Best & Worst Movie Friendships

[Blergh]

On 6/17/2019 at 11:18 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Andy and Woody in the Toy Story movies for best.

Yes, I know this is a weird choice since a boy and his toy is a bit of a one-sided friendship compared to the bromance that is Woody and Buzz.  But Woody's love for Andy was the driving force threading through all three movies: Woody had to learn to share Andy with another friend while making a new one, had to learn to accept the idea of Andy growing up, and then finally having to let him go for real.

"So long, partner..."

Is it dusty in here?

Interesting points.

Though, the irony is that while Woody had this strong tie to Andy (evidently enough to have caused him to have had amnesia re his original incarnation as a Golden Age TV tie in), Andy never thought of Woody as more than his favorite toy. Yes, his  favorite but still nothing more than a toy! 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Blergh

[calliope1975]

Though it just opened, the friendship between Jimmie and Mont in The Last Black Man in San Francisco warmed my cold, dead heart. 

[DollEyes]

From Die Hard, the friendship between John Mc Clane and Al Powell is not only one of the best things about it, when they first met face-to-face, they knew each other on sight. They didn't say anything because they didn't have to. Al's saving John and Holly's lives by killing Karl was the cherry on top.

Edited February 27, 2020 by DollEyes

[Spartan Girl]

Shaw, Forbes, and Thomas in Glory. I know a lot of people dismiss the movie as the a "white savior" trope these days, and while there's arguments to be made there, I think people overlook all the nuances in the movie that set it apart, but I digress...

The friendship between Thomas and Robert is kind of sad because as they both realize, once he joins the regiment, it has to end. A commanding officer cannot play favorites. And that tension coming from the position change makes it painfully aware that while Shaw does care for Thomas, he still has to deal with his own latent racism. He initially doesn't connect well to the other men, who are escaped slaves and/or poorly educated freemen, whereas he and Thomas grew up in the same privileged circle. 

And that really sucks because you see how close the three of them at the beginning of the movie.

[Spartan Girl]

For worst friends I'd like to nominate Bernie and Joan from About Last Night... They both undermined and sabotaged Danny and Debbie's relationship for their own gain. Joan especially was a passive aggressive bitch about it.

[Spartan Girl]

Janis from Mean Girls was actually a pretty toxic friend to Cady. A real friend would have told her Aaron wasn’t worth it instead of using Cady’s hurt for her revenge plan against Regina. A real friend also wouldn’t have kept calling her “Caddy” even when Cady tried to correct her pronunciation. The “Yeah, I’m gonna call you Caddy” bit set my teeth on edge.

[Browncoat]

Janis is definitely a mean girl, and she knows it.

[Spartan Girl]

Not sure if she was a great friend to Damien either. Yes, he took her snide “he’s too gay to mention” in stride, but is it really only okay if she says it? My personal rule is if something someone else says to my friend sounds mean, to my friend, then I definitely shouldn’t say it too. Not even as a joke.

[Browncoat]

We'd need to know the backstory of Janis saying Damien is "almost too gay to function" -- it's possible that Damien said it first and okayed it for Janis but not for anyone else.  Janis is certainly nicer to Damien than Regina is to her minions, though.  And I think he gave as good as he got from her -- he certainly wasn't afraid of Janis the way Karen and Gretchen (and pretty much the whole school, including the administrators) were of Regina.  

 

[Wiendish Fitch]

The Major and the Minor is absolutely problematic (though I still adore it), but I love it for the friendship between Susan (Ginger Rogers) and Lucy (the sadly forgotten Diana Lynn). It's an intergenerational friendship that starts off shaky, but quickly evolves into a beautiful partnership of Susan's hard-earned street smarts and Lucy's precocious intellect. Rogers and Lynn play off each other flawlessly, and you root for them to be pals forever.

[Shannon L.]

I'll put this here for lack of a better thread:

I was watching Thor Ragnarok again the other day and, while I'm sure what happened is partly because Bruce is a good man/hero, it struck me that he was willing to risk losing himself to the Hulk forever to help a friend save his home and its citizens.  I know all the heroes all risk death every time they fight, but still....that's a pretty big, selfless thing he did. 

