A Psychedelic Comedy Bromance is a Duo Trope that results from an Odd Couple or a similar duo as the Main Characters in a world where they are likely to come across World of Weirdness, Cosmic Horror, or other trippy or terrifying happenings. The setting can be a High Fantasy, but it is often just a version of the ordinary world where supernatural, highly improbable, or otherwise wild things just happen to happen.
The duo contends with the weirdness as best they know how. They may both be seriously endangered when reality goes on the fritz, or the Straight Man may not be able to cope with the oddities and lets the Lovable Rogue deal with it, though they may be an Adventure Duo who are well-equipped to handle the situation.
Examples
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Film
- The Big Lebowski is a Film Noir version of this, with The Dude and Walter trying to solve a surprisingly-straightforward mystery in a highly idiosyncratic version of LA. The story is punctuated with "the occasional acid flashback".
- The first act of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is about a pair of FBI agents—played by Chris Isaak and Kiefer Sutherland—trying to solve a very surreal murder mystery. To call it a comedy might be an overstatement, but their scenes are probably the closest to comedy in the movie, and once their plot ends and the movie shifts its focus to what's going on in Twin Peaks itself, the movie gets a lot grimmer.
Literature
- The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy has this dynamic between Arthur and Ford for much of the series.
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas chronicles Hunter S. Thompson's drug-fueled bacchanals across Vegas with his attorney, Oscar Zeta Acosta (aka Dr. Gonzo).
Live Action TV
- The Mighty Boosh: Effete day-glo David Bowie-lookalike Vince Noir and perpetual sad-sack jazz musician Howard Moon journey to the arctic, the planet Xooberon, and monkey hell—which all strongly resemble BBC soundstages—while bickering like an old married couple.
- Coming from two supporting actors in the above mentioned The Mighty Boosh, it's no surprise Snuff Box has this trope as well. Matt Berry is "High Execution to the King of England" note and Rich Fulcher is his assistant, a boorish American. Together, they wander through a very loosely related string of infinitely dark and morbid skits, while defying every known trope of comedy and good taste.
- The first two series of Twin Peaks had this dynamic between Dale, an FBI Special Agent, and Harry, the local sheriff, trying to solve an increasingly surreal murder mystery, punctuated with occasional moments of comedy. The third series, The Return, has Harry on extended medical leave and Dale in an almost season-long Heroic BSoD after escaping from another dimension so the closest thing to a comedic bromance here is between Albert and Gordon, Dale's FBI colleagues. See under Film for another example from the Twin Peaks universe.
Western Animation
- Adventure Time: Early seasons focused on the adventures of Finn the Human and his step-brother/best friend Jake the Dog as they traveled the Land of Ooo, seeking rights to wrong, ruins to explore, and monsters to fight. The two lost a bit of the spotlight as other characters like Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, and the Ice King were promoted to "main character" status.
- Regular Show: Park employees and Vitriolic Best Buds Rigby the raccoon and Mordecai the bluejay goof off at work, prank their friends and neighbors, and get involved in Zany Schemes that often accidentally summon bizarre supernatural forces (from traveling to the moon with a magical keyboard to using a cursed anime video tape to erase embarrassing memories to tripping on hot sauce after an evening spent having to puppeteer their unconscious boss).
- In the Ever After High series, minor characters Alistair and Bunny spend their lives exploring Wonderland together. Only occasionally do they show up in the main plot—usually to guide the protagonists through Wonderland's illogical and ever-changing landscape.
- Rick and Morty fit this trope, although in this case Rick is an alcoholic, drug-abusing misanthrope, and Morty is his naive, awkward grandson and Morality Pet.
