(Photo by Disney/Courtesy Everett Collection. (Deadpool & Wolverine.))
Paired names, double acts, two-handers. Whatever you want to call them, we’re looking at some of the best, most iconic, and most out-there movie duo titles!
A lot of movies with the name-and-a-name-and-an-ampersand format are about friendships, even if the pals are occasionally begrudging. Think: Thelma & Louise, Deadpool & Wolverine, Starsky & Hutch, Tango & Cash, Batman & Robin, Connie and Carla.
Many are about romantic partnerships (Sid & Nancy, Bonnie and Clyde, Harold and Maude, Benny & Joon, Henry & June), while also being pulled widely from literature (Gretel & Hansel, Romeo and Juliet, Tristan & Isolde).
It’s a good way to tell something biographical or historical (Stan & Ollie, Lucy and Desi, Elvis & Nixon), or to get our non-human friends into the mix, like dogs (Turner & Hooch, Wendy and Lucy), cats (Harry and Tonto), horses (Harry & Snowman), aliens (Lilo & Stitch), and rampaging killborgs (Robot and Frank).
And some some just exclude humans altogether, like Zeus and Roxanne, Tom & Jerry, Ernest & Celestine.
Because this is a deadly serious topic for a list of movies, here are the rules: Names! Names only! No Marley & Me, or Mac & Me. Pairs only! We simply don’t have space for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. And nothing fancy on top, like Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. And yes, Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet equals no way.
After that, we generally picked movies with more than a few critics reviews and audience ratings, before putting the Certified Fresh movies at the forefront. Obviously, this is the kind of thing Ingmar Bergman was yearning to be recognized for when he made Fanny and Alexander.
#1
Adjusted Score: 104214%
Critics Consensus: Ingmar Bergman conveys the sweep of childhood with a fastidious attention to detail and sumptuous insight into human frailty in Fanny & Alexander, a masterwork that crystalizes many of the directors’ preoccupations into a familial epic.
#2
Adjusted Score: 101228%
Critics Consensus: Sweet and visually charming, Ernest & Celestine offers old-fashioned delights for animation lovers of all ages.
#3
Adjusted Score: 96941%
Critics Consensus: Mary and Max is a lovingly crafted, startlingly inventive piece of animation whose technical craft is equaled by its emotional resonance.
#4
Adjusted Score: 96495%
Critics Consensus: Alternately beautiful and heartrending, Samson and Delilah is terrifically acted and shot, and presents a complex portrait of what it means to be Australian.
#5
Adjusted Score: 100085%
Critics Consensus: The solid leads and arresting visuals make a case for Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet as the definitive cinematic adaptation of the play.
#6
Adjusted Score: 98849%
Critics Consensus: Equal parts entertaining and informative, Lucy and Desi takes a palpably affectionate look at the lives and legacies of its groundbreaking subjects.
#7
Adjusted Score: 97757%
Critics Consensus: Ali & Ava‘s tender, naturalistic love story adds another powerful chapter to writer-director Clio Barnard’s filmography.
#8
Adjusted Score: 97160%
Critics Consensus: Ray & Liz takes an unflinching look at lives impacted by poverty whose lingering impact is enhanced by writer-director Richard Billingham’s refusal to indulge in sentimentality.
#9
Adjusted Score: 99770%
Critics Consensus: Francois Truffaut’s arguable masterpiece in a filmography full of masterpieces ready to be argued for, Jules and Jim is an eternal ode to boundless love.
#10
Adjusted Score: 105184%
Critics Consensus: Stan & Ollie pays tribute to a pair of beloved entertainers with an affectionate look behind the scenes — and a moving look at the burdens and blessings of a creative bond.
#11
Adjusted Score: 94083%
Critics Consensus: Microbe and Gasoline brings Michel Gondry’s distinctive gifts to bear on an oft-told tale, with thoroughly charming results.
#12
Adjusted Score: 98327%
Critics Consensus: A paradigm-shifting classic of American cinema, Bonnie and Clyde packs a punch whose power continues to reverberate through thrillers decades later.
#13
Adjusted Score: 91806%
Critics Consensus: A gripping examination of sexual taboos, set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, bolstered by a subtly shaded script and a strong cast.