[Spartan Girl]

The friendship between Torrence and Missy in Bring It On was pretty great. Torrence saw past Missy’s “bad girl” image while Missy helped open Torrence’s eyes about her privilege. And I also love how instead of getting mad at Torrence about how she supposedly strung along her brother, she instead called him out on his Nice Guy crap.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

The Bollywood movie 3 Idiots has one of the most beautiful trio friendships ever. You can really see how much the titular trio love and support each other during their rigorous college program, especially how Rancho looks out for Farhan and Raju, and the way they pay back that love and loyalty in adulthood. There’s also how Pia looks out for all three of them despite being the designated love interest, but not falling into the trope of hating her SO’s friends. They also come through for her. And the whole group treating Millimeter like a beloved younger brother is lovely as well. I love this movie. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

The friendships in "Turning Red" were very sweet.  4 girls who were all good, supportive friends.  It brought to mind the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" franchise and "Ginny and Georgia".

[Spartan Girl]

Kai from The Descendants fits the Worst Friend category. She was enabling and egging on Elizabeth cheating on Matt, and when Matt confronted her about it, she gave him the “this isn’t her fault, she had needs” bullshit, which Matt thankfully called her out on.

Even worse, she acted like her grief over Elizabeth dying was more important than Matt or his daughters. While her “the affair doesn’t matter anymore” stance wasn’t exactly wrong, the way she screamed it at him (along with the bombshell that Elizabeth wanted a divorce him) came out whiny and self-centered.

[andromeda331]

Something Borrowed-Rachel and Darcy, why are these two friends? They don't like each other and treat each other like crap. While I really don't like Darcy, Rachel's the worse because she has an affair with Darcy's fiance behind her back. That's a horrible thing to do to a friend and Dax doesn't really like or care about Darcy. Dax is horrible. Rachel is horrible.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

Something Borrowed-Rachel and Darcy, why are these two friends? They don't like each other and treat each other like crap. While I really don't like Darcy, Rachel's the worse because she has an affair with Darcy's fiance behind her back. That's a horrible thing to do to a friend and Dax doesn't really like or care about Darcy. Dax is horrible. Rachel is horrible.

God, yes. Darcy is definitely flawed, but Rachel is utterly despicable in that she hides her bitter resentment of her friend behind a facade of meek, respectable niceness. Sondheim said it best: "'Nice' is different than 'good'". 

Dex is also a shallow, gross philanderer. God, why did anyone feel the need to adapt that shitty book into a shitty movie?

[Spartan Girl]

16 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

God, yes. Darcy is definitely flawed, but Rachel is utterly despicable in that she hides her bitter resentment of her friend behind a facade of meek, respectable niceness. Sondheim said it best: "'Nice' is different than 'good'". 

Dex is also a shallow, gross philanderer. God, why did anyone feel the need to adapt that shitty book into a shitty movie?

I would have had a smidgen more respect for Rachel if she ended her friendship with Darcy AND dumped Dex’s ass because she realized she was giving herself excuses to be a horrible person. But people that spend their lives playing the victim never reach that self-awareness.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

But people that spend their lives playing the victim never reach that self-awareness.

Too. True.

[Spartan Girl]

You know what a real friend is? A real friend is honest. If Rachel had just been honest with Darcy about she made her feel and given Darcy the chance to correct her behavior instead of just secretly resenting her behind her back, it could have saved them both a lot of trouble.

On that note, I don’t know if Ethan belongs in the “good friend” or “bad friend” category. On one hand, he was honest with Rachel, calling her out on her being a doormat. And unlike a lot of other characters I could mention, when it was clear she didn’t love him the same way he loved her, he accepted it and moved on.

However, he also kind of egged her on about the whole affair (at least in the beginning). Friends shouldn’t judge, true, but they also shouldn’t wink at your more egregious behavior. Wouldn’t a better friend have told Rachel, “Is a guy too spineless to hook up with you back when he was single really worth hurting Darcy for?”

[Scarlett45]

On 12/4/2022 at 12:10 PM, Spartan Girl said:

You know what a real friend is? A real friend is honest. If Rachel had just been honest with Darcy about she made her feel and given Darcy the chance to correct her behavior instead of just secretly resenting her behind her back, it could have saved them both a lot of trouble.

