Best Buddy Movies - Part 8
Posted on 1 Jan 00:00
Films vary widely from comedy, bibliography, sports, drama, romance, family, to buddy. Yet, these are just a few of the films. The number and the great variety often pose a challenge in finding the best movie to watch. As a movie-goer, one might seek to watch an interesting film, only to find that the multitude of choices and genres can be daunting. Many people love buddy films. This article shares seven exceptional buddy films.
1. The Defiant Ones (1958)
Harold Jacob Smith adapted the film from a story written by Nedrick Young.
Plot: 'The Defiant Ones' is about two prisoners shackled together. One is black, and the other is white along with their respective prejudices, and they must co-operate to survive their escape with no other option.
Director: Stanley Kramer.
Main Cast: Sidney Poitier (as Noah Cullen) and Tony Curtis (as John ‘Joker’ Jackson).
Critical Reception: The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther praised the film before production, lauding its performance, writing, and acting. He made the following comments, ‘A remarkably apt and dramatic visualization of a social idea—the idea of men of different races brought together to face misfortune in a bond of brotherhood—is achieved by producer Stanley Kramer in his new film, The Defiant Ones... Between the two principal performers, there isn't much room for a choice. Mr. Poitier stands out as the Negro convict, and Mr. Curtis is surprisingly good. Both men are intensely dynamic'. Based on 50 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes awarded the film a 92% approval rating.
Awards and Nominations: Poitier won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Festival. 'The Defiant Ones' won two Academy Awards, Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) and Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen (Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith). It received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor (Poitier and Curtis), Best Picture & Best Director (Stanley Kramer), Best Supporting Actor (Theodore Bikel), and Best Supporting Actress (Cara Williams). The movie won three New York Film Critics Circle Awards; Best Film, Best Director (Stanley Kramer), and Best Screenplay (Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith). Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith also won the Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Written American Drama. The Defiant Ones movie won the Golden Globe Best Motion Picture- Drama. Golden Globes Awards also awarded the film three awards, Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Tony Curtis & Sidney Poitier), Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Cara Williams), and Best Director – Motion Picture (Stanley Kramer).
2. Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (1973)
Plot: This movie features an honest Lawyer, Pat Garrett, who finds himself caught between two opposing sides when a group of wealthy cattle barons ask him to deal with a notorious outlaw called Billy 'the Kid' who is Pat’s childhood friend.
Director: Sam Peckinpah.
Main Cast: James Coburn (as Sheriff Pat Garrett), Kris Kristofferson (as Billy the Kid), Richard Jaeckel (as Sheriff Kip McKinney), and Katy Jurado (as Mrs. Baker).
Critical Reception: Pauline Keisel found the movie’s cast amazing but still panned the film. She said, ‘peculiarly unrealized, and probably nobody involved was very happy about the results.’ Roger Ebert also panned the film, giving it two out of four stars and making the following remarks, 'Sam Peckinpah attempted to have his name removed from 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'.
Awards and Nominations: BAFTA Awards nominated 'Pat Garret and Billy the Kid' for two awards, Film Music (Dylan) and Most Promising Newcomer (Kristofferson). The Grammy Awards also nominated for the movie for Album of Best Original Score (Dylan). The Empire magazine recognized the movie in its list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time and ranked it 126th. The movie grossed $11 milllion on a budget of $4.64 million budget.
3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)
The film was based on Tom Stoppard’s 1966 play, 'Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead'.
Plot: Similar to William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', this movie depicts two individuals, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who, at Denmark's King's behest, find themselves on the way to Elsinore Castle. The duo questions their existence and comes across a number of interesting characters before attempting to make sense of the peculiar goings-on in the castle.
Director: Tom Stoppard.
Main Cast: Gary Oldman (as Rosencrantz), Tim Roth (as Guildenstern), and Richard Dreyfuss (as The Player).
Critical Reception: This film's critical reception was more positive than negative. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the movie a 61% approval rating using 31 reviews. Some critics felt that the film suited the stage more than the screen. One such critic is Vincent Canby's review, who made the following comments, ‘Stoppard delights in sounds and meanings, in puns, in flights of words that soar and swoop as if in visual display. On the stage, this sort of thing can be great fun ... In the more realistic medium of film, so many words can numb the eardrums and weigh upon the eyelids like old coins. This is the effect of 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.’ Roger Ebert shared Vincent’s sentiments and made the following remarks, ‘the problem is that this material was never meant to be a film, and can hardly work as a film.’ The records do not reveal what Golden Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic said about the movie.
