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As much as I love HOT FUZZ, I had to vote for Gibson and Glover, as probably one of the defining examples of a "buddy cop" team.
But in addition to all of the "Other" comments, I'd like to offer a kind of 'special mention' choice:
Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington from the movie 2 GUNS.
The reason I mention it is because the lead roles were originally meant for Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson. Try listening to much of the dialogue and imagine it being delivered by that pair, in the exact same delivery they use for nearly everything they're in. Instead, the roles are filled by Washington and Wahlberg, making them... a bit different.
How is it possible to have forgotten one of the greatest films of all time (period): "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid," in any listing of "buddy movies?" Narrowing it to those that involve crime makes it even more of an obvious choice for entry. Good heavens, this film was the inspiration for the name of the Sundance Film Festival! How can any film lover forget this? Tell you what. Put "Butch & Sundance" as the acknowledged number one, no questions asked, and put all these other choices underneath. Call it "Best Buddies in Crime Movie After "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid." There you go. Okay, set aside the fact that Butch Cassidy was my great-great-uncle on my mother's side....just...ignore that for a moment. I'm not the only one here that is reminding you guys of this film! It is a joy to watch, no censoring of language is needed, the chemistry between the two men is fantastic, and so on. Even the nonsensical song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" somehow just works in its scene. The banter both before and after the famous cliff jump is as fine and hilarious a piece of dialogue as can be found anywhere. When I saw that "Butch & Sundance" wasn't even a choice, I thought (just like Butch did) "...who ARE those guys?"
Don't forget Butch and Sundance! Paul Newman and Robert Redford were wonderful.
Sundance: "I can't swim!"
Butch Cassidy: "Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you!"
When I saw buddy crime duo, the first thing that popped into my mind was the quote...
"So here come two words for you: ' Shut the fuck up.' "
Thus I am forced to vote for Midnight Run. :-)
Like Karl, I had to vote "other" for Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in RUNNING SCARED. That movie is pretty much everything I want a buddy cop flick to be. Such great chemistry between the leads, and phenomenal dialogue, to boot. I always hoped for a sequel, but it was not to be. One of my all-time faves.
Freebie and the Bean is the best! Just ask Alison Willmore.
No bad choices here. I enjoy all of these duos. Though it was a tough choice between In Bruges and Hot Fuzz, I eventually went with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost because Edgar Wright exited Filmspotting Madness 2016 much too soon. Still, I'm not at all sad to see (as of this post) that Ferrell & Gleeson are in the lead. Now the only question is, when does Hot Fuzz 2: 2 Hot 2 Hold start principle photography?
sad to see no love for the 70s buddy cop films like...
Freebie and the Bean (1974) with Alan Arkin, & James Caan
Busting (1974) with Elliott Gould & Robert Blake
or
Hickey & Boggs (1972) with Bill Cosby (who I realize is tainted at this point) & Robert Culp
all of which set the blue print for the films of the 80s that are in the poll... but when it's about my fave crime buddy duo there can be only one answer.. and I know that it's likely this film duo will never be mentioned or thought of by filmspotting outside of this poll (unless you do under rated 80s teen films)...and that's Altman's O.C. & Stiggs.....
-Eric from Ann Arbor, MI
As a buddy crime comedy movie, the plot of The Guard sounds fairly routine (an alcoholic, pill-popping, racist, prostitute-loving Sergeant, Brendan Gleeson, teams with a by-the-book FBI field agent, Don Cheadle, to foil a planned drug buy in Ireland). With John Michael McDonagh involved, the genre is stripped of all political correctness and forced sentiment and replaced with cringe-worthy views on racism, xenophobia, recreational drug use and misogyny. All that, and absolutely amazing supporting turns by Mark Strong as a drug smuggler who's a bit too intellectual for his profession and Fionnula Flanagan as the Sergeant's mother, seeking peace for herself and her son as she prepares for her final days. Watching Brendan Gleeson get an ice cream headache from his milk shake is worth the rental price alone.
Absolutely, hands down gotta be Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys. The mixture of over the top silly comedy mixed with "tough" persona of Wahlberg's character is just absolute gold.
I had to pick DeNiro and Grodin over Farrell and Gleeson. I have thought for years that Grodin (like Albert Brooks) is a vastly underrated comedian because of his dry, deadpan delivery. And that talent is at its heights in this movie.
I am disappointed that Hunter and Cage aren't on the list. That would have been much harder for me.
I am going to throw in my support for Eddie Valiant and Roger, and apparently I am in the minority in doing so which saddens me Filmspotting nation! Few pairings work so well as this one for me, despite the fact that one of the two doesn't actually exist. Certainly though Hoskins is the key here, he sells Valiant as someone who not only has the skills to help Roger but also the personality of someone who would risk their own well being for a toon. Roger, as a toon, has the good fortune of being able to do anything and everything both inside and outside the laws of man and physics to slowly push Valiant's transition from drunk to hero.