On that note, I don’t know if Ethan belongs in the “good friend” or “bad friend” category. On one hand, he was honest with Rachel, calling her out on her being a doormat. And unlike a lot of other characters I could mention, when it was clear she didn’t love him the same way he loved her, he accepted it and moved on.

However, he also kind of egged her on about the whole affair (at least in the beginning). Friends shouldn’t judge, true, but they also shouldn’t wink at your more egregious behavior. Wouldn’t a better friend have told Rachel, “Is a guy too spineless to hook up with you back when he was single really worth hurting Darcy for?”

I think Ethan belongs in the good friend category. No one is perfect of course, and even good friends make mistakes, but there is a way to be a good friend even if you dont make all the best choices. Ethan really did care about Rachel and unlike a lot of dudes in position didnt get crazy jealous and possessive of her. 

Yeah I dont get Darcy and Rachel at all. Darcy wasnt perfect, but she got with Dex when he was SINGLE and Rachel never ever "claimed him"(yes I know people cannot be claimed). And then they dated long enough to be ENGAGED without Rachel ever saying anything. It's not as if they went out once or twice and Rachel confessed her feelings for Dex and then they got together. Rachel and Dex then have sex multiple times behind Darcy's back, which just isn't cool. I wouldve liked this movie better if they had both dumped Dex and worked on their friendship, with them getting with other guys. Cause in this entire situation Dex was the most wrong, you dont cheat on your fiancé with her FRIEND, or SISTER, or COUSIN or something- NOPE.

[JustHereForFood]

The Rings of Power series reminded me how much I liked the friendship between Gimli and Legolas in LOTR. The friendship and loyalty between all characters was great really, with honorable mention to Pippin and Merry. But it was something special to see those two characters get over the usual dislike between their races and form such a strong bond.

And it's great to see a similar friendship between Elrond and Durin now in ROP. I hope we will see more of that in future seasons.

[Spartan Girl]

Elle and Paulette on Legally Blonde. If you want any further proof that Elle was a subversion of the selfish sorority bitch character trope, look at how quickly she befriends Paulette and sympathizes with her troubles, despite the fact that when they meet, Elle is a mess having just found out Warner is engaged. And one of the first things she does with her newly acquired law school skills is to help Paulette get her dog back.

While I don’t like how Paulette (and Elle) were dumbed down in the sequel, I can appreciate that Paulette loses the slightly cynical edge she had in the first movie. Back then, she was a down-on-her-luck insecure manicurist. Now, thanks to Elle, she’s happily married mother, and in a weird way, being more ditzy shows how confident she’s become.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And one of the first things she does with her newly acquired law school skills is to help Paulette get her dog back.

I don't particularly care for the film, but I love that scene.  To the point I will stop and watch every single time I come across it in time on TV.  Which happened again last night.

[Scarlett45]

On 2/26/2023 at 4:22 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Elle and Paulette on Legally Blonde. If you want any further proof that Elle was a subversion of the selfish sorority bitch character trope, look at how quickly she befriends Paulette and sympathizes with her troubles, despite the fact that when they meet, Elle is a mess having just found out Warner is engaged. And one of the first things she does with her newly acquired law school skills is to help Paulette get her dog back.

While I don’t like how Paulette (and Elle) were dumbed down in the sequel, I can appreciate that Paulette loses the slightly cynical edge she had in the first movie. Back then, she was a down-on-her-luck insecure manicurist. Now, thanks to Elle, she’s happily married mother, and in a weird way, being more ditzy shows how confident she’s become.

I love Elle & Paulette’s friendship. I always thought that Elle Woods was an example of the subversive trope- Elle is smart, and a kind person, and because she’s conventionally attractive and likes female coded things it’s assumed that’s all she is. I also love that Paulette has that famous line “If a girl like you can’t hold onto a man, then there’s certainly no hope for the rest of us.” Paulette acknowledges Elle’s genuine distress and they view each other as people despite being so different. 

[Bastet]

32 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

they view each other as people despite being so different. 

