Some Very Special Non-Couples

Favorite non-couple #1: Brigette & Brigette

If February is the month for couples, then I think March should be the month for non-couples. I know what you're thinking: March is for leprechauns. True, but they are small and can share. I know what else you're thinking: why does Brigette hate romance? I don't hate it at all. I think romance is great, and it's what makes the world go round. But I think romance is actually over-celebrated in our culture. If you really think about it, aren't some of the most significant relationships in your life non-romantic? Yet every song on the radio is about romance, every movie is about romance, every commercial is about romance. It may lead you to believe that the only relationships in life that matter are romantic ones, but unless they really are wonderful, those are just the relationships that will lead to heartache, lies, and more often than not, MURDER (I watch too much 48 Hours). What about the bonds that tie us that are not driven by those pesky libidinal desires? I always think that the relationships that are the most unnecessary are the most interesting, like friendships or frienemieships or creative partnerships or the relationship you have with that cat that wanders into your yard and probably has worms. Here are some of my favorite such non-couples:

Television

I think my all time favorite non-couple in television would have to be Pam Beasly and Michael Scott from The Office. Their relationship could effortlessly go from boss/employee to mommy/son to father/daughter to friend/friend to creeper/creeped out (like in “Diwali”). By the end of Micheal’s run on the show, you still don’t quite know what to even call their relationship, all you know is that they  deeply care for each other. I really appreciated the last scene in the episode where Micheal left—he’s leaving early and Pam rushes to say goodbye to him at the airport. It mirrors other romantic scenes where one person goes to tearfully stop the other from leaving and they start making out, except their relationship isn’t like that. Micheal leaves to be with his girlfriend, and Pam is genuinely happy for him, and I’m so happy/sad that I don’t want to eat the next day.

I have too many favorite scenes with Micheal and Pam, but this one wins. The scene really starts about halfway through this clip, and it's the first "awww" moment the two ever had.

And to contrast that scene, here is a clip from the episode when Pam found out Micheal was dating her mom, which is probably one of my most favorite episodes ever. 

Books

Of course I’m going to say Harry and Hermione from the Harry Potter series. Who else would I pick? There’s a lot of Harry/Hermoine shippers out there who were bummed that the two never got together, and I get it. They do seem closer and more in-tune than the others; there’s not a lot of drama, and they make a good team. But I also really love Rowling’s choice to keep them as pals. I feel like the Harry Potter books celebrate friendship love above anything else in a world that is obsessed with romance. It’s more interesting that they became a surrogate family by choice and went through so many risks and sacrifices because of this, and it almost means more to me that Hermione erased her parent’s memories of her to save her friend, not her boyfriend (well, she also did that to like, save the whole world, but it kind of steps on my argument). That being said, I do love the ambiguous dancing scene that the director chose to put in the Deathly Hallows Movie Part I. There's nothing wrong with wondering! But I also like that he didn’t take any drastic liberties and make something romantic happen. That would have been horrible.

Music

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love American Idol, and last year I became a little obsessed with these two. Perhaps it’s premature to call Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart one of my favorite musical non-couples and I should pick people a little more established, but I’m going to go ahead and jump the gun. The first thing that made me love these two was the killer jazz performance they gave on a show that is notorious for mostly playing cheesy pop music. Enjoy:

Then, after the show was over, they buddied-up and recorded "Baby it's Cold Outside," complete with a charming music video. Enjoy:

While promoting that single, they performed "All My Lovin,'" which I just really wish they would record for real.  Skip to the 50 second mark for the magic, and enjoy:

So far, these two have been pretty smart. They both have solo record deals in the works, they’ve done a pretty good job of exploiting their friendship to pull in fans, and neither are rushing their albums like their fellow Idol pals.  I hope they continue to be smart and they continue to make music together, because I’m sure I will continue to love it.

Movies

I wanted to come up with another guy/girl pairing, but the first set of people that pops out at me are Romy & Michelle. They’re probably more attached than many actual couples would be, living together since high school, taking on certain roles that compliment each other (like “inventor” vs. “designer”), and let's not forget, they also got their yearbook picture taken together. Even though this movie is completely ridiculous, I seriously love their relationship because it really does highlight the intensity of female friendship. If you get into a fight with someone and it upsets you so much that you have a really long, detailed dream sequence that turns into a nightmare where you are both old and dying and you haven’t spoken to each other in decades, then you know the relationship is significant. 

I feel like Romy & Michele are the original Annie and Lillian from Bridesmaids—you know if Michele marries Sandy Frink before Romy finds someone, Romy is going to go bat-shit crazy. But Romy & Michele is a comedy, so the credits roll before this happens.

Honorable mentions:

Michelle Tanner & Jesse Katsopolis

Joey & Chandler

Hall & Oats
Will & Grace

Tina Fey & Jimmy Fallon

Sara & Hoggle from Labrynth

Frodo & Sam

Brett & Jermaine from Flight of the Concords

Dexter & his Dark Passenger (Haaaah! Dark Passenger!)

John Lock & Jack Sheppard from Lost

Lindsay & Mr. Rosso from Freaks & Geeks
Lassie & Timmy

Like how most of these are television? Yeah, me too. I’m cultured.

So there you have it, folks—some non-romantic relationships to celebrate this month of March. If you are single, perhaps you should think of your own friendships or frienemieships or even just interestingships that have brought some sort of depth and color into your life, and spread the word!

Who are some of your favorite non-couples? Who have I foolishly overlooked?