Which is stronger, romantic love between a man and a woman, or fast friendship between two buddies?

I Love You, Man, which opens on Friday, tells the story of friendless Peter (Paul Rudd), who goes on “man dates” to find a best friend who will be the best man at his wedding. But when Peter finally gets a best buddy (Jason Segel), it creates a problem in his relationship with his fiancé (Rashida Jones)…

To answer the above and consider the appeal of buddy stories, I chose 10 movies or TV shows and used the friendship meter to determine the strength of every friendship. Here are the results:

10. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

It’s the early 1970s in San Diego, and local anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), a mustachioed bachelor with a taste for scotch and jazz flute, leads a testosterone-heavy news team. Their male camaraderie is challenged, though, when the first female reporter, ambitious Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), joins the team. Then Ron starts falling in love… Will he have to choose between chauvinistic buddies and hardnosed girl?

9. Psych (2006)

Shawn Spencer (James Roday) comes from a family of cops. While he bounces from job to job, working as everything from a foot model to a Wienermobile driver, he can’t keep his powers of deduction hidden. He even calls the police with tips. When his knowledge arouses suspicion, Shawn does the logical thing: tells everyone he’s a psychic and opens a psychic detective agency with his best friend from childhood in a hilarious but touchingly loyal partnership.

8. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Scene-stealing, foulmouthed stoner Jay (Jason Mewes) and his sidekick/”hetero life mate” Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) finally get their own movie. When comic store mogul Brodie (Jason Lee) informs Jay and Silent Bob that a movie featuring their comic book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, is about to be made, the duo demands a cut from the comic’s creator, only to be told they’ve been sold out. So Jay and Silent Bob embark on a cross-country odyssey to Hollywood to stop the film…

7. Wayne’s World (1992)

In this big screen spin-off of Saturday Night Live, two small-town cable TV hosts and lifelong best friends (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) spend their days and nights chasing babes and sticking to their long-haired, head-banging style. When their show gets picked up by a big sponsor, Wayne and Gareth become stars. A love story develops between Wayne and beautiful musician Cassandra - a love triangle that creates problems in Wayne and Gareth’s friendship.

6. The Big Lebowski (1998)

Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), known as the Dude, is an easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire. A case of mistaken identities leads to a soiled rug and sends dude spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld. Scene-stealing, riotously funny John Goodman is Walter, the Dude’s crazy best buddy. The chemistry between lazy Lebowski and the crazy Walter is what makes this film unforgettable.

5. The Pineapple Express (2008)

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a process server with a weed fixation, witnesses a murder and turns to his best friend and dealer, Saul (James Franco), for support. The murderer is actually Saul’s main drug supplier, and because of Saul’s access to some rare high-grade pot (called Pineapple Express) the two are soon on the run. Like all Apatow / Rogen vehicles, the movie addresses men succumbing to adulthood and all the adjustments involved. And although Dale and Saul don’t always get along, the ending celebrates the value of a good buddy.

4. Wedding Crashers (2005)

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are an unbeatable combination as Washington DC lawyers with a shared hobby: crashing weddings for kicks and girls. With talent, wit and charm, the pair seldom fail to seduce. But it all explodes when they crash an upper-crust wedding given by U.S. Senator William Cleary (Christopher Walken). Jeremy (Vaughn) makes the apparent mistake of seducing Cleary’s sexually ravenous daughter Gloria (Isla Fisher) while John (Wilson) falls head over heels for the beautiful, sarcastic older sister, Claire (Rachel McAdams). Once again, women put men’s friendship at risk… but only for a short time.

3. American Pie (1999)

In this hysterical yet sensitive movie, four high school friends - Jim (Jason Biggs), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and Oz (Chris Klein) – pass a sexually frustrated senior year. Boy-next-door Kevin hopes to finally lose his virginity to his bubbly girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid), while football player Oz begins an unlikely relationship with quiet chorus girl Heather (Mena Suvari). Finch struggles to maintain his cool air of witty detachment, while the neurotic Jim, most famously, has an intimate moment with apple pastry - and, eventually, sexy exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). Their close friendship lies in their mutual goal in life: getting laid.

2. Seinfeld (1990)

Seinfeld is the famous show “about nothing” that nonetheless managed to rack up a number of Emmys and a Peabody. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and his eccentric friends - Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his outspoken ex-girlfriend, and George (Jason Alexander), a bald semi-loser who obsesses about virtually everything - discuss the intricacies of their relationships and analyze the most mundane realities of everyday life. They are frequently joined by Jerry’s lanky, wacky next door neighbor, Kramer (Michael Richards). What brought these friends together? Nothing.

1. Scrubs (2001)

Taking a different approach to both the sitcom and the medical television genres, Scrubs was a critical success that became a cult hit. The show centers around J.D. (Zach Braff), a wacky medical intern at Sacred Heart Hospital, and his friends and colleagues: his confident best friend Turk, neurotic fellow intern Elliot, and their supervisor, the cruel Dr. Cox. Unlike many sitcoms, Scrubs employs a structure of continuing plotlines and developing characters. It also combines verbal wit, slapstick humor, and fantasy sequences for laughs - a strange but effective combination that suggests a skewed vision of reality.

If the friendship meter didn’t give answers to the questions from the beginning of this post, here they are:

Will “I Love You, Man” succeed? I think it will, as Jason Segel and Paul Rudd are on a big rise.

Will I (or any straight man with eyesight and genitalia) steal my best friend’s kidney and sell it for a night with Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson? Yes. (Sorry Bobby).

Will I sell my best friend to the Romans, knowing that they will crucify him, for a night with Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson? Yes. (Once again, sorry Bobby, I hope pub night is still on).

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