While cinema captures all kinds of relationships, from romantic entanglements to dysfunctional families, movies about friendship really pull at the heartstrings. The key to making a successful movie about friendship, whether it's a movie about childhood friendship or navigating friendship in adulthood, is the dynamic shared between characters. Often in these films, two unlikely characters become friends after going through a revolutionary experience together, or the protagonists have their already-established friendship tested onscreen.
Movies about friendship give filmmakers the opportunity to explore many facets of human connection and platonic love. Chemistry is key between actors for the audience to believe their characters' incredible bond, and as a result, the best movies about friendship feature top-notch talent. These films capture the impact and complexity of friendship, and viewers learn lessons alongside the character that they can apply to their friendships in real life. Movies about friendship are not limited to any particular genre and can range from lighthearted comedies to tragic friendship dramas.
15 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
- Romy and Michele's High School Reunion is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play
In Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) are two women who stayed friends after graduating from high school together. After running into someone they attended school with, the two worry they are not successful enough, and they try to improve their lives before attending their high school reunion to impress their former classmates and bullies. As they go on a journey of trying to impress others, Romy and Michele face hardships in their own friendship, and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion is able to explore past trauma and the importance of friendship in an uplifting way.
14 Lady Bird (2017)
- Lady Bird is available to stream on Paramount+ and Apple TV
Directed by Greta Gerwig, the coming-of-age masterpiece Lady Bird covers all facets of growing up, from tension with parents to first sexual experiences. Dissatisfied with her life in Sacramento, high school senior Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson longs to go to college on the East Coast, and her inner turmoil leads to complications with her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf). While the movie is known for its portrayal of a complicated mother-daughter relationship, Lady Bird also explores the complexity of high school friendships. Lady Bird realizing how important her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein) is to her makes Lady Bird one of the most impactful modern movies about friendship.
13 Frances Ha (2012)
- Frances Ha is available to stream on Netflix and AMC+
Noah Baumbach's black-and-white film Frances Ha stars Gerwig as dancer Frances Halladay and features a strong supporting cast with Mickey Sumner playing Frances' best friend Sophie, Adam Driver as Frances' roommate Lev, and Michael Zegen as Frances' roommate and potential love interest Benji. As Frances grapples with what to do with her life, she is frequently dependent on her friendship with Sophie. So, when Sophie enters a serious relationship and decides to move, Frances' world is upended. With Frances Ha being anchored by Frances' friendship with Sophie, the movie features one of the best portrayals of how friendships change in adulthood.
12 Stand By Me (1986)
- Stand By Me is available to stream on Sling TV
Based on Stephen King's novella The Body, Stand by Me tells the story of four best friends who set out to find the body of a missing local boy in the 1950s. While they search, Gordie (Will Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell), are all going through separate challenges brought on by growing up, and the boys act as confidants to one another. With its simple premise, Stand by Me showcases the importance of childhood friendship and sends the message that sometimes the most important relationships are made as adolescents.
11 Waiting to Exhale (1995)
- Waiting to Exhale is available to stream on Freevee.
With a star-studded cast, Waiting to Exhale is a timeless story about the importance of platonic love. In Waiting to Exhale, Savannah (Whitney Houston), Bernadine (Angela Bassett), Robin (Lela Rochon), and Gloria (Loretta Devine) are four friends who support the highs and lows each woman experiences romantically. While finding romantic love is a key part of the movie, Waiting to Exhale exemplifies how important it is to balance friendship with romance because these kind of relationships are just as important.
10 Now And Then (1995)
- Now and Then is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube
Now and Then is a coming-of-age film about four childhood friends who reunite in their hometown when Chrissy (Rita Wilson and Ashleigh Aston Moore) is about the give birth. Once they are back together, Samantha (Demi Moore and Gabby Hoffmann), Roberta (Rosie O'Donnell and Christina Ricci), and Teeny (Melanie Griffith and Thora Birch) reminisce about a summer adventure they shared as kids in 1970. With its depiction of the impact childhood friendships have on adulthood and the importance of maintaining female friendships, Now and Then is one of the best movies about friendship.
9 Thelma And Louise (1991)
- Thelma & Louise is available to stream on Prime Video
Starring Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, Thelma & Louise portrays one of the most iconic onscreen friendships. While on a vacation road trip, the titular end up going on the run from law enforcement after Louise kills a man who attempts to assault Thelma. As they attempt to drive to Mexico, Thelma and Louise show that the only person they fully trust in the world is each other. Thelma & Louise is largely considered a feminist classic, and its core theme of the strength of female friendship makes it one of the best friendship movies.
