Hollywood has romance movies coming out of its ears, but films that prioritize platonic relationships—and the ways they can be more important than romantic partnerships—are more rare. The best movies about friendship reveal how meaningful a connection can be, especially when you’re young and impressionable. Some of these movies show us friendships that last a matter of days, while others present us with friendships over decades (if you’ve never watched Beaches, consider this your sign). Below, the best on-screen movie BFFs.
‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’
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Tibby, Carmen, Bridget, and Lena couldn’t be more different, but their friendship also couldn’t be stronger (thanks in part to the titular pants they pass back and forth). That friendship also apparently goes for the actors. “We’ve been a part of each other’s lives in really meaningful ways that go beyond making a movie together,” America Ferrera told Entertainment Weekly in 2013. “We almost forget that we made a movie together because our friendship was created from so many other experiences.”
‘Sideways’
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Miles and Jack (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, respectively) are neither particularly successful nor particularly good friends to each other. But there’s something in their pathetic efforts to connect, over wine and otherwise, that feels very relatable.
‘Stand by Me’
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One of Stephen King’s special gifts as an author is depicting the special magic of friendship when you’re young—particularly since his characters tend to go through difficulties without support. Never has that been more well-illustrated than the movie adaptation of King’s Stand by Me, with a group of boys in search of (what else) a dead body.
‘My Girl’
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Fair warning (if you haven’t seen this movie) that this friendship will make you cry. Vada and Thomas J. are extremely sweet childhood buddies who go through some intense ups and downs together—and, you know, things get very intense towards the end. But the tween BFFs are darling.
‘Dumb and Dumber’
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May we all be blessed by a pal that understands us as well as Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) understand each other. As the title implies, they’re constantly competing to be the less intelligent one in the friendship, and they both win constantly.
‘Swingers’
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While this is ostensibly a day in the life film about unemployed actors in L.A., the “glue” holding everything together is the friendship between Mike and Trent (Jon Favreau and Vince Vaugn). Polar opposites in terms of temperament, their efforts to date are perfectly calibrated for shenanigans.
‘Easy A’
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There are actually a number of friendships in Easy A of varying quality, with Olive (Emma Stone) closely connected with her family and less so with her best friend Rhiannon. But it’s her “favor” to her pal, the semi-closeted, bullied Brandon (Dan Byrd), that cements them on this list: she pretends to sleep with him, and then accepts it when the bullying passes to her.
‘Superbad’
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This film is so honest about high school boys in part because it was written by two of them: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the script while in high school together. The resulting characters are about as crude, clueless, and hilarious as you’d expect.
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
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Wes Anderson films are often about the surprising relationships we make as we go through life. The Grand Budapest Hotel has one such friendship, with Monsieur Gustave H. and Zero (Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori) becoming much more than concierge and lobby boy to each other.
‘Luca’
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If you haven’t seen this underrated Pixar film, it’s worth a watch: the titular Luca, a sea monster, discovers he can take human form on land. He becomes best friends with fellow monster Alberto, and (with a girl named Giulia) take on the world together.
‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
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Hot take: Ferris Bueller isn’t a particularly good friend, from encouraging his girlfriend and BFF to skip school to potentially getting said BFF into massive trouble with his domineering father. But that’s kinda the point: we all need a mildly mischievous friend to help us live a little.
‘Mean Girls’
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While you could write a whole book about Cady (Lindsay Lohan) and her evolving position in the Plastics friend group, my money is with Damian and Janice—they’re fellow outcasts, they honestly care about their new friend, and they befriend her when no one else will.
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
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A lot of BFF movies center around how difficult your teenage years can be, and nowhere is that more beautifully illustrated than in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Mild spoiler alert, but the main character Charlie, who’s subconsciously struggling with PTSD, finds two friends who love him deeply—including in his sadness.
‘Thelma & Louise’
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When you think about movies with strong female friendships, Thelma & Louise is going to be high on that list. While it sometimes gets reduced to its ending, the film has much to say about how society has failed its protagonists, and how their love and protection of each other knows no bounds.
‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’
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In theory, this movie’s premise sounds too silly: two former outcasts who haven’t really figured things out yet decide to “invent” awesome lives for themselves for their high school reunion. But Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino absolutely nail it as formerly bullied teens desperate for a do-over—and staunchly supportive of the other.
