Top Five Unlikely Friendships in Film

The unlikely friendship theme is played out in film so often. It's a reliable device that pulls the audience in, a lot of the time playing off of an opposites-attract dynamic. Sometimes it's about two universes colliding. Other times it may be about two people just trying to get through something together. They don't always get through something together either. Sometimes the couple truly engages you for the sometimes short period of time they are together on screen, only to break your heart when the pairing is gone.

5. Chuck and Wilson - (Cast Away, 2000)

Quite possibly the most unlikely based on the fact that it's literally a man forming a connection with an inanimate object. One of Hank's best performances, he really puts it out there in this Zemeckis picture.


4. Red and Andy (The Shawshank Redemption, 1994)

If Andy didn't get wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, he would have certainly never met fellow prisoner Red. But meeting Red changes his life and saves it in certain ways. Their long-standing company becomes eternalized as one of the most meaningful friendships in cinema in this widely-appreciated picture.


3. Philippe & Driss (The Intouchables, 2011)

One of the more heart-warming selections on the list from an under-rated French film. Driss gets hired by Philippe and turns his life upside down.


2. Leon and Matilda (Leon: The Professional, 1994)

Two oddly different people of vastly different ages who share dark pasts come together in this great Luc Besson picture. This film also showcases the very obvious natural talent of a young Natalie Portman.


1. Elliot and E.T. (E.T., 1982) 

The ultimate sentimental unlikely friendship tale. Elliot finds a creature who becomes his best friend. It's this bond between them that fuels this Spielberg masterpiece.