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Buddy Buddy

Buddy Buddy

Comedy · 1981

During a high-profile Mafia testimony case in Riverside County, a hired killer checks into a hotel room near the courthouse, while his depressed neighbor contemplates suicide over marital problems.

Movie details

Buddy Buddy

“The greatest movie buddies of all time are back!”

1981 Comedy 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

During a high-profile Mafia testimony case in Riverside County, a hired killer checks into a hotel room near the courthouse, while his depressed neighbor contemplates suicide over marital problems.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Buddy Buddy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Billy Wilder

Written by

Billy Wilder · I. A. L. Diamond

Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon

Victor Clooney

Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau

Trabucco

Paula Prentiss

Paula Prentiss

Celia Clooney

Klaus Kinski

Klaus Kinski

Dr. Hugo Zuckerbrot

Dana Elcar

Dana Elcar

Capt. Hubris

Miles Chapin

Miles Chapin

Eddie, the Bellhop

Michael Ensign

Michael Ensign

Assistant Manager

Court is in session

Put Buddy Buddy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.