Sayles predictably intersperses scenes of rehab drama and female friendship with comic relief and local (Louisiana) color.

NEWYORKER: Passion Fish

In these films, "female friendship supersedes heterosexual romance, " says Leger Grindon, a professor of film and media culture at Middlebury College and the author of a 2011 book about the genre.

WSJ: Zoe Lister-Jones in 'Lola Versus' and the Evolution of the 'Best Friend'

The Times spotlighted McCain's friendship a decade ago with a female lobbyist.

NPR: McCain Denounces 'Times' Story on Lobbyist Ties

San Fernando Valley resident Eddie Satterfield, whose best female friend is Academy Award-winning actress Mo'Nique, remembers some particularly trying times in their friendship.

CNN: Gay men, straight women: enduring bonds