Buddy movie
Buddy film or buddy movie is a film genre with two main characters of the same sex. The term is derived from the English word buddy , which means something like friend or mate .
The actors of a buddy film are almost forced to act collectively by an interpersonal relationship or acquaintance, an event or a situation in order to be able to solve the connecting problem - usually at the end of the story - in teamwork.
For the most part, people are used for the acting duos who are at different levels in terms of worldview , origin , temperament , phenotype , stature , abilities and skills. The resulting conflict between the two people and the interaction with the respective counterpart offers, among other things, scope for comedic elements, which is why such films are usually located in the comedy genre . Often there is a proximity to the action film and especially to the road movie .
A sub-genre is the buddy cop film , in which the protagonists are also members of a police unit.
Examples
Well-known screen pairs
-
Laurel and Hardy :
Even back in the days of the silent movies, the unequal couple was popularized by the Laurel and Hardy films. They differed in their stature and solution approaches, but were always dependent on each other. -
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau :
In the 1960s, Billy Wilder started the collaboration between this screen couple with the film Der Glückspilz , which subsequently worked together in ten other productions. This also includes Wilder's last film Buddy Buddy . -
Bud Spencer and Terence Hill :
Between 1967 and 1994, the two made numerous films, although these were initially cynical and humorless spaghetti westerns . Until 1969 the two were in The Hills boots of Enzo Barboni staged as a comic duo. Especially in Germany were the movies, often Western - parodies , with the flippant slogans and bloodless, parody exaggerated fights very popular. -
Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu :
Between 1981 and 1986 Richard and Depardieu shot the three hit comedies The Horny Ox and His Draft Horse , Two Crazy Jokers and The Fugitives , in which Richard was seen as a clumsy man and Depardieu took on the role of his hard-nosed (and reluctant) partner . - Pat & Patachon
Buddy Cop Movies
- Mel Gibson and Danny Glover : In Lethal Weapon - Two steely professionals from 1987, director Richard Donner staged the story of two unequal police officers with comedic stylistic elements. The film was so successful that three sequels followed by 1998.
- Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks in Sloppy Bulls Don't Bite from 1987
- James Belushi and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Heat from 1988
- James Belushi and Rando as the unconventional buddy ensemble in My Partner with the Cold Muzzle from 1989
- Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour (1998), Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007)
- Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in the 2003 Hollywood Cops
- Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in Cops with a Difference from 2010
- John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in From Paris with Love from 2010
- Omar Sy and Laurent Lafitte in A Murder Team from 2012
- Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in Tough Girls from 2013
TV Shows
The successful concept of buddy movies was also applied to television series. Starsky & Hutch (Buddy-Cop-Film) and Männerwirtschaft were particularly successful , the latter series is thematically based on the similar film A Strange Couple .