Our 5 Favorite Big-Screen Female Duos

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Our 5 Favorite Big-Screen Female Duos
MARCI ROBIN
May 7, 2015

As Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara ramp up for their release of ‘Hot Pursuit,’ we pick out our favorite A-list female duos n film.

ou can’t spit out a popcorn kernel without hitting a buddy movie. This year has already given us several bromance flicks (The Wedding Ringer and Hot Tub Time Machine 2, for example), but lady-buddy movies are much harder to come by.

It’s been two long years since we were introduced to a big-budget film about a memorable female duo – The Heat, starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock – but theaters are finally welcoming a new one this week.

Directed by Anne Fletcher, Hot Pursuit stars two of the funniest A-list actresses in Hollywood and follows the story of a straight-laced cop, played by Reese Witherspoon, as she goes on the lam to protect a drug boss’s ostentatious wife, played by SofÃa Vergara. With nothing but anatomy in common, they come to begrudgingly (and hilariously) respect each other as they run from assailants.

In celebration of this new womance, we’ve rounded up five of our favorite big-screen bosom (as in, they have them) buddies.

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in ‘Gentleman Prefer Blondes’ (1953)

It’s almost unfair for two pals to be this beautiful, but that’s one of the reasons Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) have become such iconic characters. As the titular blonde, Monroe may sing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” but we all know it’s Russell’s character who’s truly her BFF as they cruise to Paris surrounded by eligible bachelors.

Best buddy dialogue:

Lorelei: You must think I was born yesterday.

Dorothy: Well, sometimes there’s just no other possible explanation

Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson in ‘Ghost World’ (2001)

Teenagers Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) start out as wry, angsty best friends who are looking forward to living together now that high school is over. However, over the course of a summer, this increasingly dark film shows the disintegration of their friendship. Hey, not all lady-buddy movies have happy endings!

Best buddy dialogue:

Rebecca: This is so bad it’s almost good.

Enid: This is so bad it’s gone past good and back to bad again.

Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey in ‘Beaches’ (1988)

Speaking of movies that don’t end very happily (but are worth the watch), Beaches puts us on one of the most epic friendship roller coasters in all of cinema. Although the camaraderie between wealthy Hillary (Barbara Hershey) and struggling entertainer C.C. (Bette Midler) seems unlikely, it lasts from childhood (as played by Mayim Bialik and Marcie Leeds) well into adulthood, ending tragically but on peaceful terms.

Best buddy dialogue:

CC: OK, stay in. But will you at least get out of those pajamas? You’ve been in them for over a week!

Hillary: So what? Who the hell are you, the clothes police?

Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest in ‘Practical Magic’ (1998)

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are lovely as sisters Sally and Gillian in this witchy chick flick, but the real stand-out duo? The wise and wacky aunts, Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest). This irreverent yet nurturing pair are a walking, talking, spell-casting celebration of female friendships, and this movie wouldn’t be half as entertaining without them.

Best buddy dialogue:

Aunt Jet: Oh, dear. It seems we’ve not arrived in the nick of time.

Aunt Frances: Well. I see our instincts are getting a little rusty.

Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in ‘Thelma & Louise‘ (1991)

No lady-buddy movie list would be complete without the most legendary big-screen friendship of them all. Their road trip in a vintage Thunderbird turns terrifying when Louise (Susan Sarandon) shoots a man attempting to assault Thelma (Geena Davis), turning them into fugitives. Although their implied fate may seem sad, there’s something heartening about the idea of a friend who stays by your side until the literal end.