Friends - General Discussion

[Artsda]

Matt's made me cry, I think it was fitting he spoke first and both of them broke the silence together. 

[LexieLily]

Someone else can post the Instagram links but David and Jen posted as well. The five of them must have coordinated the rollout of their posts. 😢

[peacheslatour]

[General Days]

Jennifer Aniston posted a tribute to Matthew Perry a few hours ago, on Instagram.

It has three slides. The first one is a still of Matthew and Jen, from on set. The second is a screenshot of a text exchange between them. The third is a clip of Chandler saying goodbye to Rachel and telling her he loves her.

Text reads: 

Quote

 

jenniferaniston

Oh boy this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…)

Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying “could you BE any crazier?”

Rest little brother.
You always made my day…
❤️🕊️

Edited · 4h

 

I wanted to preserve her words, in case she ever takes it down. 

Edit: It's not embedding for me. Sorry. Here are the URLs (it's all the same post, but with different images):

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czq8K4DMOMQ/?img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czq8K4DMOMQ/?img_index=2

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czq8K4DMOMQ/?img_index=3

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by General Days

[General Days]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Someone else can post the Instagram links but David and Jen posted as well. The five of them must have coordinated the rollout of their posts. 😢

 

I posted Jennifer's above. Here is David Schwimmer's Matthew Perry tribute on Instagram. The photo he chose is of Ross and Chandler in their Miami Vice-esque attire from their college days.

 

Text reads:

Quote

_schwim_

 4h

Matty,

Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity.

I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.

And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.

This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time.

I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around—

“Could there BE any more clouds?”

4h

 

Okay, Schwimmer's silly impersonation of Chandler's delivery, just in text, made me tear up. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by General Days

[General Days]

Okay, and here is Lisa Kudrow's Matthew Perry tribute on Instagram.
 

Text reads:

Quote

lisakudrow

Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then…
You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that.
Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY.
Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of “talking.”
Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant.
Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have.
Thank you for trusting me.
Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you.
Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew.

41m

 

That's really sweet. 

I feel so bad for the whole cast. I didn't bother looking through comments on Jen, David, and Lisa's Instagram posts, but yesterday, sick, entitled people were giving Matt and Courteney grief for not posting soon enough (and worse). It really turned my stomach. 

I appreciate them sharing their memories with us, but it's not like we have a right to it. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by General Days

[Artsda]

All them. 😥💔 

[chitowngirl]

On 11/14/2023 at 2:31 PM, LexieLily said:

"And I guess you're keeping the 20 bucks you owe me" broke me all over again. Such a Joey/Chandler thing to say.

I would be amused if somehow Matthew left Matt the $20 and got the last laugh.

[andidante]

43 minutes ago, General Days said:

I feel so bad for the whole cast. I didn't bother looking through comments on Jen, David, and Lisa's Instagram posts, but yesterday, sick, entitled people were giving Matt and Courteney grief for not posting soon enough (and worse). It really turned my stomach. 

 

Me too! I wish they had done like David and shut their comments off. Social media is SO toxic and people don't know how to act right!

[Guest]

Ugh. These are hitting hard.

41 minutes ago, General Days said:

I feel so bad for the whole cast. I didn't bother looking through comments on Jen, David, and Lisa's Instagram posts, but yesterday, sick, entitled people were giving Matt and Courteney grief for not posting soon enough (and worse). It really turned my stomach.

Stuff like that is why I really appreciate this part of Jennifer's message:

1 hour ago, General Days said:

Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep.

I choose to at least partly interpret that as: "Don't rush anyone into making a statement or publicly expressing how they're feeling about something like this. It takes time to truly process." And I would add: "It's nobody's damn business anyway." I'm glad to read these message from them, but they were in no way obligated to do this.

[voiceover]

Loved them all but Jen’s really, really got me in the feels.  Especially bc I’d written a post here before Matthew died about their few — but terrific — scenes together.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Loved them all but Jen’s really, really got me in the feels.  Especially bc I’d written a post here before Matthew died about their few — but terrific — scenes together.

I think Matt's got me the most. It was just so heartfelt.

[General Days]

I think each one I read, when I read it, got me the most.

