The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Bros: Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman)
The Shenanigans: Falsely-accused Andy gets a double life-sentence, and he probably wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for the sagely advice of his prison mentor. He certainly wouldn't have escaped without the apparatus (posters, mini-hammer) that Red was able to get his hands on.
Just Friends? Even under the pressure of prison, they maintain a platonic distance.
Step Brothers (2008)
The Bros: Brendan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly)
The Shenanigans: This pair are literally brothers (well, step brothers anyway) after their single parents marry. The socially-backwards pair are initially hostile towards the agreement, but the immature sorta-siblings bond when their parents force them to get jobs.
Just Friends? They're a bit too young emotionally to go in for anything serious…
Toy Story (1995)
The Bros: Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen)
The Shenanigans: Despite some initial frostiness, the toybox cowboy and spaceman would remain firm buddies over the course of a truly wonderful trilogy. First time round, Woody jealously shoved Buzz out of a window, and made amends by attempting to rescue him before moving day.
Just Friends? They both have love interests at various points in the series, though you could be forgiven for getting confused when Woody enviously exclaims: "Your helmet does that 'Whoosh!' thing!"
The Bucket List (2007)
The Bros: Edward (Jack Nicholson) and Carter (Morgan Freeman)
The Shenanigans: With terminal illnesses giving the pair a carpe-diem boost, Edward and Carter get up to all sorts of 'things to do before you die' mischief, including sky-diving, racing driving, fine dining and an obscene amount of travelling.
Just Friends? It's the illness, and the list, that unites this pair, and nothing more.
American Pie (1999)
The Bros: Jim (Jason Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas).
The Shenanigans: Before they graduate high school and head off for college, the four best buds make a pact to shed their virginities by prom night, with a shedload of gross-out embarrassments along the way.
Just Friends? They only seems to have women (and baked goods) in the crosshairs.
Fight Club (1999)
The Bros: The Narrator (Edward Norton) and Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt)
The Shenanigans: Mischief, mayhem and soap (made from fat people's asses), though their primary activity is of course arranging illicit blokes' meetings in which the attendees beat several barrels out of each other to escape the misery of their consumer-driven lives.
They later upgrade to larger-scale anarchist activities.
Just Friends? There's an unmistakeable homoerotic subtext, though given the ending's twisty reveal, this would surely be a case of self-love.
Swingers (1996)
The Bros: Trent (Vince Vaughn) and Mike (Jon Favreau)
The Shenanigans: Trent and Mike are a couple of struggling showbiz wannabes based in LA. As Mike has recently split with his long-time girlfriend, Trent takes him on a pulling-extravanganza to Vegas, to prove to the former that he's still "money".
Just Friends? They do spend the majority of the movie trying to pick up women, but some of Trent's declarations of how "money" Mike is verge on overstepping boundaries.
Rush Hour (1998)
The Bros: Lee (Jackie Chan) and Carter (Chris Tucker)
The Shenanigans: You've got to admire Lee's almost holy level of patience, as he's partnered with one of the most irritating screen presences of all time, but he still manages to form an enduring bromance over an explosive kidnapping case.
Just Friends? So it appears, though the fastest hands in the East and the biggest mouth in the West could make for quite a potent, innuendo-laden combo...
Jules et Jim (1962)
The Bros: Jules (Oskar Werner) and Jim (Henri Serre)
The Shenanigans: Well, Austrian Jules and French Jim have a friendship that spends many years, despite the fact they spend much of that time competing for the same woman, Catherine.
Oh, and they fight on opposite sides in WWI. A shame that such a beautiful mano e mano friendship is destined to end in tragedy.
Just Friends? They may be two vertices of a love triangle, but they never intersect in that way...
Iron Man (2008)
The Bros: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Rhodey (Terrence Howard, later Don Cheadle)
The Shenanigans: Stark may have a way with the ladies, and a dependable rock in the form of assistant Pepper Potts, but he never flies too far away from best bud Colonel James Rhodes.
There's something sweet about Rhodey's fussy disapproval of Starks antics, and the pair eventually team up in matching cossies as Iron Man and War Machine…
Just Friends? Purely platonic.
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