male genre

the male genre is totally fascinating. I find it very interesting that the old westerns, usually "buddy films" have evolved so much especially recently. While a lot of the buddy films made today are still road films / adventure films, such as Pineapple Express and The Hangover, buddy films have pretty much grown and expanded into their own genre. There have been TONS of popular movies released within the past ten years that would belong to this genre. For example: Dude, Where's my Car?, Old School, Superbad, Step Brothers, and even one that puns on the basic idea of buddy films, I Love You, Man!. These films have become insanely popular not only with young adult men, who can presumably relate to the characters, but with older adults and women as well. Perhaps the duo dynamic is so compelling as to draw in the spectator, or they can't resis the laughs.... on that note, it is interesting to consider the fact that all of these films are comedies.

One of my favorites of these is Judd Apatow's Step Brothers. In this film, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play thirty-something men who still live with a parent. When their parents decide to remarry each other, the guys are forced to live together. Initially reluctant, they soon become obssed with each other, the best of buddies. Perhaps the fact that this is an entirely juvenile plotline yet is played out by adults is the key to Step Brothers's success. Regardless, the dynamic between the two men is so extreme that it is almost unavoidable to perceive this as a queer narrative.