[MadyGirl1987]

All of them are sweet! I like that they released their personal statements on the same day. I'm betting they did that to avoid any one of them being harassed online that "so-and-so put out a statement! Why haven't you?"

[mojoween]

Never thought an interview in Parade Magazine would gut me, but here we are.  They interviewed Selma Blair in early October (you know…before) and they asked her some quick questions.  For “Music in the car?” she said 

Mixtapes that Matthew Perry made me!  We dated a million years ago and we’ve been friends since 1999.  He has good taste in music, and when I’m down, he’ll send me good mixtapes.  It’s a lot of covers and of course Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, but also a lot of heartbreak songs.  Those always uplift me because misery loves company.*

*Interview conducted before Matthew Perry’s passing.

It was the present tense that was so sad.

[babyhouseman]

On 11/14/2023 at 10:23 AM, bluegirl147 said:

his character was OK but I just didn't feel like he and Phoebe clicked.  I'm on record as saying Phoebe was not one of my favorite characters.  But I did like her with Hank Azaria's character. 

I agree with you mostly on this. I liked Phoebe better with HA's character. But I did like Phoebe(Monica was my least favorite). I also find Paul Rudd the actor boring which is probably illegal since so many people love him. lol

[WendyCR72]

3 hours ago, babyhouseman said:

I agree with you mostly on this. I liked Phoebe better with HA's character. But I did like Phoebe(Monica was my least favorite). I also find Paul Rudd the actor boring which is probably illegal since so many people love him. lol

See, you're the inverse of me! LOL! Monica is my favorite of the girls, Phoebe the least (but - as I said - I think Lisa is awesome!).

I do think Phoebe worked better with David. I like Paul Rudd, but Mike was vanilla. I can only guess that maybe Hank Azaria wouldn't or couldn't stick around for a marriage between Phoebe/David, so Mike became the winner. Could also be off base, of course.

[AgathaC]

Apparently the relatively comic David v Mike proposal scene was originally intended for Chandler, Monica and Richard at the end of season 6. It was going to be a cliffhanger, but also had some silliness (Richard on one knee and Chandler knocking him over, etc.). They realized it really didn’t work in that context. With two Friends involved, plus the very non-silly Richard, the tone was all wrong. So, they rewrote the end after the table read and ended up using the idea (adjusted somewhat) three years later.

Yeah, I think that was a good call. In my opinion, the original ending plan for C-M-R would have been a mistake.

[LexieLily]

Eh, I believe that one even less than I believe the Chandler-cheating-on-Monica-in-Vegas idea. Where did you read that? 

[AgathaC]

42 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Eh, I believe that one even less than I believe the Chandler-cheating-on-Monica-in-Vegas idea. Where did you read that? 

Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin Bright said it themselves on the commentary track for the S6 finale. So, pretty reliable source.

[LexieLily]

30 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin Bright said it themselves on the commentary track for the S6 finale. So, pretty reliable source.

I stand corrected. 

That was definitely a good call on their part to scrap that idea. It worked okay for David because that fit into his character, not for Chandler and especially not for Richard. 

[Fool to cry]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

I stand corrected. 

That was definitely a good call on their part to scrap that idea. It worked okay for David because that fit into his character, not for Chandler and especially not for Richard. 

Seeing old Magnum PI reruns reminded me Tom Selleck can be funny or at least goofy so it's odd they didn't play into that when they got him on the show. I guess they wanted him to be more of an adult in comparison to the guys. That's a bit of stunt casting that paid off later because 1) viewers remembered him years later and 2) unlike other exes for the characters he could believably threaten the Chandler/ Monica romance.

[MadyGirl1987]

Just now, Fool to cry said:

Seeing old Magnum PI reruns reminded me Tom Selleck can be funny or at least goofy so it's odd they didn't play into that when they got him on the show. I guess they wanted him to be more of an adult in comparison to the guys. That's a bit of stunt casting that paid off later because 1) viewers remembered him years later and 2) unlike other exes for the characters he could believably threaten the Chandler/ Monica romance.

While I will always love Monica and Chandler, I thought that other then Chandler, Richard was the best relationship Monica had in the show, even if it was a little icky he was a friend of her family from way back when. They had good chemistry and I could have seen them staying together happily if the children issue hadn't come up. Even then, I thought the breakup was handled in a believable mature way. They loved each other but wanted different things and saw different futures for themselves.

