1. Casablanca
I'm a little biased putting this at number one, since it's my favourite film. And I think the reason it is my favourite film is due to the fact that I love spending time with its characters. I think this is because of how poignantly and wittily drawn the characters are, I feel really close to them the more I've seen the film. Rick is a defining roles for Humphrey Bogart, one that represents the cynic on the surface/romantic underneath that Bogart could play better than anyone else. Rick is a cool, calm and authoratative figure, but one whose shell begins to crack when Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks in to his gin joint in Nazi occupied Casablanca. Ilsa is the woman he loved years ago but who left him at the train station in the rain "with a comical look on his face." These flashbacks with Rick and Ilsa are maybe the most purely romantic and ultimately heartbreaking scenes of romance in film. Rick and Ilsa's love affair may be the greatest romance in Hollywood history, and I love seeing the scenes with them together because the films shows both the joy of their romance as well as the heartbreak, capturing many of the complications of love in one film. The relationship between Rick and French police officer Louis Renault (Claude Rains) is very witty and humourous- and wonderful in how it evolves from a mutual understanding to "a beautiful friendship." I love how Louis keeps saying to Rick that Rick is actually an idealist, even though he pretends to be a cynic, which turns out to be true when he lets freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) escape with Ilsa rather than leave with Ilsa himself. And at the same time, Louis is also pretending to be somewhat cynical even though he finally turns against the Nazis at the end of the film. It's this idealistic connection that makes Rick and Louis so perfect for each other. A beautiful friendship indeed.
Some other notable hang out movies: 12 Angry Men, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Toy Story, The Odd Couple, and of course, Rio Bravo. So, what are some of your favourite hang out movies. Comment and let me know.