Buddy System

Understanding men and their friendships

Dr. Geoffrey Greif is a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and author of Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships. See full bio

May 26, 2009

men's friendships after divorce

Thanks for the comment. It can be difficult for someone (men) to make friends after a divorce, especially if you did not maintain individual friends during the marriage. Recently divorced people also may believe that if their marriage failed, they may have trouble making friends - they connect difficulties in one relationship with future relationships.

Men (and women) l Read More

May 25, 2009

Men's friendships and Father's Day

With Father's Day coming up in June, it is helpful to consider how men view their father's friendships. In Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships, I report that 60% of the men felt their father had a lot of friends but that 40% believed he had either a few or no friends. Some times these friendships were constrained by fathers' dedication to work and family, leaving n Read More

May 1, 2009

The Soloist - are they friends?

In the movie The Soloist, Robert Downey, Jr., portrays a LA Times reporter Steve Lopez and Jamie Foxx portrays the once gifted musician Nathaniel Ayers. But Ayers suffers from schizophrenia, is homeless, out of touch with his family, and no longer able to play the cello. When Lopez runs into him on the street, Ayers is plucking a violin with two remaining strings. A relationsh Read More

April 16, 2009

CNN on Bromance and on Men at Sea

The interest in bromance (men's close friendships with other men) continues. CNN featured it yesterday and interviewed me as part of the program. Men telling each other they love each other (but in a non-sexual way) continues to catch everyone's eye thanks to recent movies and tv shows. A bromance is usually thought of as a new relationship or putting an old friendship into a higher gear. Read More

April 5, 2009

The interest in men's friendships with other men - Bromance

I was interviewed on the nationally broadcast NPR show ON POINT on Thursday about bromance. The movie, I Love You, Man, continues to draw the interest of radio talk show hosts. I was interviewed with Robert Beasley of IUPUI who is the head of the men's studies section of the American Sociological Association as well as a friend of the host's, named Jack. While we blathered on Read More

March 25, 2009

Can male best friends be trusted?

Can male best friends be trusted? If you saw I Love You, Man recently, you learned that Paul Rudd's new best friend, Sidney, crosses a boundary in his attempt to help out Paul Rudd's character, Peter. Read More

March 24, 2009

I Love You, Man - The Movie

In my last blog I described a movie party for I Love You, Man, that my wife and I held at our house with four diverse couples. That blog recounted the attendees' relationships with their sons. Here I want to talk about whether men need friends or whether men need more than one friend. In the movie, Paul Rudd is, essentially, happy with no male friends until he overhears his fu Read More

March 22, 2009

I Love You, Man - the movie - is it accurate?

Last night my wife and I took four couples (3 women and 5 men) out to see I Love You, Man, the new movie that opened over the weekend in 2700 theaters across the country. We then came back to my house, opened up some wine, sodas, and pizza boxes (with the pizza still in them), and talked about the film. We range in age from 30s to 50s and represent different races, religions, and sexual orien Read More

March 15, 2009

I Love you. Man

I love you, man (the movie) comes out next Friday and the early buzz about this man in search of a guy best man for his wedding is good. Paul Rudd is making the rounds of the talk shows. A few years ago (1998) he played Jennifer Aniston's love crush (though he was gay). The movie is drawing articles and radio talk shows on bromance, man dates, male friendships, and men's and w Read More

March 14, 2009

I love you, Man - The Movie

I have completed five interviews over the last few days in relation to this forthcoming movie, I love you, Man, starring Paul Rudd and slated for release 3/20. Interviews appear in The Toronto Star (Friday) and the Globe and Mail (Thursday). A radio interview was completed with the Charles Adler Show (across Canada) and with Aaron Henkin's The Signal with WYPR (available by podcast Read More