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Guest Stars: Monica's Beautiful Guest Room

sev

By sev
in Friends [V]

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Milk-Eyed Mender

Milk-Eyed Mender

Is there any other sitcom out there that depended so heavily on big name guest stars and cameos? The Brady Bunch, maybe? I didn't mind the casting of actors like Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis and Christina Applegate because they actually had reasonably meaty story arcs. But Robin Williams and Billy Crystal wandering through Central Perk or George Clooney and Noah Wylie hanging out in Monica's apartment -- I found that very jarring, frankly. On the other hand, I felt Like Jon Lovitz, Alec Baldwin, Brooke Shields and Freddie Prinze Jr fit perfectly into the Friends universe or their characters did, at any rate. More than 10 years on and I'm still depressed that Ross fired Freddie's "Sandy."

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humdrum

humdrum

 

Is there any other sitcom out there that depended so heavily on big name guest stars and cameos?

 

I'm thinking "Will & Grace". 

 

A couple of my all time favorite guest stars are Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate as Rachel's sisters, esp. the latter as Amy.  Joey's comment about Amy being the hottest girl he's ever hated (paraphrased) always cracks me up!

WendyCR72

WendyCR72

To be fair to George Clooney and Noah Wyle, they appeared on Friends in its first season which was also ER's first season. At that point in time, they weren't as famous.

 

And how funny that Friends and ER made their respective casts household names, premiered in the same year/season (1994-1995), aired on the same night...and both shows had a Rachel Green(e).

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

Rewatching TOW Ross's Wedding and TOA Ross Says 'Rachel', I must chime in with kudos for Tom Conti as Emily's father.  I'd only ever seen him in dramatic roles before this, but I was impressed by his comic timing and physicality.  The pansy way he started punching at Jack Geller as they argued over wedding expenses killed me.  Jennifer Saunders as his new wife was inspired casting as well. 

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Janet Snakehole

Janet Snakehole

(edited)

Eh, I liked Richard, but she was really serious about wanting to be a mom. I think that is the most logical deal breaker in a relationship, not being on the same page as your partner about kids. Someone will end up resenting someone eventually.

I just watched the episodes with Bruce Willis. I thought he and Rachel were a weird pair, to say the least.

Also, I love Paul Rudd, but didn't really like Mike. He seemed too normal for Phoebe. I think I heard he didn't really enjoy his time on the show

Edited by Janet Snakehole
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evilmindatwork

evilmindatwork

(edited)
Tom Selleck.......and I could NEVER get on board with the idea that Monica dumped a handsome doctor because he wasn't all SQUEE about having children.  Would not happen in real life.

 

Well, to be fair, the character of Monica really wanted children. I think if someone knows that they really want a child, they wouldn't be willing to spend a lot of time on a relationship not headed in that direction. I may be biased because I really dislike the character of Richard. 

 

My favorite guest star was probably Brad Pitt. I just thought he had good comedic timing and awesome chemistry with the rest of the cast. 

 

My least favorite was, unbelievably, because I usually love him, Paul Rudd. He was just so blah in the series. 

Edited by evilmindatwork
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againstthewind

againstthewind

(edited)

I loved Tom Selleck - he was by far my favorite significant other or guest star on the show. While I understand why the relationship ended, I think Monica was better with Richard than with Chandler, and I love how Richard sort of grounded all of the characters. Also, it's Tom freaking Selleck.

 

Finally, this scene - 

 

Monica: Do you ever think about the future?

Richard: Yup.

Monica: Am I in it?

Richard: Honey, you are it.

Edited by againstthewind
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Bouffe

Bouffe

Tom Selleck, Brooke Shields and Brad Pitt were my favourite guest stars. They just seemed to be so perfect for the respective storylines and so perfect with the rest of the cast! Pitt's comedic timing was amazing!

 

Bruce Willis gets an honorable mention. I had only seen him in action movies up until then, and his comedic timing had me rolling more than once.

 

My least favourite was Paul Rudd, which I adore. He just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the cast.

Dandesun

Dandesun

(edited)

Gary Oldman... I just love him. Any time we've had a wee bit too much, either my sister or I do the "I'm wearing two belts!" line.

 

Also, I loved Jeff Goldblum's appearance. Everything about his character cracked me up, the cell phone thing, the notes he gave Joey, the whole 'I plant seeds...' thing. 