‘Joy Ride’
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This film slams together a makeshift friend group, who are shocked to discover that they’re immediately best friends. Special props to Audrey and childhood pal Lolo (Ashley Park and Sherry Cola), whose dynamic and longstanding bond helps ground the movie as the plot increasingly goes off the rails.
‘Mystic Pizza’
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This lovely throwback (and time capsule of Julia Roberts before she made it big as a movie star) centers around three pals who work at their local pizza place. They’re up against some adult challenges—namely, whom to date and what to do with their lives—but they face it together.
‘Clueless’
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While the more often-referenced friendship in this movie is between the stylish Cher and Dionne, it’s the relationship between Cher and Tai that’s much more interesting: from Cher taking Tai on as a charity case to Tai turning the tables in spectacular fashion, it kind of nails how dramatic high school BFFs can be.
‘Beaches’
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Sometimes a friendship can be measured in years and decades, in the case of C.C. (Bette Midler) and Hillary (Barbara Hershey). There are some major ups and downs—semi-spoiler alert, but this movie will definitely make you cry—but it’ll also make you want to reconnect with your childhood besties.
‘Lady Bird’
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As another example of a recurring theme on this list, Lady Bird is a great representation of how much high school sucks sometimes. Lady Bird and Julie (Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein) grow apart due to—what else?—Lady Bird hanging out with more popular pals, but their path back to each other is really sweet.
‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’
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Two doofuses, united in their doofishness (doofery?), Bill and Ted end up in much the same place they started, even though the plot of the movie is literally about them time traveling and “borrowing” historical figures. That’s kind of the beauty of the premise, though—they remain delightfully, dimwittedly the same.
‘Booksmart’
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Imagine if you and your fellow nerd friend had a single night to make up for all the fun you missed in high school. Such is the premise of the hilarious Booksmart, with Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever literally and figuratively tearing it up as graduating seniors with some major partying to do.
‘Girls Trip’
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Also known as the movie where everyone collectively fell in love with Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip recounts a raunchy reunion of the college friend group “Flossy Posse.” Kudos to the movie for really going there in terms of shenanigans while also covering some decently serious topics.
‘Good Will Hunting’
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While the most iconic relationship in Good Will Hunting is between Will and his therapist (Matt Damon and Robin Williams, perfection), but Ben Affleck as Chuckie, who literally threatens to kill Will if he doesn’t leave Boston and make use of his talent, is an unconventional but still awesome BFF.
‘Lost in Translation’
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Lost in Translation is about those strange times when you find yourself in an unfamiliar place, connecting with someone vastly different than you, but establishing a soulful connection over a brief period. Bob and Charlotte (Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson) bond as outsiders in Tokyo, at a complete crossroads in their lives.
‘When Harry Met Sally…’
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Harry and Sally are best friends who (spoiler alert but not really) turn into lovers. But each of their best friends, Marie and Jess (Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby) sweetly stands by their pal as Harry and Sally navigate their feelings. Oh, and it turns out Marie and Jess are perfect for each other, too.
‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
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While you most likely know this musical from “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” I watch it for the friendship between two showgirls (Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe), who couldn’t be more different on the subject of romance but are (platonically) head over heels for each other.
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Who says that best friends have to be humans?? The love between a sad little boy and a sad little alien who accidentally got left behind on Earth is absolutely unbreakable. Did you know? Steven Spielberg developed the concept off the imaginary friend he created after his parents divorced.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’
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This movie wouldn’t be as iconic as it is without the enduring friendship between the inmates. Obviously, Andy and Red (Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) deserve the top spot as two people perfectly suited to each other and buoying each other along in the toughest of times.
‘The Lord of the Rings’
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Imagine being best friends with someone and deciding that, screw it, you’ll follow him to the literal ends of the Earth. The first film’s “fellowship” has quite a few members, but the hobbits who are literally just accompanying their friend Frodo because they love him are as good as friends get.
‘Little Women’
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While all the movie adaptations of Little Women are good, Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film makes the sisters truly feel like BFFs (and doing justice to the book version of the characters). These sisters go through a lot, in life and also against each other, but still their love is stronger.
‘The First Wives’ Club’
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Friendships can get stronger through trauma! Three women who have been unceremoniously dumped form the titular first wives’ club, hell-bent on their exes’ destruction. Fortunately, the movie is as much concerned with the relationships between the women as it is with their (much-deserved) revenge.
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