#14
Adjusted Score: 96074%
Critics Consensus: Visceral, energetic, and often very sad, Sid and Nancy is also a surprisingly touching love story, and Gary Oldman is outstanding as the late punk rock icon Sid Vicious.
#15
Adjusted Score: 91914%
Critics Consensus: Another humanistic gem from the Dardennes, Tori and Lokita puts its characters in heartbreaking circumstances while insisting on their intrinsic dignity.
#16
Adjusted Score: 91199%
Critics Consensus: Brilliant performances, lush cinematography, and complex storytelling deserve audience’s attention.
#17
Adjusted Score: 91877%
Critics Consensus: Edgier than traditional Disney fare, Lilo and Stitch explores issues of family while providing a fun and charming story.
#18
Adjusted Score: 89188%
Critics Consensus: Aimed at adults and animated with zest, Chico & Rita is a romantic delight packed with cultural detail and flavor.
#19
Adjusted Score: 88530%
Critics Consensus: Nico and Dani offers a refreshingly honest look at adolescence and sexual coming-of-age.
#20
Adjusted Score: 93382%
Critics Consensus: Michelle Williams gives a heartbreaking performance in Wendy and Lucy, a timely portrait of loneliness and struggle.
#21
Adjusted Score: 100432%
Critics Consensus: Driven by ride-or-die chemistry between Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon while director Ridley Scott provides scorching visuals fit for a postcard, Thelma & Louise is a feminist adventure that’s equal parts provocative and rollicking.
#22
Adjusted Score: 92166%
Critics Consensus: Led by a brilliant performance from star Frank Langella, Robot & Frank works as both a quirky indie drama and as a smart, thoughtful meditation on aging.
#23
Adjusted Score: 91549%
Critics Consensus: Hal Ashby’s comedy is too dark and twisted for some, and occasionally oversteps its bounds, but there’s no denying the film’s warm humor and big heart.
#24
Adjusted Score: 90080%
Critics Consensus: Brian and Charles may test the patience of quirk-resistant viewers, but the innate charm of this odd couple comedy is easy to compute.
#25
Adjusted Score: 87140%
Critics Consensus: As poignant as it is unsettling, Chuck & Buck uses the complex dynamic between two men as fuel for untangling a rich assortment of thought-provoking themes.
#26
Adjusted Score: 85285%
Critics Consensus: Pauline and Paulette is a gently poignant, compassionate tale.
#27
Adjusted Score: 93968%
Critics Consensus: Stylish, provocative, and powerful, Queen & Slim tells a gripping fugitive story steeped in timely, thoughtful subtext.
#28
Adjusted Score: 87253%
Critics Consensus: Boasting visual marvels to match its ambitious and inclusive story, Wendell & Wild is a spooky treat for budding horror fans.
#29
Adjusted Score: 96185%
Critics Consensus: Ryan Reynolds makes himself at home in the MCU with acerbic wit while Hugh Jackman provides an Adamantium backbone to proceedings in Deadpool & Wolverine, an irreverent romp with a surprising soft spot for a bygone era of superhero movies.
#30
Adjusted Score: 82826%
Critics Consensus: Elle Fanning gives a terrific performance in this powerful coming-of-age tale about a pair of teenage girls whose friendship is unnerved by the threat of nuclear war.
#31
Adjusted Score: 83092%
Critics Consensus: Elvis & Nixon may not do much to expand on its absurdly iconic photographic source material, but it’s rarely less than engaging thanks to its talented starring duo.
#32
Adjusted Score: 79441%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#33
Adjusted Score: 86075%
Critics Consensus: Boosted by Meryl Streep’s charismatic performance as Julia Child, Julie and Julia is a light, but fairly entertaining culinary comedy.
#34
Adjusted Score: 83904%
Critics Consensus: Judy & Punch revisits classic characters from a fresh perspective, marking debuting writer-director Mirrah Foulkes as a filmmaking talent to watch.
#35
Adjusted Score: 73087%
Critics Consensus: If Ramona and Beezus fails to capture the essence of its classic source material, it’s sunny, sweet, and wholesome.
