The buddy cop film has been a staple of the action genre since its heyday in the 1980s. Typically, such films put together two law enforcement officials from contrasting backgrounds, who must put aside their differences to unite against a threat. Perhaps the best known example is the Lethal Weapon series, which paired the maverick Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) with the family man Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), though they and other duos differentiated by race or lifestyle choice (such as the pairings in Rush Hour and Bad Boys, amongst other things), look normal in comparison to those featured on this list, which range from the implausible to the downright bizarre.
11. A Thief And A Gay Private Detective (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
The directorial debut of Shane Black, whose next project, Iron Man 3, hits cinemas next month, was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005. A crime film immersed with a healthy dose of black comedy, it features a number of influences from Blacks work as a screenwriter on the Lethal Weapon series and two other films well be seeing later on in this list most notably the buddy cop format. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Harry Lockhart, a criminal who botches a job and sees his friend killed in the process. Fleeing from the authorities, he inadvertently stumbles into a film audition, where his actions see him sent to Hollywood for a screen test. To prepare for his role, Harry is paired with Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), a private detective. Through a series of events, the two discover a complicated conspiracy, much of which is handled in humorous fashion as Downey Jr. and Kilmer riff off of one another superbly, making for a highly enjoyable (if very tongue-in-cheek) buddy cop film.