While tales of male friendship stem back to Homeric times, historians agree that the “buddy comedy” and other stories about male bonding are particularly American (I’m not making this up). Maybe it has something to do with the good boy/bad boy dynamic exemplified by Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in the book Hemingway termed the birthplace of American literature. Whatever the reason, American’s love stories about misfit men coming together to overcome adversity, whether in comedy or drama. And in that spirit, here are the must-see buddy flicks you really don’t want to miss out on.

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
This 1969 Academy-Award-winning western is one of the all-time greats. Based more off myth than fact, this comedy gold-mine tells the larger than life tale of two best friends and outlaws played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford who lived together, robbed together and even loved the same woman. It’s a masterful exploration of masculinity as it manifests itself in two entirely distinct personas—not to mention the acting and action is top notch. Plus, you’ll finally understand that Spider-Man 2 “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” montage. When it comes to buddy movies, just take it from the movie’s poster, “You’ve never met a pair like Butch and The Kid.”

In Bruges
The fact that “In Bruges” didn’t get the Best Original Screenplay Oscar is one of the great tragedies of the late aughts. Written and directed by my favorite living playwright, this movie features an unusual plot for a buddy film: a sad, aging hitman (Brendan Gleeson) is tasked with entertaining and eventually executing his suicidal man-child of a partner (Colin Farrell). The interplay between the leads is in turns hysterical and heartbreaking, and while this movie is very funny, you’ll definitely walk out feeling some kind of way.

Grumpy Old Men
Just going to show that you’re never too late to turn an enemy into a friend (or maybe a frenemy into a friend), “Grumpy Old Men” is one of the few films to explore the buddy genre into old age. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau star as two lifelong neighbors who have despised each other for years, only to have tensions deepen when they both fall for the same attractive and young (by their standards) woman who moves in across the street. Antics ensue in excess, and this film also features a gut-busting performance by Burgess Meredith (who at the time was 85 years old). This was the sixth film that co-starred Lemmon and Matthau, so viewers can really feel the buddy-love.

Lethal Weapon
And here we have it folks, the quintessential Buddy Cop film. Mel Gibson stars as Martin Riggs, a cannon so loose he flirts with suicide, yet finds himself paired up with Roger Murtaugh, a by-the-books cop played with dogged determination (“I’m getting too old for this sh*t) by Danny Glover. The first produced screenplay by quasi-auteur Shane Black, “Lethal Weapon” had such great combinations of action, chemistry and heart, that it eventually spawned three sequels and a television reboot.

Men in Black
It’s hard to deny the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in this sci-fi rebirth of the classic buddy cop comedy. Not to mention, this is the only film on our list that examines the dynamics between two adversarial partners turned friends in which there’s a significant age gap between the two, leading to a whole mentor/mentee dynamic. Also, “Men is Black” is reeeeaalll fun.

Some Like It Hot
A very young Jack Lemmon stars alongside Tony Curtis in this Billy Wilder masterpiece about two musicians on the run from the mafia who decided to hide out by dressing in drag and hiding amongst an all-female singing troupe on their way to Miami. The film is notable for its deliriously enjoyable exploration of male competition and friendship as the two set their sights on winning the affection of the young ukulele player played by Marilyn Monroe in one of her most memorable roles. This film’s success, despite its risqué content, was what finally brought down the notorious Hays Code of censorship.

I Love You, Man
Fun Fact: I walked out of “I Love You, Man” the first time I saw it. Admittedly, I was in Alaska having just emerged from 10 days in the wilderness, and after sitting through the opening 20 minutes my buddy and I realized how hungry we were. Nevertheless, this movie is a classic. Despite a fairly predictable plot, the film is buoyed by the true to life chemistry between Paul Rudd as a friendless guy in need of a best man, and Jason Segel as the wildly unpredictable man he befriends.