15 Of The Best Buddy Comedy Movies Ranked

Before there was Deadpool & Wolverine, there was Bill & Ted, Jake & Elwood, Napoleon & Pedro, and even Shrek & Donkey. And what do all these classic & iconic characters have in common? They all fall within a subgenre of comedy movies that’ve paved the way for some of cinema’s most beloved characters known as the buddy comedy genre. The leads in this popular film genre traditionally serve as a duo (or a group of characters) on a mission with lots at stake, whether that’s to save the world, solve that case, or win back the castle. They do all this with plenty of heart and more importantly, plenty of laughs along the way.

In honor of one of this summer’s biggest movies currently taking over the box office & acting as one of the biggest comedies of the year so far, Deadpool & Wolverine, the 800 Pound Gorilla News Staff got together to look back at some of our favorite & the best buddy comedy movies this genre has ever seen. If you’re looking for your next watch or rewatch, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 15 of our picks for the best buddy comedy movies ranked!

Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg star in this 2010 action comedy about two New York cops who in the beginning of this story seem unlikely fit for the field and meant to stick close to their desks. But when an opportunity to properly prove themselves arises, Gamble & Hoitz (Ferrell & Wahlberg) are out to show they have what it takes to hang with the big dog heroic cops on the field (played by Dwayne “The Rock'' Johnson & Samuel L. Jackson) & their comrades they can solve this case. The Other Guys marks one of the many collaborations between Ferrell & director Adam McKay (most notably Anchorman) and acted as a chemistry launch pad for Ferrell & Wahlberg, who would later co-star together in the Daddy’s Home franchise. With plenty of belly laughs, tons of memorable jokes to go around & undeniable chemistry between Ferrell & Wahlberg, The Other Guys easily proves itself as being one of the great buddy comedies.

How to watch: streaming now on Peacock!

Before Seth Rogen became known as the household comedian, actor, film producer & cannabis entrepreneur he is today, he wrote & starred in the late 2000s, cult classic, stoner buddy comedy Pineapple Express opposite James Franco. The movie follows a stoner & his dealer, Dale Denton & Saul Silver (Rogen & Franco respectively), who at first aren’t buddies but later embrace it together when Denton accidentally drops his roach in a panic after witnessing a murder. Upon realizing his fancy weed is able to be traced back to him, Dale & Saul are out on the run to protect themselves from the Police officer that committed a corrupt murder. This outrageously funny film was spearheaded by an ultimate comedy trio composed of Rogen, Evan Goldberg & Judd Apatow all creating the story. While some aspects of this film are questionable now, what has aged well is the cast of this film now. Take a look at Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Bobby Lee, Joe Lo Truglio, Bill Hader & Ken Jeong to name a few.

How to watch: streaming now on Netflix!

A mid-nineties classic, Tommy Boy follows Tommy Callahan III (Chris Farley) as he sets off with the dead dad’s assistant Richard Hayden (David Spade) in an effort to try and save the family auto parts plant, Callahan Auto. The road trip buddy comedy will take you for an unpredictable and wild ride with Farley and Spade’s comedic styles perfectly balancing each other out. As Both Tommy and Richard grow as they journey down the highway. Tommy goes from an unserious and aimless trust fund kid to an advocate for his dad’s employees and the rightful leader of the company. Richard learns to loosen up and accept Tommy for his strengths.

How to watch: streaming now on Paramount+!

One of the trademarks of the 2010s is Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids, starring an incredible ensemble cast of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Rebel Wilson, and Melissa McCarthy. The film was a box office smash hit. Annie (Kristen Wiig) is at a low point when she learns her longtime best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is engaged so she has to put on a brave face as she is the maid of honor. While trying to be happy for her best friend chaos ensues, the bridal party clashes and Lillian even ends up using the middle of the street as a toilet. This movie will have you peeing your pants, realizing doing it in the street is not as crazy as it seems.

