The Odd Couple Cliche - Troped!
Odd Couples are everywhere - from Riggs and Murtaugh of the Lethal Weapon franchise, to the leads of sitcoms like Two and a Half Men and 2 Broke Girls, and even The Odd Couple! This trope will never go away, but while some odd couples are basic and boring, others can be new and exciting. In this episode of WatchMojo's Troped, we'll take a look at where this trope comes from, and all the strange, interesting, and straight-up weird ways it's played out over the years.
Odd Couples - Troped!
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One’s a time traveling Cyborg with a passion for knitting. The other is a sentient cactus who just wants to have fun. Will they ever learn to work together and get their independent dog walking business off the ground? Probably not… but damn if it doesn’t make for entertaining television! Welcome to WatchMojo’s Troped - the series where we deconstruct the clichés, archetypes, and story devices that won’t go away. In this episode, we’re taking a look at the Odd Couple: an unlikely pairing of characters drawn together by circumstance, whose fundamental and glaring differences often serve as the foundation for humor, drama and interpersonal conflict. There’s nothing less compelling than watching two people get along. The odd couple dynamic ensures that the two main characters in a story will be in constant conflict and keep things interesting for the audience. Why? Because they’re diametrically opposed archetypes - guaranteed to clash in most situations. And yet… for all their differences, and despite the odds, they often complement each other in unexpected ways, making them a force to be reckoned with when they finally get their acts together. Basically... it’s Riggs and Murtaugh of the Lethal Weapon franchise, every buddy cop movie you’ve ever seen... and the foundation of most sitcoms involving roommates. While perhaps most common wherever fictional law enforcement is concerned, this trope owes its popularity to a play by the same name. Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple,” which made its Broadway debut in 1965, was subsequently adapted into a film, three separate television series and even a short-lived cartoon. Like we said… “popular.” While the original Odd Couple, put a recognizable and fitting name to the dynamic, this interpersonal plot device can be traced way back in the history of storytelling. The relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is just one classic example of this dynamic that predated the term Odd Couple, though the shoe definitely fits. While there have been countless iconic odd couples, due to its popularity and overuse, the trope is often seen as cheap, and an excuse for writing superficial, under-developed characters. The Odd Couple dynamic is all about tension and conflict, but requires a fundamental chemistry between characters in order to work. Most of the time, these stories never evolve beyond the point of “hey! Look how different these guys are.” Ignoring this subtle, but crucial factor, some films have taken the “odd” part of the odd couple trope to absurd extremes. From solving crime with your aging mother in tow, to being partnered with a highly evolved, but ultimately goofy dinosaur - just to name a few. As these flicks prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, without substance to back up all those wacky hijinx, this dynamic isn’t endearing… it’s annoying. But for every few botched on-screen Odd Couples, we get a true gem. Examples such as Se7en, and the first season of True Detective, are reminders of just how effective this trope can be when the characters are properly developed. Conflicting personalities, temperaments and worldviews, when forced into close quarters, can create a wonderfully tense atmosphere that, whether the characters like it or not, incites personal growth, self-reflection and wildly insightful conversation. Sadly, this trope’s reputation is weighed down by countless films and TV shows that employ it as a shortcut to cheap laughs, focusing on contrived differences and taking them at face value. The 2016 film Zootopia however, is a prime example of how the Odd Couple can be used to dismantle and challenge stereotypes and surface-level differences. Zootopia is the story of a female bunny cop and a fox conman who have to work together to solve a missing person’s case. While they’re clearly different on the outside, the conflict between them is rooted in their characterization rather than the stereotypes associated with these two furry archetypes. An exploration of contemporary issues of racial prejudice, packaged as a kids movie, Zootopia proves that the Odd Couple still has claws when applied with purpose. For better or worse, the Odd Couple isn’t going away anytime soon. From a screenwriting standpoint, it’s simply too functional and useful of a trope to ever abandon, especially in a serialized format, like a sitcom, where you need an inciting incident to bring your characters together... and something to keep the conflicts coming week after week. What better way to satisfy these storytelling needs than a pair of mismatched roommates or cops? Like most tropes, the odd couple isn’t inherently good or bad - it’s a simple framework on which characters and a relationship are built. The degree to which they are developed… all depends on the writing. So, what do you think? Is the Odd Couple a tired old trope... or a classic dynamic that will never get old? What are some of your favorite examples of the odd couple?