Awards and Nominations: At the Venice Film Festival, the movie won the Golden Lion Award and the Fantasporto Directors' Week Award. Oldman received the 1991 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for his exceptional work in the movie.
This film is the fourth installment of the 'Lonesome Dove' movie series and a four-part adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s 1985 'Lonesome Dove' novel.
Plot: Two former Texas Rangers and other small Texas town residents lead a cattle drive to the Montana Territory, a drive that revives the spirit of adventure in the duo. Although retired, the former rangers are content to spend their remaining years living in the small Texas town of Lonesome Dove.
Director: Simon Wencer.
Main Cast: Tommy Lee Jones (Captain Woodrow F. Call) and Robert Duvall (Captain Augustus ‘Gus’ McCrae).
Critical Reception: 'Lonesome Dove's' critical reception was overwhelming positive.The New York Times’commentary 'This six-hour miniseries, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry, revitalized both the miniseries and Western genres, both of which had been considered dead for several years...' Lonesome Dove earned 18 Emmy nominations.
Awards and Nominations: This movie was an audience favorite and a major revamp for Westerns in the 1980s through 1990s. 'Lonesome Dove' earned numerous honors and awards. The miniseries had 18 nominations and seven wins at the 1989 Emmy Awards, including Best Director (Simon Wincer). The Golden Globes also acclaimed the film two awards for Best Miniseries and Best Actor in a Miniseries (Robert Duvall).
5. Pineapple Express (2008)
Plot: A process server and his marijuana dealer must stay ahead of a policeman and hitmen who the server and the marijuana dealer see committing a murder.
Director: David Gordon Green.
Main Cast: Seth Rogen (as Dale Denton), James Franco (as Saul Silver), and Danny McBride (as Red).
Critical Reception: This movie was a commercial and critical success. It grossed $102 million on a budget of $26 million. From Rotten Tomatoes', the movie received a 68% approval rating and a 6.63/10 averaging rating, with the site's consensus reading, 'Both funny and scattershot, this loose-knit action/buddy/stoner comedy bridges genres and keeps a steady tempo of low ball laughs.’ Metacritic used 37 reviews to rate the film, yielding a 64% approval rating.
Awards and Nominations: Franco received a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
6. Tommy Boy (1995)
Plot: following his industrialist father’s death, an emotionally and socially immature man grows while trying to save the company for himself and the employees that work there. Along the way he learns valuable life less of self-worth and friendship.
Plot: following his industrialist father’s death, an emotionally and socially immature man grows while trying to save the company for himself and the employees that work there. Along the way he learns valuable life less of self-worth and friendship.
Director: Peter Segal.
Main Cast: Chris Farley (as Thomas ‘Tommy’ Callahan III), David Spade (as Richard Hayden), Ryder Britton (as Young Richard), and Bo Derek (as Beverly Barrish, Tommy’s stepmother).
Critical Reception: 'Tommy Boy' received mixed reviews from the critics. Rotten Tomatoes conducted the review using 43 critics, giving the film a 42% approval rating and a 5.22/100 average rating. The site's consensus reads, 'Though it benefits from the comic charms of its two leads, Tommy Boy too often feels like a familiar sketch stretched thin.’ On Metacritic’s 20 reviews, the movie received a 46/100 approval rating.
Awards and Nominations: The Razzie Awards nominated 'Tommy Boy's' Bo Derek for Worst Supporting Actress.
This movie is the sequel to 1987's 'Lethal Weapon' and is the second installment in the 'Lethal Weapon' franchise.
Plot: This movie depicts two mismatched Los Angeles policemen who harass South African smugglers. When a federal witness to the crimes reports to the duo violent and hilarious trouble ensues.
Director: Richard Donner.
Main Cast: Mel Gibson (as Detective Martin Riggs), Danny Glover (as Detective Roger Murtaugh), Joe Pesci (as Leo Getz), and Joss Ackland (as Arjen Rudd).
Critical Reception: 'Lethal Weapon 2' was the subject of mixed to negative critical reception, however, movie was a tremendous commercial success. Following 'Batman' and 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', it was the third-highest-grossing film, with a $220.9 million gross on a $80 million budget. Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie at an 82% approval rating and a 6.71/10 average rating. The site’s consensus read, ‘Lethal Weapon 2 may sport a thin plot typical of action fare, but its combination of humor and adrenaline, along with the chemistry between its leads, make this a playful, entertaining sequel.’
Awards and Nominations: Robert G. Henderson received an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
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.