Crown International Pictures (CIP) sold Noel Nosseck’s Best Friends (1975) as pure exploitation fare. The ad copy as well as the poster illustrations implied that the premise of the film was that two white couples trespassed on tribal lands and were attacked by indigenous people. This is not the actual plot. Best Friends does feature some gratuitous nudity and mild sexual violence but nothing on the scale promised by CIP.
In reality Best Friends is one of the earliest films to focus on Vietnam War veterans’ experiences when returning to civilian life. Like other early Vietnam oriented films Hi, Mom! (1970) and Rolling Thunder (1977), Best Friends could only have been made independently outside of the major studios. Themes such as PTSD in relation to Vietnam were, at the time, too taboo for the majors.
Best Friends is about two life long buddies, Pat (Doug Chapin) and Jesse (Richard Hatch), who return from Vietnam and set out on a road trip in a camper with their girlfriends Kathy (Susanne Benton) and Jo Ella (Ann Noland). Over the course of their trek to California Pat’s condition deteriorates as he becomes more and more focused on separating Jesse from Jo Ella. Pat’s possessiveness gradually turns to violence until the film reaches its inevitably tragic conclusion.
Best Friends, aptly titled if not somewhat ironic, is about the bonds and the boundaries of friendship. Pat consistently tests both by playing pathological and deadly games with Jo Ella and Kathy. Noel Nosseck’s direction subtly draws out the tension gradually through commonplace interactions between characters. Nosseck displays great restraint in not embracing Pat’s psychotic behavior early in the picture. Best Friends, in another director’s hands, could have been much more like The Hills Have Eyes (1977).
Best Friends is a film that is ripe for rediscovery. The soundtrack, with its minimalist mood music and juxtaposing country songs, by Rick Cunha is one of the highlights of the film and deserves a new vinyl pressing. Best Friends isn’t going to be for everyone, but for those interested in the legacy of the Vietnam War it is a must watch.