#36
Adjusted Score: 97792%
Critics Consensus: Gentle, poignant, and vividly animated, Ethel & Ernest is a warm character study with an evocative sense of time and place.
#37
Adjusted Score: 78603%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Starring:
#38
Adjusted Score: 93822%
Critics Consensus: A spirited character study and clear-eyed treatise of the American Dream, Melvin and Howard hits the jackpot with its lovable cast and director Jonathan Demme’s humanism.
#39
Adjusted Score: 91722%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#40
Adjusted Score: 92452%
Critics Consensus: This likable buddy/road picture deftly mixes action and comedy, and features excellent work from stars Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges and first-time director Michael Cimino.
#41
Adjusted Score: 91071%
Critics Consensus: Making his sorely belated debut in a big-screen leading role, Art Carney brings Harry and Tonto brilliantly to life.
#42
Adjusted Score: 90506%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#43
Adjusted Score: 86328%
Critics Consensus: Engrossing and enraging, Sacco and Vanzetti exhumes an infamous judicial failure with a painful amount of modern relevance.
#44
Adjusted Score: 88921%
Critics Consensus: Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy take competition to a romantic-comic highpoint in this elegantly directed sports comedy by George Cukor.
#45
Adjusted Score: 76285%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#46
Adjusted Score: 85728%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#47
Adjusted Score: 83227%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#48
Adjusted Score: 80541%
Critics Consensus: Amira & Sam doesn’t quite live up to its premise — or the chemistry of its stars — but its flaws are overcome by its sweet, subversive charm.
#49
Adjusted Score: 79325%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to strong performances and a steady directorial hand, Dominick and Eugene successfully navigates potentially tricky themes in thoughtful, compelling fashion without resorting to trite sentimentality.
#50
Adjusted Score: 77499%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#51
Adjusted Score: 75872%
Critics Consensus: As a life-affirming ode, Sam & Kate is a timeless tale told in a comforting old-fashioned way.
#52
Adjusted Score: 74609%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#53
Adjusted Score: 77187%
Critics Consensus: Robin and Marian gives the legendary characters a somber sendoff, finding ample success in the romantic chemistry between Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn while yielding diminishing returns in its attempts at relevant satire.
#54
Adjusted Score: 73554%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#55
Adjusted Score: 74740%
Critics Consensus: Agreeable if not exceptional, Flora and Ulysses offers a fun, funny, family-friendly diversion — and a furry twist on the superhero genre.
#56
Adjusted Score: 76123%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#57
Adjusted Score: 70030%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#58
Adjusted Score: 70061%
Critics Consensus: Ira & Abby overcomes the somewhat clichéd plot with witty dialogue and earnest performances.
#59
Adjusted Score: 70151%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#60
Adjusted Score: 71485%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#61
Adjusted Score: 70096%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#62
Adjusted Score: 68943%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#63
Adjusted Score: 68573%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#64
Adjusted Score: 76595%
Critics Consensus: Victoria & Abdul reunites Dame Judi Dench with the role of Queen Victoria — which is all this period drama needs to overcome its imbalanced narrative.
#65
Adjusted Score: 69346%
Critics Consensus: It’s uneven and occasionally somewhat aimless, but Starsky & Hutch benefits from Stiller and Wilson’s chemistry and a surprisingly warm-hearted script.
#66
Adjusted Score: 66230%
Critics Consensus: Matthias and Maxime enchants almost as much as it frustrates, although Xavier Dolan fans may appreciate seeing the writer-director working at a more restrained pitch.
#67
Adjusted Score: 67992%
Critics Consensus: Gretel & Hansel‘s rich visuals satisfy, even if this adaptation of a classic fairytale gets a little lost in the woods on the storytelling front.
#68
Adjusted Score: 61843%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#69
Adjusted Score: 61347%
Critics Consensus: Henry & June celebrates sensuality and passion, though the portentous filmmaking drags it down by a large degree.
#70
Adjusted Score: 69569%
Critics Consensus: Malcolm & Marie‘s ambitions aren’t always satisfactorily fulfilled, but its flaws are often offset by the strong chemistry between the film’s stars.
