What genre is more subtly malleable than the buddy comedy? It can take many forms: a gag-a-minute portrait of an insular friendship; a breezy road movie littered with hijinks and sidequests; or a thriller about partners—on whichever side of the law—who can’t stand each other. A few essential rules have developed over the years: a buddy dynamic must feature only two characters, the laughs are generated by the chemistry and friction of them spending time together—and, no matter how rough it gets, the audience wants to see their bond reaffirmed by the end.
Wild Horse Nine proves that Martin McDonagh is committed to updating and refining the contemporary buddy film. His films are all dark, murderous, melancholy but still comedic, frequently establishing an impulsive buffoon (here, Sam Rockwell) and his older, more embittered counterpart (John Malkovich), before plumbing their humanity with venomous arguments and shocking sensitive confessions—in this instance, against a backdrop of South American political upheaval, Easter Island vistas and CIA gunmen.
Rather than a finite genre, buddy comedies should be considered a framework used to open up a wide range of stories, providing richer insight into the significance of companionship and cohabitation for their characters than we’d otherwise receive. To mark the release of Wild Horse Nine, we curated a list of the finest comedies about besties, frenemies and partners—side-splitting tales of friendships tested and perfected.