Sam & Max's Relationship
There's kind of an interesting dynamic between the two of them.
I'm not saying that Steve was intentionally going for anything deeper than just creating a funny story based on a dog and a rabbit who fight crime; but hardcore fans like myself can't help but obsess over our favourite characters, analyzing their psychological profiles and whatnot. (I like the word whatnot.)
So, discuss and share your insights.
I'm not saying that Steve was intentionally going for anything deeper than just creating a funny story based on a dog and a rabbit who fight crime; but hardcore fans like myself can't help but obsess over our favourite characters, analyzing their psychological profiles and whatnot. (I like the word whatnot.)
So, discuss and share your insights.
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Comments
Nobody said anything like that yet! Besides that, I always thought of them both as asexual, with an occasional interest in girls.
Max's sleazy lothario persona lasted all of the 5 minutes you needed it to advance the plot. Of course he may still like them, but not as much as in 204.
They both could have an interest in the opposite sex, but they're far too busy having fun solving random puzzles and going on wacky, outlandish adventures.
Are you talking about "Shaun of the Dead" or Sam and Max?
Translation: I feel they keep each other in line. Let me elaborate; Sam is kept sane by Max, and Max is stopped by Sam from doing stupid and crazy stuff without limits. (I think that's about right)
I think they're just both at the stage where they think girls are "icky". Sam just seems older because he likes pretending he's a growed up detective.
@Jake Okay, the "it seems funny and it is, but it's not" thing just totally threw me. I couldn't tell if you meant the film is funny, but the relationship wasn't, or that both couples seem to have a homosexual attraction to one another, but they don't really.
Sam and Max need each other and time and space need them together.
I see them as having a childhood friends relationship, or a very close friends relationship. I think a lot of people tend to mix "super close friends" and "in a romantic relationship" because ideally your spouse also is a very close friend. But here I only see the "close friends" thing.
I personally always have some trouble with the "childhood friends who end up together" concept that often pops up either as canon or as fanstuff, because the people I know who actually are childhood friends all consider each other family, often referring to each other as "my cousin" or "my brother/sister" because that's how it feels for them.
Not saying childhood friends never end up together, just that the idea is overused in my opinion. If two characters are childhood friends, I'll see it as a reason for them NOT to end up together as a couple, unless they had that kind of relationship from the start or something.
Anyways, I'm not sure what else there is to say. They're friends, they know each other very well and they care about each other a lot.
Seconded.
Sibyl's dating computer matched them in 105 too, but whatever.
Well, "that puts an end to the idea of a fair and just universe" (or whatever) made it sound like Sam wasn't thrilled.
And like Avistew said, people who are raised together from a young age are less likely to become sexually attracted to one another. It's called the Westermarck effect. Sam and Max have apparently known each other from the time they were very young, so I'm guessing it's just a bosom buddies kind of a thing. I don't think either of them has nearly enough emotional maturity to have a romantic or sexual relationship.
I think that's one of the things that makes them so charming, in spite of the wanton violence. They act a lot like kids, and there's this quality that they're just "playing" at being detectives. Max is a psychopath, but he's also naive and super cheerful. Sam is a little more aware of how to deal with people, but he's still pretty self-centered himself. Sort of like how a small child can empathize with others, but not necessarily sympathize. They'll understand from your voice and body language that you're sad, but they might not be able to understand why.
I tend to think Sam is slightly past that point, but only slightly (e.g. he seems to show sporadic interest in girls, but doesn't really care for the most part). But otherwise yeah; mentally, he's a lot closer to those carefree, halcyon days of burning down treehouses and pulling argyle socks over cats' heads than most might suspect at first blush.
For the record, there's an optional dialogue you can select right after
I've been meaning to watch Hot Fuzz for ages, so I must thank you for indirectly reminding me to put it on my Netflix queue.
I agree. Strongly. That's actually half the reason that I want to see a second season in the near future, because I loved reading and participating in the discussion that went on. Sam & Max really doesn't provide much intelligent discussion.
Or do you just have a problem with analysis of fictional characters?
Max just said "dad's". He may have been referring to his dad. Speaking of that episode, the flashback where Max makes eggnog in Sam's grandfather's helmet seemed really out of character to me. I guess they were parodying something, but I thought Sam and Max were closer than that.
I love Sam and Max's relationship and will probably have more to say later, but I wanted to say this stuff now.
I really like the dynamic they have between them. They sort of balance each other out into something that almost resembles sanity.
I think it's kind of funny that most of the people who brought up the romantic definition did that to talk about how wrong that was. Why even mention it?
@Shwoo It seems like whenever two male characters are close and don't have a love interest people immediately assume they're gay. Women can be close friends no problem though. I think it's kind of based on that stereotype that all men are horny idiots who can barely contain their libido, so if they don't chase after chicks there must be something wrong with them. Women, on the other hand, never have sex drives unless they're tongue-tied in front of their "crush" or it's a story made by women for women. At which point they become horny idiots
So...I dunno. I guess I just missed your point entirely.
And I guess Sam and Max fans do have sense of humor