Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Top 10 Movie Duos

Some films feature as their protagonists a team, a tandem, a pair. Here now is my list of the best onscreen duos of all time.

10. WAYNE AND GARTH















These two are the classic party pair. Appearing in two films together, they showed us the fun in head banging to Bohemian Rhapsody, hanging backstage with Alice Cooper and bagging schwing-worthy babes. Myers and Carvey were the perfect foils for each other in these roles that they originated on Saturday Night Live. Other than The Blues Brothers, they hold the distinction of having the best movie based on SNL characters. (Played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey)

9. WALLACE AND DAVIS















Appearing together in the classic White Christmas, these two song and dance men had great chemistry and comic timing. Unlike Bing Crosby's work with Bob Hope, this duo has the benefit of singing classic Irving Berlin songs. This duo is a triple threat- singing, dancing, and wisecracking. (Played by Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby)

8. MILES AND JACK












This may seem like a weird choice, but this duo from Sideways is classic. These two misanthropes provide some great moments as they drink wine, charm the ladies and get into some compromising situations. The movie is great, but so is the DVD commentary that features the two actors channeling their onscreen chemistry. (Played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church)

7. JOE FRIDAY AND PEP STREEBECK














This is a marquee big screen tandem. Aykroyd is perfect as the straight man while Hanks is free to be wild and wacky. While many would say Aykroyd's best paring was with John Belushi and Hanks' was with Peter Scolari, or Wilson the volleyball- I disagree. Many people forget how funny Tom Hanks can be, and in Dragnet he was paired with one of the great comic actors of his generation. The final scene where they discuss the virgin Connie Swail is a great microcosm of the Friday/Streebeck relationship. (Played by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks)

6. HARRY AND LLOYD











Whether they're selling dead birds to blind kids, accidentally poisoning mobsters or going where the beer flows like wine, Harry and Lloyd are absolutely hilarious. Like all great twosomes, they really love each other, even if they let a girl get between them. However, at the end of the day their friendship is the driving force in the film, and for that the viewers are grateful. (Played by Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey)

5. C-3PO and R2-D2















The droids that love to argue are an intergalactic version of The Odd Couple. I even heard that they were cast in an off Broadway version of the Neil Simon classic. Fussy, uptight C-3PO would be nothing without his crusty little counterpart, R2-D2. Without their plucky comic relief, the Star Wars movies would have been much less fun to watch. (Played by Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker)

4. GUSTAFSON AND GOLDMAN













Lemmon and Matthau shared the screen several times in their storied film careers, but their best and most side-splitting work came in the two Grumpy Old Men movies. It was as if Felix and Oscar in The Odd Couple both got old, bitter and started swearing at each other. Not only do they make you laugh at their antics as they fight over Ann-Margaret, they touch you with their eventual friendship. (Played by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau)

3. PEACHY CARNAHAN AND DANIEL DRAVOT













The real life friendship of Caine and Connery comes across in this tremendous movie duo. As Masons and British soldiers, they embark on a dangerous and exciting adventure that takes the audience inside their deep friendship of many years. It is thrilling to watch their adventures together, as their relationship is put to the ultimate test in The Man Who Would Be King. (Played by Michael Caine and Sean Connery)

2. RIGGS AND MURTAUGH
















Sure, Mel Gibson has lost it, but he did have it at one point and he 'had it' best when paired with Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon movies. These two are the archetypes for buddy cops and have given us some of the most fun moments in action movie history. It may seem like a cliche now, but Riggs and Murtaugh as the loose cannon and by-the-book family man, respectively, were trendsetters in their day. (Played by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover)

1. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID









Arguably the most iconic screen pair ever, these two got into and out of more trouble than every other pair on this list combined. It is a thing of beauty to watch Butch and Sundance bicker, run, work and shoot. Much of what this pair did has been emulated by other great movie tandems over the years since this film's release. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? (Played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford)

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