% approval rating as of 2014.
Awards and Nominations: 'The Killer' has received recognition from European and Asian filmmakers and is today included in the best movies lists. At the 1990 Hong Kong Film Awards, the movie won two awards; Best Director (John Woo) and Best Film Editing (Kung-Wing Fan). During the same festival, the film received four nominations; Best Picture (Hark Tsui), Best Supporting Actor (Kong Chu), Best Screenplay (John Woo), and Best Cinematography (Wing-Hang Wong and Peter Pau). The film also received the Best Foreign Film Award (Felix) and a Video Premiere Award (Best DVD Menu Design for Lat sau san taam).
Plot: This film’s story features a pair of rock music fans, Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, as they broadcast a public-access television show, Wayne's World. Due to the success of the show, the duo is approached by a large company to sell the rights to their show. The duo is happy about their luck, but their happiness is short-lived when they realize that things are no longer the same for the show. They have to fight to protect the integrity of their show, and stop Kane, the producer, from taking away Wayne's girlfriend.
Director: Penelope Spheeris.
Main Cast: Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell, host of Wayne's World), Dana Carvey (as Garth Algar, Wayne's best friend, and co-host), Rob Lowe (as Benjamin Kane, a sleazy, Chicago-based television producer) and Lara Flynn Boyle (as Stacy, Wayne's troubled ex-girlfriend.
Critical Reception: Rotten Tomatoes received the film well and awarded it a 78% approval rating based on 88 reviews with a consensus that read, 'An oddball comedy that revels in its silliness and memorable catchphrases, Wayne's World is also fondly regarded because of its endearing characters.’ The film was a box office hit and grossed $183.1 million on a $20 million budget, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest-grossing of the 11 films based on 'Saturday Night Live' skits. Metacritic awarded the movie a 57% approval ratings based on 14 comments.
Awards and Nominations: The American Film Institute recognized the movie in the following lists; AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs (nomination), AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: ‘Schwing!' and 'We’re not worthy. We’re not worthy.’ (nomination), AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (nomination).
Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr. wrote the movie’s screenplay based on the French convict Henri Charrière 1969 'Papillon' autobiography.
Plot: Henri, aka Papillon for his butterfly chest tattoos, is a convicted murder who is on transit to French Guiana for his work camp. He is determined to escape, and forms an unconventional friendship with a forger, Dega.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner.
Main Cast: Steve McQueen (as Charrière ‘Papillon’) and Dustin Hoffman (as Louis Dega).
Critical Reception: Commenting on the film, The Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, and he said that the main flaw was a failure to gain audience interest in McQueen’s and Hoffman’s characters: ‘You know something has gone wrong when you want the hero to escape simply so that the movie can be over.’ Commenting on it, Richard Combs of The Monthly Film Bulletin said this of the movie, ‘what is missing is any of the book’s anger at the outrageous hypocrisy, injustice, and inhumanity of the system; which help fuel the passion that feeds Papillon’s compulsion to escape.’
Awards and Nominations: the year 1974 saw Papillon receiving two major recognitions; an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith), and a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Steve McQueen).
This movie is loosely based on Bruce Robinson's life in the late 1960s.
Plot: 'Withnail & I' plot depicts unemployed actors who feel exhausted by their lifestyle and decide to take a weekend holiday at one of the actor’s cottage. It is late 1969, and the two friends live together in a Camden Town flat. Withnail’s uncle, Monty has a cottage where the two drive it to recuperate. Unfortunately, the weekend takes a different turn, and the weekend holiday is not as therapeutic as anticipated.
Director: Bruce Robinson.
Main Cast: Richard E. Grant (as Withnail) and Paul McGann (‘I,' Marwood)
Critical Reception: the movie received many positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes found it interesting and gave it a 94% fresh rating from 34 critics and an average rating of 8.48 out of 10.
Awards and Nominations: 'Withnail & I' movie appears on the BFI Top 100 British films.
Soundtrack: This movie has a track of fourteen songs, including ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ (5:25), ‘The Wolf’ (1:33), and ‘All Along the Watchtower’ (4:10)
Plot: This film’s plot is about three men who get arrested, and then escape. 'Down by Law' focuses more on how these three men in custody interact with each other and less on their escape plan.
Director: Jim Jarmusch directed and wrote the movie.
Main Cast: Tom Waits (as Zack), John Lurie (as Jack), and Roberto Benigni (as Roberto).
Critical Reception: The critical reception for this film was generally positive. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the film an 87% approval rating, ‘Funny, original, and thoroughly cinematic, 'Down by Law' represents writer-director Jim Jarmusch at his most ingratiating and evocative’ One of The New York Times reviewers described it as a ‘fable of poetic density,’ with ‘extraordinary performances by the three main actors.
Awards and Nominations: This movie appeared in the American films of 1986. It was a moderate commercial success with a gross of $1,435,668 with a $453,600 budget.
This film was written by Tim McCanlies from a story treatment by Brad Bird, it was based on Ted Hughes’ 1968 'Iron Man' novel.
Plot: This film is set in1957 during the Cold War. It depicts Hogarth Hughes, a nine-year-old boy who makes a discovery and an unconventional friendship with a giant metallic robot that has recently fallen from outer space. A beatnik artist named, Dean McCoppin, helps Hogarth thwart the efforts of a fearful federal agent, Kent Mansley, and the U.S. military from capturing the gigantic metallic robot.
Director: Brad Bird.
Main Cast: Eli Marienthal (as Hogarth Hughes, the nine-year-old boy), Harry Connick Jr. as Dean McCoppin (a beatnik artist), Vin Diesel (as The Iron Giant, a 50-foot, metal-eating robot), and Jennifer Aniston (as Annie Hughes, Hogarth's mother).
Critical Reception: 'The Iron Giant' received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 96% approval rating based on 143 reviews. The website's critics' consensus reads, 'The endearing 'Iron Giant' tackles ambitious topics and complex human relationships with a steady hand and beautifully animated direction from Brad Bird.' Metacritic awarded the film universal acclaim symbolized by an 85 out of 100 approval rating.
Awards and Nominations: This film was a tremendous critical success and won many awards. It received six Annie Awards, including the Best Feature Animated Film, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production, and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production, among other awards.
Conclusion
Buddy movies can be many things including inspirational. These 7 films are examples of the wide range of moments that can be inspired by buddy movies.
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