 

I liked Paul Rudd a lot... I just didn't think that Mike and Phoebe were IT. I really wished she had ended up with David. That being said, Mike's reactions to the various Friends were pretty great. He played low key with all of their stuff. But it seemed kind of odd that he loved Phoebe who was clearly insane by then and had no patience for the rest of them. (Although his reaction shot at Monica's hair in Barbados always makes me laugh.)

Edited by Dandesun
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Bouffe

Bouffe

I liked Paul Rudd a lot... I just didn't think that Mike and Phoebe were IT. I really wished she had ended up with David. That being said, Mike's reactions to the various Friends were pretty great. He played low key with all of their stuff. But it seemed kind of odd that he loved Phoebe who was clearly insane by then and had no patience for the rest of them. (Although his reaction shot at Monica's hair in Barbados always makes me laugh.)

You are very right about all of this! He had quite the deadpan face whenever he faced an insane situation with any of the Friends.

Tiggertoo

Tiggertoo

I've been re watching the series and, second time around, I still don't get why Phoebe would pick Mike over David. Paul Rudd's character was so boring. He did not fit well with the cast. I still can't believe that David was in Barbados proposing and he got dumped for Mike. Never got what Phoebe was supposed to have seen in Mike.

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Aprilshowers

Aprilshowers

I've been re watching the series and, second time around, I still don't get why Phoebe would pick Mike over David. Paul Rudd's character was so boring. He did not fit well with the cast. I still can't believe that David was in Barbados proposing and he got dumped for Mike. Never got what Phoebe was supposed to have seen in Mike.

 

Could not agree more. David was Phoebe's true match. They should have went with them. Mike did seem a little odd with the group, I don't think he ever really fit in.

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Dandesun

Dandesun

I don't know if the cast ever had much say in their lines or character development, but I sure hope Lisa Kudrow groaned loudly and gave major eye roll when asked to say "cause a pimp spit in my mouth," upon meeting Mike's parents for the first time. I think David dodged a bullet, honestly.

 

I mean, it did lead up to the line where she told Mike she'd never met a boyfriend's parents before and he came back with 'But you have met humans before...'

 

Phoebe was always weird and had a messed up childhood and family life and probably would have been looked down on by Mike's parents even without the pimp spitting in her mouth.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

(edited)

ETA:  Sorry, belongs in a different thread.

 

But so that I don't waste your time, I recently saw the episode where Giovanni Ribisi first shows up as Phoebe's half-brother, Frank, Jr.  The story he told about how their dad loved walking on stilts was pretty cool.  I'm glad they brought him back in later episodes.

Edited by Inquisitionist
WendyCR72

WendyCR72

On 1/16/2015 at 7:10 PM, evilmindatwork said:

Well, to be fair, the character of Monica really wanted children. I think if someone knows that they really want a child, they wouldn't be willing to spend a lot of time on a relationship not headed in that direction. I may be biased because I really dislike the character of Richard.

This, including disliking Richard. Tom Selleck does nada for this chick! (Which makes me extra happy Chandler got the girl in S6!)

Yes, I know. I'll see myself out now.  :-)

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Tom Selleck never did anything for me (with or without his iconic mustache*) but I thought that his breakup with Monica was one of the most realistic things they did on the show because kids/no kids is a deal breaker if you want to get married and spend the rest of your lives together. That isn't the kind of issue where you can compromise. You either have kids or you don't. Monica really NEEDED to have kids. Richard didn't want to have any more kids. Their relationship was going to end, either then or twenty years later with a lot more resentment.

Even though I didn't find him attractive, I thought that he and Monica had a pretty good relationship until that point so the age difference didn't bother me.

* Tom Selleck discusses his mustache:

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Vanessa1214

Vanessa1214

On 9/14/2016 at 2:54 PM, kariyaki said:

I knew that Elizabeth Daily (who played Leslie, Phoebe's ex-partner) did a lot of cartoon voice work but I didn't know that she had also been an 80s pop singer. A fact I discovered while watching Summer School -- one of her songs played over the testing montage. And there was a video:

The song is not great, but she's adorable. She reminds me of Shakira in this video. 

Jax7917

Jax7917

I love Chandler and Monica together, but I did like Richard and her together too. What I liked about Monica and Chanandler Bong was that they were able to stay together for a fewseasons without breaking up or having too much manufactured drama. They were sweet together. I did like the earlier seasons a little better though because I liked the concept of them all being single in the city with different quirks and problems they each brought to their own relationships (especially Chandler). The dynamic of the show changed once they got together.

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