Ancient archetype Buddy literature dates back as early as the ancient Mesopotamian
Epic of Gilgamesh, which details the combat and subsequent bonding of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, followed by their heroic adventures together. Gardner and Maier consider it to be possibly the first of "friendship literature," which would later feature prominently in Greek and Roman works.
Pre-1930s The buddy film is more common to
cinema in the United States than cinema in other
Western countries, which tend to focus on male–female romantic relationships or an individual male hero. Another example could be 1881's
The Prince and the Pauper with
Prince Edward and Miles Hendon.
1930s to 1960s: Comedy duos From the 1930s to the 1960s in the United States, male
comedy duos often appeared in buddy films.
Laurel and Hardy and
Abbott and Costello were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. which led to other 1940s buddy films that the
Los Angeles Times described as "escapist wartime fantasies".
1960s to 1970s: Responses to feminism and society Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, the
feminist movement and "a widespread questioning" of social
institutions influenced buddy films. The films explored male friendships more dramatically and encouraged
individualism—particularly to be free from women and society. Philippa Gates wrote: "To punish women for their desire for equality, the buddy film pushes them out of the center of the narrative ... By making both protagonists men, the central issue of the film becomes the growth and development of their friendship. Women as potential love interests are thus eliminated from the narrative space." The buddy films of these decades were also hybridized with
road movies. which was the
highest-grossing Indian film of all time.
Biracial buddy films emerged in the 1970s and 1980s;
Richard Pryor and
Gene Wilder initiated the movement with
Silver Streak (1976) and
Stir Crazy (1980).
Eddie Murphy was a key actor in biracial buddy films, starring in
48 Hours (1982) with
Nick Nolte and in
Trading Places (1983) with
Dan Aykroyd. Throughout the 1980s, the individual roles in biracial buddy films are reversed. The "racial other... is too civilized" while the white man "is equipped for survival in... the urban landscape".
1980s: Action films and biracial pairings The 1980s was a popular decade for
action films, and the genre that "blended masculinity, heroism, and patriotism into an idealized image" was hybridized with buddy films. Following the
Civil Rights Movement, black advancement was also reflected in more common biracial pairings.
1990s: New approaches to the genre In the early 1990s, the masculine figure in films became more sensitive, and some buddy films "contemplated a masculinity that required sensitive relations between men". Such films included
The Fisher King (1991) and
The Shawshank Redemption (1994). The decade also saw new approaches to the genre. The 1991 film
Thelma & Louise featured a female pairing of
Geena Davis and
Susan Sarandon, and the 1993 film
The Pelican Brief featured a male–female platonic pairing of
Julia Roberts and
Denzel Washington. The 1998 film
Rush Hour featured a nonwhite male pairing of
Jackie Chan and
Chris Tucker, ==Selected filmography==