The Buddy System: Ten Great Movies about Buddies Review

A lot of factors have been crucial in the success enjoyed by the Human Race:  our upright stance, transverse grip (the way our fingers can grasp something), and our brains which are capable of intellect, spirituality and complicated emotions coupled with our ability to converse, read, and write.  Aside from all that, we would have never survived at all if it weren't for our ability to "buddy up" with each other.  Basically, a friend is someone you share a coffee break with but a buddy is a friend you can trust to watch your back for you, even in precarious situations where to do so might put your buddy at his or her own risk.

Even in prehistoric days, people hunted or moved about from place to place with their buddies.  Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs, each one with a buddy.  The importance of being a buddy even plays a significant role in the traditional wedding ceremony.  Today the best man stands at the front of the church with the groom, dressed in a gorgeous tuxedo and lending moral support but in the dangerous days of yore the groom sometimes had to travel into someone else's territory to bring home his bride.  Even after the marriage had been agreed on, this was a potentially risky venture.  The groom had to take a buddy along for his own protection and that of his bride.  He had to choose someone he could depend on ... his best man ... in case things took an unexpected ugly turn between those on the bride's side and the groom's side.

It is not surprising then that so many wonderful stories have cropped up about the Buddy System universal to most of us (even those of us who may live alone).  Here is a list of ten of my favorite movies about buddies.

The African Queen (1951)

A few decades ago (before VCR tapes and DVD's), when residents of the Los Angeles area were polled as to what movie they would most like to see again, this masterpiece directed by John Huston and starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart was the hands-down winner.  We tend to think of it as a romantic adventure thriller but first and foremost it was a buddy movie.  Charlie and Rose couldn't have been more different or diametrically opposed to each other at first but circumstances (to say nothing of the Germans) pitched them into a sink-or-swim fight for survival in the World War One jungle.  The real buddy in this picture was the beat-up old boat which Charlie had cherished.  The African Queen had seen better days but she gave to her last measure to save the people who had loved her in the movie's triumphant ending.

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

John Huston basically did it again with a movie which bears almost an eerie resemblance to The African Queen.  This version starred Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr as a supposedly hard-boiled Marine and a shy Catholic nun struggling together for survival in another arena of war -- this time hiding from Japanese soldiers on an island in the Pacific Ocean.  Huston was such a terrific director that I don't think anyone would have minded if he had made a couple more movies like this.

The Great Escape (1963)

This movie directed by John Sturges and starring Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and many other stellar actors, was an example of the Buddy System on a grand scale.  The film was based on the true story of a group escape from a German prisoner of war camp.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Director George Roy Hill loaded something for everyone into this famous film -- thrills, humor, and horses to say nothing of a gorgeous cast, a great crew of character actors in supporting roles and a wonderful soundtrack.  Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross starred in this classic buddy epic.

Nine to Five (1980)

If I were casting a movie, it would have never occurred to me to chuck Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin together as the main protagonists which goes to show how little I know about making films.  Fortunately, director Colin Higgins was more inspired than I and it shows in this classic buddy story about three women taking on the office jungle together.  Also crucial to the plot was Dabney Coleman who plays the boss everyone loves to hate.  This movie was so funny that only such a team of professionals could have gotten through the scenes without cracking up laughing.  I loved this film from the start but originally pegged it as a "chick flick".  To my surprise, I have found that some men like this movie too.  (Okay, fellas, I'm impressed!) 

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Jessica Tandy in the title role and Morgan Freeman as her chauffeur deserved the stellar success they enjoyed in this movie.  As an elderly Jewish matron and a Black man, they were different in many ways but life wasn't always easy for either of them. This story stands the test of any true "buddy" plot which is to imagine what life would have been like for these buddies if they had never met each other and had had to go on alone.

The Three Musketeers (1993)

Stephen Herek directed Keifer Sutherland, Oliver Platt and Charlie Sheen in the roles of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis who join efforts to protect their king from the evil that men sometimes do.  "The Three Musketeers" was the classic novel which gave us the ultimate definition of buddy-ship:  "All for one and one for all!"

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

Here we have a flawless gem produced by the Australian movie industry.  In this film directed by P. J. Hogan (who he?), the starring roles are played by Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths.  Muriel Heslop is vulnerable and overweight, in her own words "fat, ugly, and useless" to say nothing of being addicted to Abba music and dreams of being somebody's bride someday.  She starts out as a loser and ends up a winner because of the friendship and appreciation of her best buddy.  (Soundtrack Alert:  If you love Abba music, you might just as well go ahead and buy this DVD.)

Beautiful (2000)

In this film directed by Sally Field, Minnie Driver plays the part of Mona whose lifelong ambition is to really score at a major beauty pageant.  She spends years as a wanna-be who will do anything (no matter how outrageous) to edge out (or destroy, if necessary) the competition in the ugly world of beauty contests.  Her only redemption lies in her relationship with the most important people in her life (played by Joey Lauren Adams and Hallie Kate Eisenberg).  Mona finally learns what is really important and -- in a triumphant ending which will make you want to stand up and cheer -- also walks away with the crown of her dreams.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)  

This movie directed by Chris Columbus (and the consequent other "Potter" films) succeeded so brilliantly because the powerful allegiance formed between the main protagonists (played by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint) struck a deep chord in an audience of all ages.  Harry, Hermione, Ron and their friends survived not just because of their wands or vast arsenal of magic but because they could count on their buddies.

Well, those are my favorite buddy movies.  You probably each have lists of your own and you shouldn't feel foolish if those films move you to tears.  You're not crying about the movie but because of your own buddies, even those who are gone but not forgotten.