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

Bringing a Saturday Night Live sketch to the big screen is not easy. It takes a story worthy of 90 minutes, but also characters you wouldn’t mind spending that time with. Wayne and Garth are just likable - and funny - to have made the big leap work. Wayne's World follows Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) as they bring their small cable access show to a major network, complete with a sponsor. The plan was conceived by Benjamin (Rob Lowe) who seems to be going out of his way to destroy everything people liked about the show by blowing it up. It also shows Wayne falling in love - with Cassandra (Tia Carrere) - and even Garth gets a dream girl. The film packs as much irreverent comedy as possible into its running time, but at its core, it’s about these two guys and their show. That’s why the film works where other sketches may not have done so. Also, it successfully brought Bohemian Rhapsody back to the charts, so there’s also that!

How to watch: streaming now on Paramount+!

Filled with 80s nostalgia & outrageous comedy, Jonah Hill & Channing Tatum star in the 2012 action-comedy 21 Jump Street, a movie revival of the classic TV series that’ll have you absolutely cackling & in awe of the journey these two rookie cops take. The film follows Schmidt (Hill) & Jenko (Tatum) who once were high school enemies later become partners on the police field. They get the ultimate opportunity to redeem themselves as newbie officers when they get recruited to join a secret police force called 21 Jump Street, where they trade their guns for backpacks & return to their high school roots to stage as students & shut down a dangerous drug operation. This movie is a true buddy comedy essential that shows the bond these two characters grow to develop over the course of the film while going through all kinds of laugh out loud encounters. Also starring Ice Cube, Rob Riggle, Jake Johnson, Nick Offerman, Ellie Kemper, Chris Parnell & more giving great performances.

How to watch: streaming now on Prime Video!

Before The Matrix, Keanu Reeves starred opposite Alex Winter in the absolutely fall-on-the-ground funny 1989 film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The buddy comedy will have you yelling, “Excellent!” in stupid voices. The movie is far from bogus as it follows Bill and Ted as they travel through time, picking up historical figures for their final history presentations. It all starts when the high schoolers start a band and Rufus, a time traveler from the future, comes to tell them their band is the foundation for a perfect society. The absolutely ridiculous premise is the heart of the film’s hilarity. Get ready to have the most fun-filled 90 minutes of your life; check out Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on Max “and party on dudes!”

How to watch: streaming now on Max!

What started as a 9 minute black and white student film out of BYU, became a huge comedy cult classic. The low-budget film Napoleon Dynamite is full of raw and often hilariously awkward humor. Napoleon (Jon Heder) befriends the shy new kid in town Pedro (Efren Ramirez). Fed up with the popular kids’ chokehold on school politics, Napoleon goes on a mission to win Pedro the class presidency resulting in the iconic dance sequence that only Napoleon could pull off. Meanwhile, Napoleon finds love and has to deal with the antics of his wild family. This heartwarming comedy will have you cheering, “Vote for Pedro!”

How to watch: streaming now on Hulu!

If you haven’t seen it, you must. Director Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart is one of the most hilarious and heartfelt teen buddy comedies of this generation. Why haven’t most people heard of it before? The film ended up ‘flopping’ in theaters because of it’s unknown stars, lack of presence in local theaters and less than ideal release date. It shared the spring of 2019 with blockbusters: Aladdin, John Wick 3, and, the nail in the coffin, Avengers: Endgame. Booksmart follows Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein), lifelong best friends who have done nothing but study hard and dream of making it to the Ivy League and it worked! But they soon find out that their classmates, who have been partying all 4 years, got into the same schools. This causes Amy and Molly to cut loose and make up for lost time by packing as much partying and crazy shenanigans before graduation the next day.

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

Before Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Spaceballs, Mel Brooks brought us The Producers. His directorial debut follows a down on his luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) who encounters a mousy accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), who reveals that he could make more money with a flop than a hit by raising more money than they really need and embezzling the rest. So they embark on a journey to find the worst play ever written - Springtime for Hitler - hire an atrocious director, and a hippie to play the titular role. What really makes the film work, however, is the love between Max and Leo. These are two men that didn’t really have anyone in their life they could trust, and despite their crimes, you really feel happy that they finally have a friend. Wilder’s performance is among his best, and even got him an Academy Award nomination.