Though I love the Cornetto Trilogy and the dynamics of Pegg and Frost, there is something undeniable about In Bruges. Colin Farrell at his best.
Perhaps this should be two lists:
1. Buddy-cop duo
2. Buddy-criminal duo
Regardless, I want to change my vote. I should have voted "Other" and chosen Redford and Newman in "The Sting" or Crystal and Hines in "Running Scared" (thank you, Karl -- I'm happily shamed for not thinking of it).
As much as I love LETHAL WEAPON and 48 HOURS, I had to vote other for RUNNING SCARED, which is not only my favorite buddy cop movie, but also one of my favorite films of all time. The chemistry between Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal is great, bolstered by additional solid performances by Jimmy Smits as the drug dealing villain and Joey Pantoliano as a cowardly snitch. The dialogue is full of quotable lines, and it's set in Chicago! Frankly I'm surprised it didn't make the main list, but maybe that's just me.
What, no love for Jay Leno and Pat Morita in Collision Course?? https://youtu.be/I0HtTUrYwts
I really like the anti-buddy buddy ness in this film. I think it is actually better than the Chan Tucker films of Rush Hour.
As someone who possesses a personal affection for this selection of well-drawn characters and their respective films, this was legitimately tough. But, it had to be Farrell & Gleeson for "In Bruges". It's possibly Farrell's most accomplished performance, channelling a multitude of emotions which eventually established him as Hollywood's least likely character actor.
Both actors embrace the 'odd couple' conceit and possess palpable chemistry, as they discuss age-old motifs whilst expertly handling Martin McDonagh's distinctive jet-black humour. The result is an oddly soulful journey, one which largely benefits from a pair of leading performances unified in their clear understanding of the material and an impressive ability to handle both the hilarious and the deeply tragic. In less capable (acting) hands, "In Bruges" may have become an entirely different cinematic début.
Ugh. Of course the two most recent films are running away with the results.
I've got to go for Pegg & Frost in Hot Fuzz. It's the last movie I saw 5 times in the theatre, and discovered new joys each time. It was during viewing #4 that I found out my friend Bryce laughed louder than anyone else in the theatre and then turned to me and repeated the punchlines. Viewing #5 was, as it should've been, at the Brew & View at the Vic. Gibson & Glover were my childhood (as was Roger Rabbit - who lets a group of 8-10 year-olds go see that in the theatre? My aunt and uncle, that's who), and I do love In Bruges, but Hot Fuzz is in my personal pantheon, and is by far my favorite of the Cornetto Trilogy.
I get it. IN BRUGES is the sexy pick: it's well written, well acted and who's doesn't root for Colin Farrell? He'll knock it out the park in a few films back to back, then he'll do something like...well...WINTER'S TALE.
I had to vote for LETHAL WEAPON's Riggins and Murtaugh. I (re)watched 1 and 2 recently, they hold up really well AND they are fun. Both "buddies" storylines and how they come together seem to make sense, I attribute it's success to the writing, acting and direction.
You know, all the Mel stuff aside. Ugh.
I also have catching up to do, but the mixture of cops and criminals upon this list lead me to feel comfortable adding my favorite, Dignan and Anthony (or Luke and Owen Wilson) from Wes Anderson's debut, BOTTLE ROCKET. A loving, brotherly spirit was the perfect way to make an exhilarating debut.
Some others I like a little more than Farrell and Gleeson, my favorites in your poll (a couple of which are Pantheon;)
Clooney & Lopez in OUT OF SIGHT
Jackson & Travolta in PULP FICTION
Newman & Redford in THE STING, though BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID is just as apt
Keep it up, Adam and Josh (or guest!). Filmspotting may be my favorite pair of cinema partners in crime.
I also have catching up to do, but the mixture of cops and criminals upon this list lead me to feel comfortable adding my favorite, Dignan and Anthony (or Luke and Owen Wilson) from Wes Anderson's debut, BOTTLE ROCKET. A loving, brotherly spirit was the perfect way to make an exhilarating debut.
Some others I like a little more than Farrell and Gleeson, my favorites in your poll (a couple of which are Pantheon;)
Clooney & Lopez in OUT OF SIGHT
Jackson & Travolta in PULP FICTION
Newman & Redford in THE STING, though BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID is just as apt
Keep it up, Adam and Josh (or guest!). Filmspotting may be my favorite pair of cinema partners in crime.
A few in the other category come to mind:
Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant in Charade
Sanjeev Kumar/Amjad Khan in Sholay - trust me you should see this Bollywood classic
Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor in Silver Streak
Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys
I have catching up to do, so I haven't heard how this category is parsed, so I may be off on this. I voted for Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr from Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, but then I thought of Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man. Sure, they're married, but really they're good buddies.