Buddy Buddies

Lore & Background

The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people go on an adventure, mission, or road trip. The two typically are males with contrasting personalities. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two. The buddy film is commonplace in Western cinema; unlike some other film genres, it endured through the 20th century with different pairings and different themes. A friendship between the two people is the key relationship in a buddy film. The two people often come from different backgrounds or have different personalities, and they tend to misunderstand one another. Through the events of the buddy film, they gain a stronger friendship and mutual respect. Buddy films often deal with crises of masculinity.

In Their Own Story

The boardwalk lights flickered under the humid night air as Steven and Lars stood face-to-face, their usual bickering escalating into something far more volatile. A stray gem shard from a previous adventure sparked between them, not with pain, but with a blinding surge of light. In an instant, their separate forms dissolved into a swirling vortex of color and emotion. When the light faded, a towering, mismatched figure stood in their place—half-human, half-Gem, radiating confusion and raw power. 'Who... who are we?' the entity asked, its voice a harmonic blend of two distinct tones, echoing the chaos of a friendship pushed to its absolute limit.

Reader's Guide

The arc begins with Steven attempting to cheer up Lars after a series of failures, leading to a heated argument on the boardwalk. During their confrontation, they accidentally trigger a fusion event due to residual magic and intense emotional conflict. This results in the creation of an unstable hybrid entity that struggles to maintain coherence. The fusion causes chaos in Beach City as it lacks control over its powers, forcing Steven's friends to intervene and find a way to separate them safely. The separation process requires both characters to acknowledge their feelings and apologize for their actions. Once separated, Lars and Steven share a moment of genuine understanding, solidifying their bond despite the rocky path they took to get there.

Did You Know?

• The buddy film genre dates back as early as the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, which details the combat and subsequent bonding of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
• Buddy films are 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.
• From the 1930s to the 1960s in the United States, male comedy duos like Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello often appeared in buddy films.
• Biracial buddy films emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder initiating the movement with Silver Streak (1976) and Stir Crazy (1980).
• The 1991 film Thelma & Louise featured a female pairing of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, paving the way for onscreen female friendships.