Friendship is one of the most important aspects of our lives. The relationships we cultivate and develop are vital to our existence. That being said, no matter how hard we try, our friendships will never be as good as the ones in the movies. Our best friend can be a paragon of virtue, but we will just simply never the kind of relationship that Red and Andy Dufresne did in The Shawshank Redemption. Still, we look to movies to provide a template for relationships, however misguided they may be. Movies perpetuate unrealistic expectations. Never is this more evident than when it comes to friendships. These are the 10 movie friendships we wish we were a part of.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
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Movie Friendships
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Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy in ‘Stand by Me’
In this classic coming-of-age tale, four friends experience the perils of growing up, giving in, and trains. Definitely trains. Stephen King wrote the book this movie was based on and his usual themes of friendship, loyalty, and facing fears are on display throughout the film. We wish we had a group of friends like the boys in Stand by Me did. Instead, our friends were action figures and a Nintendo.
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Seth and Evan in ‘Superbad’
The friendship between Seth and Evan in Judd Apatow’s Superbad is the one most similar to friendships we had in high school. Both were outcasts who desperately wanted to kiss (or, in their case, bang) a girl but their bond with each other was the most important one they had. They also spent most Saturdays playing video games in their mom’s basement, just like us.
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American Pie Guys in ‘American Pie’
It’s been said that those who get laid together stay together (we don’t know who said that…we’re pretty sure we just made it up), and never has that been truer than in the case of the American Pie franchise. Individually, none of the guys in this crew are super interesting, or even nice, people. Collectively, however, they provide a template for the perfect group dynamic. Their friendship has withstood the test of time, sex, weddings and reunions. We imagine one day it will even withstand a funeral. (Whoa! Million-dollar idea right there. American Pie Funeral. Make it, Hollywood.)
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The Wolf Pack in ‘The Hangover’
Anytime we’re aching to "let the dogs out," we take cues from the wolf pack in The Hangover. Much like the American Pie gang, these friends aren’t necessarily great people, but they do have a great friendship. Each brings something different to the craps table and they grow stronger as a group and as individuals when they are faced with adversity. Never mind the fact that said adversity is caused by getting super drunk and high in Vegas and forgetting where they left another friend.
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Cap and Bucky in ‘Captain America’ Trilogy
“I’m with you to the end of the line.” If a better sentence exists that perfectly describes an ideal friendship, it is this one. Bucky says it to Cap and Cap says it to Bucky and both of them mean it. Despite becoming superheroes, spies, getting brainwashed, being declared dead, and making more friends, nothing was stronger than the bond between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
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The Losers' Club in ‘IT’
Much like Stand by Me, IT is a tale about friendship more than anything. Sure, these friends have to come together in order to fight an evil demon space clown, but that’s not the story. The story is the friendship between seven outcasts who become friends and make a solemn promise to each other that every single one of them keeps…except Stan. But nobody ever really liked Stan in the first place. He was just the only one with a Nintendo.
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Andy Dufresne and Red in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
We’re not sure we want to go to prison in order to develop a friendship with somebody, but it certainly worked for Andy Dufresne. Andy is the wrongfully accused "new guy" and Red is the seasoned veteran. Their mentorship becomes a friendship and it becomes something stronger than any prison walls can contain. We haven’t had similar luck in our brief stints in prison. Mostly, we became somebody’s "special friend" and he only wanted to hang out at night. In the basement.
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Thelma and Louise in ‘Thelma and Louise’
Thelma and Louise drove their car off a cliff together and held hands while doing so. If that’s not #squadgoals, we don’t know what is.
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Idgie and Ruth in ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’
We hope that one day, the tale of a friendship we had with another person is enough to inspire a homemaker to leave her lazy, unfulfilling husband and carve her own path in the world. We also hope that woman is Kathy Bates.
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The Dancing Queens in ‘Mamma Mia’
When we’re in our 40s or 50s, we hope that we still have a friendship as strong as the one that exists between Donna (Meryl Streep) and her two best friends. They had a relationship that lasted for decades and, even in their older years, they weren’t afraid to be laughing, silly dancing queens any time they were together.
