Jason Bateman & Melissa McCarthy in Identity Thief
There have been some great comedy movie partnerships over the years and another one is born this week as Jason Bateman teams up with Melissa McCarthy for Identity Thief.
To celebrate the release of the new movie this week we take a look at some of the best comedy partnerships on the big screen over the years.
Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy
When you talk about great comedy film partnerships Laurel & Hardy remain the best and most loved.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy enjoyed huge success from the mid 1920's all the way through to the 1940's with their slapstick comedy.
In that time they made over 100 movies together and they are as popular today as they were back in their hay day.
They starred together for the first time in The Lucky Dog in 1921 and went on to work on movies such as Way Out West and The Flying Deuces.
Their fantastic brand of comedy was a hit all around the world and "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" remains one of the most famous quotes in cinema history.
William Abbott & Lou Costello
The 1940's and 1950's brought a new comedy double act to the big screen in the form of William Abbott & Lou Costello.
Abbott and Costello had enjoyed careers before they teamed up but they saw their stars soar when they joined forces for their big screen debut in 1940 in One Night In The Tropics.
They went on to make a whole host of movie from 1940 to 1965 including In The Navy, The Naughty Nineties and Africa Screams.
As well as film they also enjoyed success on TV, stage and radio and they remain one of the America's best comedy duos.
Who's On First was one of their most famous routines and it would be copied by a whole host of comedians that followed over the years.
Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn
When you think of comedy parings that of Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn my not automatically spring to mind.
The pair made four movies together over the course of their careers and they just had the greatest onscreen chemistry and comic timing.
They starred together for the first time back in 1935 and Sylvia Scarlett but it was their second outing Bringing Up Baby that is perhaps their greatest film.
Bringing Up Baby is widely regarded as one of the best screwball comedies of that period and remains a classic.
Holiday and The Philadelphia Story followed and their comedic brilliance was once again on show.
Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi
One of the greatest comedy movies of all time is the Blues Brothers and the movie works for the simple reason that Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi had wonderful chemistry.
It was 1980 when they movie hit the big screen after Akyroyd and Belushi had met on Saturday Night Live.
The musical/comedy movie was directed by John Landis and has gone on to become a cult hit over the years.
Sadly the Aykroyd/Belushi partnership was cut tragically short when Belushi passed away in 1982.
But The Blues Brothers remains a shining example of what the pair could achieve together.
Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
Two English chaps make up our next and more recent great comedy pairing... of course I am talking about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
The good friends teamed up for the first time back in 1999 when they worked on TV series Spaced - but it wasn't long before feature films called.
That feature film debut came in 2004 when they worked together on Brit zombie horror/comedy Shaun of the Dead.
Pegg and Frost starred in the film while Edgar Wright was in the director's chair as well as had a hand in penning the script.
Shaun of the Dead is widely regarded as one of the best British movies of all time and they went on to work on Hot Fuzz and Paul.
This summer will see them reunite with Wright for new comedy The World's End - which promises to be one of the must see comedies of 2013.
Jason Bateman & Melissa McCarthy
Jason Bateman & Melissa McCarthy team up for the first time this week in Identity Thief - a movie that has already enjoyed two stints at the top of the U.S. box office.
Unlimited funds have allowed Diana (McCarthy) to live it up on the outskirts of Miami, where the queen of retail buys whatever strikes her fancy.
There’s only one glitch: the ID she’s using to finance these sprees reads 'Sandy Bigelow Patterson'. and it belongs to an accounts rep (Bateman) who lives halfway across the U.S.
With only one week to hunt down the con artist before his world implodes, the real Sandy Bigelow Patterson heads south to confront the woman with an all-access pass to his life.
And as he attempts to bribe, coax and wrangle her the 2,000 miles to Denver, one easy target will discover just how tough it is to get your name back.
Identity Thief is released 22nd March