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

Kevin Smith had little resources when he made Clerks. He had a convenience store he worked in, he had 6 months of film school training, a solid script, and credit cards he could max out. From that, one of the most iconic comedies of the 90’s was born. Clerks follows Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) who is brought into work on his day off. Most of his time at work is spent with Randall Graves (Jeff Anderson), who works next door at the video store if you use the term work loosely. The film features these two guys doing anything but working, including playing hockey on the roof, getting thrown out of a wake, and Randall terrorizing customers. It’s a true testament to their performances that Dante and Randall are able to bring so much charm to these slacker employees in a grainy black and white movie. The film is literally exploding with jokes and witty dialogue, and that’s why we still find ourselves talking about it today.

How to watch: streaming now on Netflix!

We all know how hard it was to accept change when you were just on the cusp of adulthood. It’s hard to leave your friends behind as you start a new journey. Superbad - written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg when they were just 13 - tells the story of two high schoolers Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) who are going to have one final great night together where they buy alcohol for a party and get their dream girls - Emma Stone and Martha MacIssac. Along for the ride is the now iconic McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who has perhaps some of the most memorable lines in the movie. But where Seth and Evan succeed where most teen comedy protagonists fail is you feel like there’s a real heart to these two guys, beyond their mission for alcohol and sex. You feel like there is a genuine respect that they have, as demonstrated in the final act of the film where they try to make things right. Superbad is also still as cutting edge with its humor today as it was in 2007, which is not an easy task!

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

We’d be absolutely fooled to not include this Disney animated comedy classic on our list. The Emperor’s New Groove has all the essentials of a perfect buddy comedy including an outstanding voice cast starring Saturday Night Live alum David Spade as the titular character Kuzco, John Goodman as the opposite “buddy” Pacha, & even seasoned adult animated voice actor Patrick Warburton playing the ultimate side character Kronk who carries so much of the hilarity with his one lined zingers. Even with the kids theme surrounding this now cult-followed film, it is certainly all ages and filled with way more laughs than anyone would’ve deemed expected of it at the time of its 2000 release. This film was way ahead of its time in the best way & we’re thankful now looking back at the ambition this film had to put this specific style of comedy in the animated vehicle carried in so wonderfully.

How to watch: streaming now on Disney+!

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd donned the characters of Jake and Elwood Blues on Saturday Night Live and on tour before they ever stepped foot on screen. But the film - directed by John Landis - allows us to get to know their backstory. The film follows Jake getting released from prison, to discover that their former orphanage could be shut down. So Jake and Elwood are on a mission from God to get the money to save the orphans. To do so, they’ll need to bring the band back together. This is a film that features some of the greatest music performances and action car chases cinema has ever seen. These are two guys who will stop at nothing when it comes to saving the orphanage, and it’s a true partnership that you see them embarking on together. Of all the work that Belushi and Aykroyd did together - three films and countless SNL sketches - this is them at their absolute best hands down.

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

There’s a very short list of animated duos that have stood the test of time since gracing the big screen. Easily one of those iconic & comedic duos that belongs on this list is Shrek & Donkey, a likable (albeit smelly) ogre & wisecracking sidekick voiced by two exceptional comedy legends Mike Myers & Eddie Murphy. Since its release in 2001, this beloved franchise has gone on to spawn three entries with its fifth one set for a 2026 release just in time for its 25th anniversary. Plus, there’s also been two spinoff Puss In Boots movies & soon, Murphy recently revealed he’ll be getting his own stand alone Donkey movie. With a legacy as iconic as these two characters have held up since this film’s release, it’s no wonder Shrek has gone on to remain such a highly regarded figure in pop culture to this day. It’s also gotten a second life as of recent since it was just streaming on Netflix continuing to reach new audiences far & wide. A film near & dear to our hearts we’ll continue to revisit for many more years to come!

How to watch: available to rent on Prime Video!

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