#71
Adjusted Score: 45059%
Critics Consensus: Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn deliver moving performances in this well-intentioned drama, but rote storytelling and a shallow depiction of Africa diminishes its impact.
#72
Adjusted Score: 56634%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#73
Adjusted Score: 59596%
Critics Consensus: While it has moments of inspiration, Gnomeo and Juliet is often too self-referential for its own good.
#74
Adjusted Score: 55307%
Critics Consensus: Boosted by charming performances by the octogenarian leads, Elsa and Fred overcomes its schmaltzy premise to make for a satisfying romantic tale.
#75
Adjusted Score: 54560%
Critics Consensus: Gross-out comedy and true love make for an awkward mix in this clunky romance.
#76
Adjusted Score: 56566%
Critics Consensus: Though Jackman charms, Kate and Leopold is bland and predictable, and the time travel scenario lacks inner logic.
#77
Adjusted Score: 53946%
Critics Consensus: Tom Hanks makes Turner and Hooch more entertaining than it might look on paper, but ultimately, this is still a deeply silly comedy about a cop and a canine.
#78
Adjusted Score: 55945%
Critics Consensus: Woody Allen’s uneven Melinda and Melinda fails to find neither comedy nor pathos in what seems like a rehash of his previous themes.
#79
Adjusted Score: 18319%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#80
Adjusted Score: 50526%
Critics Consensus: Nicole Kidman’s poised performance provides some measure of reclamation for Martha Gellhorn, but this trite historical melodrama reduces Ernest Hemingway and the era that the two war correspondents lived through into a broad caricature.
#81
Adjusted Score: 47544%
Critics Consensus: The two female leads, as well as energitic musical numbers, enliven an otherwise silly reworking of Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot.
#82
Adjusted Score: 41091%
Critics Consensus: Lila & Eve gets some mileage out of its formidable stars, with Viola Davis in particular proving that she will commandingly commit to any material, but this is a revenge flick served stale due to a lackluster script.
#83
Adjusted Score: 31189%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#84
Adjusted Score: 36167%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#85
Adjusted Score: 36495%
Critics Consensus: Competent but somewhat static, Tristan & Isolde doesn’t achieve the sweeping romanticism that it aims for.
#86
Adjusted Score: 33694%
Critics Consensus: Marked by timid scares and flat-footed humor, Burke and Hare is a missed opportunity for its talented cast and a disappointing return for director John Landis.
#87
Adjusted Score: 34977%
Critics Consensus: Brutally violent and punishingly dull, this cookie-cutter buddy cop thriller isn’t even fun enough to reach “so bad it’s good” status.
#88
Adjusted Score: 36082%
Critics Consensus: It isn’t the worst of the long-squabbling duo’s feature-length adventures, but Tom & Jerry is disappointingly short on the anarchic spirit of their classic shorts.
#89
Adjusted Score: 29596%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#90
Adjusted Score: 21665%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#91
Adjusted Score: 16941%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#92
Adjusted Score: 23159%
Critics Consensus: Arch and too cute by half, Violet & Daisy cycles through too many bad ideas to make use of Alexis Bledel and Saoirse Ronan’s combined talents.
#93
Adjusted Score: 24527%
Critics Consensus: Halle Berry gives it her all (and then some), but Frankie & Alice is ultimately too narratively strained and clumsily assembled to do her performance justice.
#94
Adjusted Score: 19872%
Critics Consensus: There’s no denying Gigi & Nate‘s good intentions — but it’s also impossible to ignore this cloying drama’s clunky execution.
#95
Adjusted Score: 18600%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#96
Adjusted Score: 15392%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#97
Adjusted Score: 18562%
Critics Consensus: Joel Schumacher’s tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that’s too jokey to care much for.
#98
Adjusted Score: 15574%
Critics Consensus: A dull and unfunny comedy where the leads fail to generate any sparks.
#99
Adjusted Score: 13746%
Critics Consensus: The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson than does Holmes and Watson.
#100
Adjusted Score: 7199%
Critics Consensus: Although it features an inexplicably committed performance from Al Pacino, Jack and Jill is impossible to recommend on any level whatsoever.