The Charlie/Johnny Boy Dynamic: Other Examples?

Brothers, friends, or cousins; two guys, one of them cautious, methodical, averse to drawing attention to himself, the other a loudmouth, erratic, a ticking time bomb. The cautious one is always looking out for the loudmouth, partly out of a sense of duty, partly because he's directly implicated in whatever fallout comes about because of the other guy's irresponsibility.

I'm watching Season 2 of The Wire, and the Nick-Ziggy relationship is right out of Mean Streets. This made me think of Matt Damon and Edward Norton in Rounders--ditto. I don't know if Mean Streets invented this dynamic--highly doubtful--but there must be other examples. (Any examples involving two women? Would that even work?)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hq8qtKW3gYs/UFbl0EgUqCI/AAAAAAAACz0/PfMp20c1WXY/s1600/Mean+Streetts+7.jpg

Pope of Greenwich Village. One guy is even named Charlie as well.

The Toecutter and Johnny the Boy from Mad Max:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/80/d8/0d/80d80d0efc98ee393cb7823b377e414a.png

a dynamic which of course reached its apex in jay and silent bob

The Pope of Greenwich Village: of course--I remember hating it precisely because it seemed like such a poor Mean Streets imitation. I can't even remember whether it was Mickey Rourke or Eric Roberts who was the Johnny Boy in the relationship.

obi-wan kenobi and anakin skywalker

pinky and the brain

chuck d and flava flav

Isn't Swag by Elmore Leonard basically this dynamic? (It's been a while since I read it.)

liz lemon and jenna maroney

Ren and Stimpy

You guys are making a mockery of my very excellent conceptualizing.

Lindsey Graham and John McCain (even I can't resist...).

Melvin Lee and Rico Miller in George Pelecanos' Drama City, which I read this week

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7797706-3x2-940x627.jpg

The Funeral (Abel Ferrara), granted there are three brod involved

Bros

Dunno man, ren and stimpy is a valid answer to your question

ham and pineapple

t800 and john connor

brazil coach and neymar

Sonny and Michael Corleone

Had never thought of that--good one. I think that gets about 80% of the way there; the one difference is that Michael's still too young and at arm's-length with the family business to be watching over Sonny in any sense. If you could take their temperaments as is and filter them through the Michael-Fredo relationship ("Taken care of me? You're my kid brother and you take care of me?"), it'd be dead-on.

deniro plays the opposite role for pesci in casino amongst others

That one definitely fits.