It’s been too long since we’ve seen a truly great best friend pairing in pop culture. And even if these allegiances are not “real”–they’ve formed the basis for fortifying so many other non-rendered to screen female friendships that they’re just as important to the cause of what it means to have a bestie, a ride or die, etc. In the past, we’ve had Romy and Michele, Issa and Molly (indeed “Best Friend” is very much something one could imagine being played on Insecure) and, long before that–the template to end all templates–Thelma and Louise.
Directed by Dave Meyers (who most recently offered the somewhat lackluster visuals for Ariana Grande’s “Positions”), the video opens on Saweetie and Doja Cat tanning, with the former wearing a bikini “top” that simply spells out her trademark: ICY. As a fuckboy posing as someone who cares approaches, they can already tell he’s going to be nothing but hot air. This proves to be one-hundred percent correct as he spouts, “I can’t believe this disrespectful men out here, just starin’ at y’all bodies, objectifyin’ you–listen I’m Jamal and I just wanna let y’all know that you two, you’re not just sexual beings…” It’s at this point that Doja taps into Saweetie’s headspace to communicate, “Great, another fake woke misogynist.” “Does he really think he’s an ally to the feminist cause?” Saweetie telepathically returns. Doja asserts, “Bitch please, that kinda crass virtue signaling is nothing but a less overtly nefarious form of toxic masculinity.”
When he calls them out on their internal exchange, Doja assures, “You don’t want us, we freaks.” He stops pretending with his fake woke bullshit and says, “Oh, y’all shoulda said something earlier, I like me some freaks.” Saweetie sends him along with, “She tryna tan right now, you in her way.” It seems like just another garden variety day of the two sending undesirables packing. And, speaking of bags, the next scene cuts to Saweetie and Doja in a closet Kim K might once have organized as they experiment with accessories. In truth, all these women really want is to be in each other’s company, as everyone else around them simply doesn’t get it. Sure, the men that give them attention are “amusing,” and it’s not the worst when they buy them things–but these male figures are not essential to their good time, merely a superfluous (often annoying) addition. Plus, they have their own money, as evidenced by, “That’s my best friend, she a real bad bitch/Drive her own car, she don’t need no Lyft” (luckily for this ride-ordering app, it rhymes with bitch much more than Uber).
This is the rare breed of a friendship duo. The kind that becomes immortalized in film and TV (think: Lucy and Ethel, just as long as you’re not picturing Nicole Kidman in the part of Lucy). As they walk through hotel lobbies (namely the W in Hollywood) and drive their silver-studded car (a Tesla, thanks to the lyric, “Is that my bestie in a Tessie?”) recklessly down the street, it’s easy to see that the affinity is at least partly based on a mutual obsession with, well, themselves. A shared love of their own respective vanity (i.e. “Fuck it up in the mirror, hit them poses”). They’re “living for the Insta” (/TikTok/Snapchat) together, as it were. And, in most regards, this would be the key alteration to the Thelma and Louise story of the present. Sure, it would still be grounded in knowing that dick is the root of all evil, but it would be imperative to include the social media element that bonds most women together in their friendship now. Vacuous though it may be, it is what it is–as a certain orange man once noted of COVID deaths in the U.S.
With their devil-may-care antics, it’s no wonder Saweetie and Doja riff on the idea of having their mug shots taken as they pose in front of a backdrop that the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton knew all too well in the 00s after being charged with a DUI. But even while posing for their prison sentence, these are the type of friends who will make light of the situation with the important callout, “Bitch, you look goodt with a T at the end/I’ma hype her every time, that my motherfuckin’ friend.”
As the video draws to a close, we see a tight shot of Saweetie. “Do not be scared, okay?” she says suggestively as she unzips the top half of her velour tracksuit, making us believe this friendship is about to get taken to the next level (and even Paris and Lindsay ended up making out for the camera eventually). But what we soon come to find is that she’s merely preparing her “other half” (made literal by the fact that they share the classic “Best Friends” broken heart by way of hand tattoos that join together for a perfect visual representation of their bond) to jump off a cliff naked into the water below. You know, sort of the way Thelma and Louise drive off a cliff together, but with slightly less suicidal implications.
Where songs called “Best Friend” in the past have tended to indicate a more romantic slant between male and female (e.g. 1999’s “Best Friend” by Toy-Box–that wannabe Aqua duo–or 2012’s “Best Friend” by Madonna), Saweetie and Doja Cat bring it this much needed Thelma and Louise angle, complete with the final scene that serves as an overt homage… heightened with the concluding line, “Best friend, you my motherfuckin’ soul mate.”
