A tried and true story trope is the “forced together”.
I think it was the director Sidney Lumet who said that he really enjoyed the tension that came from
this kind of situation. Taking two people who would never choose to be together are stuck in
a bad situation. It applies to his movie “Dog Day Afternoon” and to many other stories.
This isn't the buddy comedy or buddy cop story…well, it could be, actually. I think of the classic Lethal Weapon setup where the two detectives did NOT choose to work together but are forced into their initial pairing. I still mostly think of them as best friends, since they went well beyond that first chapter.
Anyway, this kind of pairing is rife with conflict and tension, whether it's a grim thriller or a tension-filled comedy, or a riveting drama.
Some notables are Midnight Run, where a bounty hunter must travel cross country with his annoying bounty.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the same movie but sillier and even more comedic, with two mismatched travelers. Actually, this trope is pretty well suited to a road trip comedy. There was one featuring a cross-country road trip with two former Presidents of the U.S. Pretty neat. It starred Jack Lemmon and James Garner…I'm blanking on the name.
12 Angry Men had a jury sequestered together and trying to resolve a case…
Grumpy Old Men featured lifelong neighbors and rivals who fall for the same woman…
I suppose The Office and other workplace series and movies feature employees who are forced together by virtue of where they work.
And on and on it goes.
Have you ever used the “forced together” story?
Well, good news - if you read this far you did it yourself. I never forced ya! Don't put your disappointment
on me!
Bye for now!
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Forced Together
Banes at 12:00AM, June 6, 2024
8 likes!
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mks_monsters at 8:13AM, June 7, 2024
Ha! The catalyst to Psychoborg is two people being forced together due to circumstance.
EssayBee at 6:34AM, June 7, 2024
And I guess "Clue" (another of my favorite comedies) also fits the bill.
EssayBee at 6:32AM, June 7, 2024
The original "The In-Laws" with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin--one of my all-time favorite comedies.
Ozoneocean at 1:11AM, June 7, 2024
The Other Guys was good in this regard :)
PaulEberhardt at 12:31PM, June 6, 2024
48 hours comes to mind, as well as about a zillion others. I think we all can relate to this trope so well, because it happens countless times in every normal working life, if you think about it. I don't think this trope will ever get old. There's just so much variety in it.
paneltastic at 7:09AM, June 6, 2024
My Fellow Americans (1996)
InkyMoondrop at 1:17AM, June 6, 2024
You say Dog Day Afternoon, I say Scarecrow. Hm. I didn't use that trope too much I suppose. Before Friendship Material, which is built on the premise. There's going to be one pair in the new chapter of BD. Plus there was that time when two guys who fell for the same woman needed to work together to save her. Good times.