8 Girls Trip (2017)
- Girls Trip is available to stream on DirecTV
Girls Trip is a female-led comedy film about a group of four women reconnecting to attend a music festival in New Orleans where Ryan (Regina Hall) is set to be a keynote speaker. Even though they have gone on different life paths, Sasha (Queen Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) travel to support their friend, and their reunion pushes the women to be the best version of themselves. With its balance of entertaining plot and poignant character arcs, Girls Trip is one of the best movies about friendship.
7 Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is available to stream on Max
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a Western film about the friendship between the two titular outlaws (Paul Newman) and Robert Redford). After a train robbery goes wrong, Cassidy and Sundance have to flee or risk being killed. When it was released, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid upended the Western genre by having its main characters on the run instead of leading a heroic charge. With this change, the movie is able to focus on the friendship between its protagonists instead of following typical Western tropes, and the result is not only a great movie of friendship, but this is also one of Newman and Redford's best movies.
6 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- The Shawshank Redemption is available to stream on Prime Video
Directed by Frank Darabont and based on a King novella titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the acclaimed prison drama The Shawshank Redemption is a harrowing look at life behind bars through the eyes of new prisoner Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), another prisoner serving a life sentence. While at Shawshank State Prison, Andy becomes involved in a money-laundering scheme led by the prison's warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton). Thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Robbins as Andy and Freeman as Red, The Shawshank Redemption has an intimate feel and tells a story of hope and friendship.
5 Magic Mike XXL (2015)
- Magic Mike XXL is available to stream on Netflix
A sequel to the 2012 film Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL features familiar faces including Channing Tatum as the eponymous stripper. When Mike is approached by his old co-workers Ken (Matt Bomer), Tarzan (Kevin Nash), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tito (Adam Rodriguez), and Tobias (Gabriel Iglesias) about traveling to a male stripping convention in Myrtle Beach, a road trip ensues. While the attractive actors are advertised as the appeal of Magic Mike XXL, the movie subverts expectations by making the friendship between the men the movie's true highlight.
4 Monsters, Inc. (2001)
- Monsters, Inc. is available to stream on Disney+
Pixar's Monsters, Inc. follows two monster best friends, Sully (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), who work and live together. Their company, Monsters, Inc., uses the energy of children's screams to power the entire city and is losing business as children are becoming harder to scare. When Sully accidentally lets a toddler named Boo (Mary Gibbs) into the monster world, he and Mike must work together to get her home, and in doing so they learn to challenge the status quo of their company and profession. As voice actors, Goodman and Crystal shine in their roles, making Sully and Mike one of the best friendship duos in Pixar movies.
3 Superbad (2007)
- Superbad is available to stream on DirecTV, TNT, TBS, tru TV, and Freevee
Based on the real-life friendship between Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Superbad stars Jonah Hill as Seth and Michael Cera as Evan. As high school seniors, Seth and Evan attempt to find alcohol to bring to a high school party. The raunchy comedy features a strong supporting cast of Christopher Mintz-Plasse as their friend Fogell, Emma Stone as Seth's crush Jules, and Rogen and Bill Hader as inept police officers. At the heart of Superbad is Seth and Evan’s separation anxiety, and the two spend the whole night running from the fact that they will miss each other after graduation, making Superbad a hilarious coming-of-age movie about friendship.
2 Bridesmaids (2011)
- Bridesmaids is available to stream on Netflix
Bridesmaids touches on adult female friendship and bridal culture when Annie (Kristin Wiig) is chosen to be her best friend Lillian's (Maya Rudolph) maid of honor. Annie finds herself threatened by Lillian's bridesmaid Helen (Rose Byrne) who insists on having as many lavish celebrations as possible even though Annie is financially struggling. While the women are brought together because of an impending wedding, Bridesmaids focuses on friendship more than romantic love. With its stellar writing and cast, including an Oscar-nominated turn by Melissa McCarthy as Megan, Bridesmaids showcases how friendships change over time and sends the message that this change is not detrimental, but necessary.
1 Booksmart (2019)
- Booksmart is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play Movies, and YouTube
Olivia Wilde made her hilarious directorial debut with Booksmart, a comedy about two straight-A students Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) who are about to graduate high school. As they face graduation, Molly and Amy realize they didn't have to choose between a wild social life and studying and try to make up for their lack of partying in one night. But as the night goes on, resentments and tension between the two best friends come out. As Molly and Amy must prepare to part ways after graduation, Booksmart is one of the best movies about friendship that highlights the fragility and vulnerability of high school bonds.