I think that's why I like their friendship so much.  As I said before, I don't particularly care for the film as a whole (the original; I've never seen the sequel), but I really like certain things about it, including their friendship.  The "bend and snap" scene is so utterly stupid as to be unwatchable a second time, but I love their friendship.  I also love that Elle and Vivian become friends.  Elle's old friends are vapid nitwits - but they show up in court to support her, because they're good friends, they're just really stupid people - so it's nice that Elle is open to all kinds of people.  (There's no excuse on this or any other planet for a scented resume, but she's a good egg.)

[methodwriter85]

I watched the revival of Flashdance and I gotta say, Alex was a very loyal friend who had people's backs and did whatever she could to support them. They don't just say that, but they show it such as when she's clapping for Jeanie and then comforting her at the botched skate performance or when she encourages Jeanie's ex-bf to go to Los Angeles to pursue this dreams.

[memememe76]

On 12/22/2018 at 7:40 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

Why? I'm not countering I just don't remember much about the Patsy character I think there was something about Patsy wanting the daughter but, Emma wanted Aurora to have all the kids.

A post long ago, but I think Patsy was willing to take care of all the kids, but Emma decided on Aurora because the reason Patsy wanted the kids in the first place was because of the daughter. Patsy was not gonna just take the girl and leave the boys behind. 
 

More recent films, Andrew Garfield and Robin de Jesus in tick tick Boom! were friendship goals. Awkwafina and Constance Wu in Crazy Rich Asians modernized the female lead / crazy bff dynamic. And the girl and boy in Half of It displayed a male/female friendship in a teen movie. 

[andromeda331]

On 5/7/2023 at 1:36 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I love Elle & Paulette’s friendship. I always thought that Elle Woods was an example of the subversive trope- Elle is smart, and a kind person, and because she’s conventionally attractive and likes female coded things it’s assumed that’s all she is. I also love that Paulette has that famous line “If a girl like you can’t hold onto a man, then there’s certainly no hope for the rest of us.” Paulette acknowledges Elle’s genuine distress and they view each other as people despite being so different. 

I love their friendship. Paulette listens to Elle from the beginning and I love Elle getting her dog back and the two hanging out at Christmas. Elle trying to give Paulette support with the UPS guy. I love how supportive the sorority is of Elle first with her date and later when she gets her scores. They are all happy for her. Her two friends are idiots but they come all the way to support her at the trial. They also do try to cheer her up after Warner dumped her. They really don't understand what Elle's doing with the law stuff but they support her. They all support her in the sequel too. I like that Vivan and Elle end up friends and they both ditch Warner. They easily could have kept her a villian all the way to the end or have her go back to villain after she thinks Elle slept with the professor. But they don't. Vivan feels horrible when she found out she was wrong.  The movie did a real good job showing good friendship.

[Spartan Girl]

The Guardians of the Galaxy have the best MCU friendships. They’re a dysfunctional family, but dammit, they love each other, and the third movie emphasizes how close they are. Who would have thought Nebula and Rocket would turn out to be one of the most touching unlikely friendship, bonded together by the Snap? 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[Bastet]

On 5/8/2023 at 8:55 PM, memememe76 said:

A post long ago, but I think Patsy was willing to take care of all the kids, but Emma decided on Aurora because the reason Patsy wanted the kids in the first place was because of the daughter. Patsy was not gonna just take the girl and leave the boys behind. 

That was my vague recollection, too, but I couldn't recall so checked the script.  Emma tells Flap "Patsy wants to raise Melanie and maybe the boys".  Later, after they decide he's out of the running and he says maybe they should let Patsy take them, she says "No, Patsy really only wants Melanie.  Mother should have them".

I think if Emma had told Patsy she wanted her to take all three, she'd have done it, but I also think if Emma left it up to her, she would have split them up, with her raising Melanie and Aurora raising the boys.

[Spartan Girl]

Linett and Jackie in Death on the Nile are definitely in the worst friends category. Depending on the version/interpretation, Jackie was either the mastermind of the whole scheme to have Simon seduce, marry, then murder Linett, or simply went along with the plan because she loved Simon so much. It doesn’t matter, she’s still a murderer of both her friend and two other innocent people (to cover it up). Either way, she can’t really cling to the whole “Linett wanted Simon, she would have stolen him me anyway” justification, especially if her plan was to honeypot her with Simon all along.