Friendships in movies are the hearts of some of the greatest films ever made. Whether it be the type of friendships that we see spark on the screen that later goes on to bleed into real life, undeniable chemistry can be the core of a story when a plot is all but background noise. Sometimes, the best friendships are a simple bromance or a failure of two people to understand each other. The enemies-to-friends arc is a simple trope but in films like Toy Story or Monsters Inc., it helps the film soar.

Sometimes, the friendships are romantic while remaining platonic. The dueling dynamic of people struggling to love and support one another gives a film all the more heart and pain necessary to tell a story that endures. From buddy cop movies, these are the best friendships in movies.

10 Point Break

Point Break
20th Century Fox

At the heart of Kathryn Bigelow’s surfer, zen, heist film is the undeniable friendships that beckon when a cop goes undercover to break up a gang of bank robbers. Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze make the perfect pair as their bond nearly forges a friendship that breaks the shield and promise Reeves swore to protect as a cop. Swayze as the sage surfer, whose way of life appeals to the ex-quarterback in Reeves, is intoxicating, and makes the end of their brotherly ways all the more heartbreaking. Point Break is one of the best.

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9 Rush Hour

Rush Hour
New Line Cinema

The chemistry between two performers at the peak of their powers — Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan — has an undeniable energy that would make the Rush Hour franchise buddy cop movie formula sparkle. The two captured something unique with Tucker’s wild, manic, highly volatile comedic energy and Jackie’s magnetic, athletic charisma. As their struggles to understand each other when first partnered go on to strengthen the friendship, the cultural differences between a Black man from Los Angeles and a Chinese man unfamiliar with America were the clash needed to spark a hilarious kinship.

8 Toy Story

Toy Story
Pixar

One of the quintessential partnerships in animated movies, Woody and Buzz and all the other toys — Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and Slinky Dog — are some of the best friendships in film. Toy Story works because of the dynamic it creates between the two main characters. The film puts the two at odds as they bicker and fight over the leadership of their owner Andy's room. It's a friendship that grows through adversity and because of the monumental voice work of actors like Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, Woody and Buzz appear larger than life. Sparking the origins of Pixar and later becoming a relabel franchise, now well into its fourth movie, Toy Story lives on because of the cowboy and astronaut.

7 Superbad

Superbad
Sony Pictures Releasing

One of the great American comedies about a couple of best friends on a quest to lose their virginity before going to college, Superbad is a masterpiece of bromance, heartache, and pure lunacy. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg based the screenplay loosely on their own horny high school quests and found the perfect couple in Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. The plight isn’t just endured because of the non-stop onslaught of one-liners, but because the love Hill and Cera have for each other is genuine.

6 Thelma & Louise

Thelma and Louise
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Thelma & Louise takes a spin at re-purposing the Western ethos as a progressive take on bandits on the run set against the sparse backdrop of the southwest desert. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon shine in Ridley Scott's sleek direction as they empower and liberate themselves from the grips of possessive men while also realizing the love they have for one another are all they need.

5 Mikey and Nicky

Mikey and Nicky
Paramount Pictures

A director and writer with an extremely underrated career, Elaine May took the typical crime genre film and flipped it into something far less violent and made it funny, romantic, and tragic. Taking close friends and collaborators John Cassavetes and Peter Falk, putting them through the wringer, and having their palpable, explosive chemistry bounce off each other makes the film what it is. With a bumbling Ned Beatty always on their tail, Mikey and Nicky highlights one of the great acting partnerships of the 70s. Two greats, achingly smoking cigarettes as they hide under the nightlife of New York City.

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4 Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

butch cassidy and the sundance kid
Paramount Pictures

The slapstick nature of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid doesn't take away from the elegiac and romantic landscapes painted by cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. However, with William Goldman’s script, the partnership of George Roy Hill and Newman, who took Robert Redford under his wing, the tandem proved fruitful enough to create a legendary character for Newman that delivered an entertaining Western. The film underscores the violence with Newman's drunken humanity, a persona that fits perfectly in the old west setting. This would go on to kick off Newman and Redford’s friendship, a brotherly camaraderie that shines through the screen, all the way to one epic jump.

3 Back to the Future

Back To The Future (1)
Universal Pictures

A friendship that spans centuries, traveling through the dimension of time to save one another from perishing, Doc Brown and Marty McFly are one of the great film friendships captured on screen in Back to the Future. Christopher Lloyd is perfect as the loony, mad scientist Doc Brown, who makes the young, hip Michael J. Fox the sidekick to his wild experiments. The two discover time travel and the limits of their friendship are tested through different timelines, close calls, and hiccups. It's the strain of a few decades of experience that make their friendship so hilarious and relatable. The duo coast together for three films.

2 Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting (1)
Miramax Films

The ultimate story of friendship as long-time friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck depicts an enduring brotherly bond in South Boston in Good Will Hunting. Finally realizing their dream script for the big screen — a long journey that had everyone from Michael Mann and Steven Spielberg attached to direct — the duo finally landed Gus Van Sant. The director imbues the films with a wonderful autumn palette, warmth, and a few slow-motion, impressionistic scenes right in line with the director's aesthetic. But a show-stopping role for Robin Williams as the wounded psychologist offers Will a window into his soul. Both hailing from the same neighborhood, the two form a bond deeper than friendship. One that ultimately saves Will as he's finally able to travel to find the one girl he's ever loved. Good Will Hunting has two strong friendships at its core that give the film all the heart.

1 The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowksi
Gramercy Pictures

Through the narcotic, conspiratorial, neo-noir gaze of the Coen Brothers came a hilarious, cult-like figure in The Dude. But, even with his deity status that has permeated well after its initial release, The Dude would not have been able to make it through without his bowling buddies. None more than Walter, a crazed, Vietnam vet played with a wave of monumental anger and bull-headedness by John Goodman. With every clue that unfolds, as Lebowski tries to clear his name, Walter is with him every step of the way. One of the funniest friendships in cinema and even in their bumbling idiocy, they manage to figure the whole thing out. The Big Lebowski is a testament to friendship.