Top 5: Bromances

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"I Love You, Man," opening this weekend, continues in earnest the Judd Apatow-engineered trend of celebrating male bonding in all of its reticence and awkwardness — and in a manner that's more intimate than your typical military or buddy-film fare. Vive la non-difference!

1. Jules and Jim — The titular heroes of Francois Truffaut's 1962 masterpiece forge a bond that survives the cataclysm of World War I (Jules is French, Jim Austrian). The pair even share — and are heartbroken by — the same bewitching woman.

2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid — This 1969 classic starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford added a new wrinkle to male friends' innate desire to light out on a road trip: "Let's go to Bolivia!"

3. Brian's Song — Before James Caan was Sonny Corleone and Billy Dee Williams was Colt 45, they appeared in this 1971 television movie depicting the unshakable bond between Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers.

4. Planes, Trains and Automobiles — Initially, their relationship is more like a painful collision thanks to the vagaries of holiday travel. By the end of John Hughes' 1987 comedy, the pair played by Steve Martin and John Candy break bread at the family table.

5. Superbad — In one of teen-cinema's unlikeliest — and genuinely endearing — moments, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, after an impossibly long evening of booze-fueled romantic travails, pass out in each other's platonic company.