Seeing that February is all about loooooove, we don’t want to forget those special bromances captured on celluloid. Movie connoisseur Spling goes searching for love, but not in that way.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

1969

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is based on real events, but the buddy chemistry between Robert Redford and Paul Newman is so electric, you tend to think that it could not have gone that well in real life. George Roy Hill’s Western took four Oscars home in 1969 to cement its classic stature while the duo rekindled their magic in 73’s The Sting.

The action comedy adventure was a defining buddy movie that probably would have been a success based on the co-lead bank robber chemistry alone. The pairing - Butch is all ideas and Sundance is all about the action - probably inspired Jackie Chan movies like Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour.

True bromance: When Butch and Sundance take a leap of faith together.

Hot Fuzz

2007

It’ll come as no surprise that that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are friends in real-life. The comedy duo have teamed up in a number of films, but their send up of buddy cop movies in Hot Fuzz is probably the best showcase of their glowing on-screen chemistry.

Pegg plays a hot shot police officer from London, who relocates to a sleepy village to pair up with an action film junkie wannabe in Frost. While the focus is on their odd couple exploits and a slow-boiling mystery, they’re given a third dimension by their invisible partner-in-crime, director Edgar Wright.

True bromance: When Nicholas and Danny finally get to fire two guns whilst jumping through the air... together.

Lethal Weapon

1987

Lethal Weapon took a page from 48 Hrs. and stole the buddy cop show. The 80s was an age when everyone still loved Mel Gibson and moonlight butt walks were used to appease tag-a-long girlfriends. The blend of action and comedy was pitch perfect, delivering loads of fractious buddy movie comedy as the “no I in TEAM” partners learn to get along while busting a drug smuggling syndicate.

Gibson and Glover were terrific as a suicidal loose cannon and the “I’m too old for this sh*t” guy. This quintessential buddy movie spawned three sequels and a respectable spoof with Emilio Estevez in Loaded Weapon 1.

True bromance: Every moment in which Riggs puts Murtaugh in a situation that forces him to realise his age.

The Odd Couple

1968

Before they were Grumpy Old Men, Lemmon and Matthau launched what was to become a staple opposites-attract situational comedy dynamic. Their  celebrated journey started with 1968’s The Odd Couple, a comedy about two friends who try to share an apartment, only to discover they get about along as well as Zuma and Malema.

There’s a bittersweet edge to the comedy after a suicidal neat freak, Felix, moves in with the couch potato, Oscar. Their odd couple chemistry and comedy was magical, allowing us to enjoy hilarious moments between two pals who behave like they’re married unhappily ever after.

True bromance: When Felix starts clearing his sinuses opposite Oscar in the diner.

Wayne’s World

1992

Mike Myers and Dana Carvey turned their Saturday Night Live sketch into a film of totally epic proportions when they made Wayne’s World. Apart from serving as a 90s time capsule, the playful and inseparable spirit of Wayne and Garth’s buddy chemistry comedy sent up the slacker subculture perfectly.

Where would we be without their catchy catchphrases, stick-it-to-the-man philosophy, inside joke wink-wink and that epic Bohemian Rhapsody rendition? This bromance was real and while you always got the impression Wayne was cooler, Garth was a worthy imitator. The duo went on to rehash their chemistry in Wayne’s World 2, which while recycled still had its charms.

True bromance: When Wayne and Garth lie on the hood of their car to enjoy the rush of a flyover.

Article first appeared in TechSmart 137, Feb 2015, to be found here.