Friendship, actually

We've written too many lists about romance and couples, so we figured it was time to ditch the stereotype and do something different. It was time for male-female friendships. Because, surprisingly, men and women can be just friends. At least in real life, which you wouldn't necessarily believe if you watched Hollywood. This list was a lot more difficult to compile than even the female friendship list or Bechdel movies. Anyway, our criteria is that they aren't romantically involved. Obviously, there can be some romantic/sexual tension since that can happen in relationships but you never see them end up together, as the point of the movie or series is their friendship. We just want to showcase that while friendships can sometimes take a romantic turn, it does not mean that it leads to anything more. Frankly, we'd appreciate more examples of male-female friendships in media.

1. Andy and Maggie from Extras. We don't really know what other show could have been #1. You have everything here: humour, support and even fighting and forgiveness. It's not difficult to believe that they are best friends. It's amazing that the creators could write it so that the romantic factor is completely irrelevant. 

2. Leslie and Ron from Parks and Recreation. Their dynamic is already hilarious, just the concept of their friendship makes you want to laugh. Their personalities make the perfect team. If you haven't seen the show yet, shame on you!

3. Daisy and Tim from Spaced. Kind of an obvious choice. If you have complaints that this one doesn't fill the criteria, we didn't include the last three minutes of the documentary, so suck it. The point of the show is their friendship, not what might happen in the future.

4. Carol and Tony from Wire in the Blood. The reason this is the only British detective show on the list is because they are not only co-workers but also really good friends. In a lot of other detective shows, they just work together but don't socialise outside work. 

5. Frasier and Roz from Frasier. Now, this is where the issue of sleeping with your friend is actually handled quite well. It doesn't automatically follow that you should be together, it might have just been the circumstances. Plus, their friendship is just awesome.

6. Phoebe and Joey from Friends. To be honest, their friendship was the best thing until the very end, because everything else went a bit sappy. They're a great comedic duo. 

7. Judy and Nick from Zootopia. While the movie wasn't the best animation ever, it was enjoyable. The best thing about the film was their friendship. You don't get to see male-female friendships from Disney too often. 

8. Samantha/Charly and Mitch from Long Kiss Goodnight. Right, this one is on the more absurd side of friendships. At first they're more like acquaintances, then partners, and finally, friends. We really enjoyed their interaction. It's always a delight to see male-female friendships in an action flick.

 

 9. Steve and Joanna from Steve Jobs. This is one of those rare films that has a close friendship between a man and a woman without it turning romantic. It's even better when one knows it's based on actual real-life people. 

10. Norma and Reuben from Norma Rae. While they are more colleagues than close friends, we do think that some kind of a friendship is formed. One of the reasons we have them on this list, is that usually in drama films when a man and a woman spend a lot of time together some romantic entanglements ensue. But not in this one, they stay committed to the issue at hand.

11. Marlin and Dory from Finding Nemo. This is very similar to Zootopia, but they don't devote as much time to develop the friendship since Nemo is also one of the main characters. What interaction does exist though, is hilarious.

12. Kate and Reggie from Sicario. Random pick, we know. First we have to say, that it's rare enough for a film like this to have a female lead. The friendship wasn't a big part of the movie, but it was a nice addition to the other dynamics which were more violent. Once again, you don't really see this sort of dynamic play a part in films like these.