Is there a movie that shows, to you, the ideal image of a friend?

Sam in Lord of the Rings comes to mind. He sticks by Frodo no matter what.

Everyone should be so blessed, to have a Sam.

Jilly - One wonders, though, about Sam and his life. He's in essence a "batman" from the UK military - the low class helper who shadowed his upper class officer and did everything for him immediately and loyally. In fact when I just went to look up Batman in wikipedia it says:

"J. R. R. Tolkien took the relationship of his characters Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins from his observations while in military service during World War I of the relationship between a batman and his officer"

So I do wonder if it was an even relationship. Sam was there at the beck and call of Frodo. Frodo was always taking action. Sam could complain or resist but in the end he simply had to do what Frodo did.

Sam was the perfect batman though. He loved to serve "Mr." Frodo. He derived personal happiness from being the ideal servant.

It must have run in the family and been bred into him. Even the first thing Sam's father asked upon his return was whether Sam provided adequate service.

Merry and Pippin, or Legolas and Gimli, might be better examples of pure friendship.

I like the Merry and Pippin idea, and agree that they were friends on a more even basis.