[AgathaC]

40 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

Seeing old Magnum PI reruns reminded me Tom Selleck can be funny or at least goofy so it's odd they didn't play into that when they got him on the show. I guess they wanted him to be more of an adult in comparison to the guys. That's a bit of stunt casting that paid off later because 1) viewers remembered him years later and 2) unlike other exes for the characters he could believably threaten the Chandler/ Monica romance.

Yeah, I guess they wanted him to be more mature and dignified (which I think was a good call).

34 minutes ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

While I will always love Monica and Chandler, I thought that other then Chandler, Richard was the best relationship Monica had in the show, even if it was a little icky he was a friend of her family from way back when. They had good chemistry and I could have seen them staying together happily if the children issue hadn't come up. Even then, I thought the breakup was handled in a believable mature way. They loved each other but wanted different things and saw different futures for themselves.

Same here. I rooted for Chandler and Monica even before London. But I always liked Richard a lot and genuinely cared about their relationship. Despite the age difference, they were very believable together, I thought, and their chemistry was great. But that was also true of Chandler/Monica. The creative team knew that. That’s why they decided a silly proposal scene wasn’t going to work. The characters and relationships involved were too real for that ending.

Edited November 16, 2023 by AgathaC

[sistermagpie]

3 hours ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

While I will always love Monica and Chandler, I thought that other then Chandler, Richard was the best relationship Monica had in the show, even if it was a little icky he was a friend of her family from way back when. They had good chemistry and I could have seen them staying together happily if the children issue hadn't come up. Even then, I thought the breakup was handled in a believable mature way. They loved each other but wanted different things and saw different futures for themselves.

 

2 hours ago, AgathaC said:

Yeah, I guess they wanted him to be more mature and dignified (which I think was a good call).

Same here. I rooted for Chandler and Monica even before London. But I always liked Richard a lot and genuinely cared about their relationship. Despite the age difference, they were very believable together, I thought, and their chemistry was great. But that was also true of Chandler/Monica. The creative team knew that. That’s why they decided a silly proposal scene wasn’t going to work. The characters and relationships involved were too real for that ending.

I was the opposite on this one. I really didn't like Richard. That is, I didn't hate him and Monica together or hate him--I was basically fine with it when they were together, but more and more since then, I didn't buy him as presented. The idea that he's a divorced friend of her parents with kids older than her, yet somehow none of these things--age, generation, ex-wife, kids--were ever a problem ever. Hard to believe he is even friends with her parents. And he's allegedly been stuck with one woman he doesn't love for decades and seems to always be dating tons of women when he's not with Monica, but he really wants to jump into another long relationship that seems like it would be a lot like the one he left (sans kids). It was completely perfect until he announced the reason they'd break up.

He just seemed like a fictional contruct where they came up with this messy situation and then wanted it to be romantic so they sort of sliced away all the messy bits, leaving a sliver and casting Tom Selleck.

So whenever he showed up again I got more suspicious. Like he says his marriage was over for years and they stayed together for the kids and I thought...did your wife know that? When he ran into Monica and Chandler while with yet another woman and decided he wanted her back, that seemed like the kind of guy he already came across to me.

So he worked as the unbelievably debonaire True Love of Monica's that Chandler felt he couldn't measure up to, but I didn't root for them as a couple themselves.

[WendyCR72]

19 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I was the opposite on this one. I really didn't like Richard

Table for two here!

Okay, okay. Yes, Tom and Courteney did work well together, but Richard was just so...meh...to me. Personal preference sort of thing.

So I was never too upset when Richard/Monica ended and was thrilled that Monica ended up with Chandler.

[peacheslatour]

Reno 911!” star Thomas Lennon worked closely with Matthew Perry on the CBS remake of “The Odd Couple,” which aired for three seasons and 38 episodes from 2015 and 2017. Perry developed and executive produced the show (with Danny Jacobson and Joe Keenan) and starred as Oscar Madison, opposite Lennon as Felix Unger. Lindsay Sloane, Yvette Nicole Brown and Wendell Pierce also starred in the series, based of course on the Neil Simon play (later made famous as a TV sitcom in the 1970s). It was a reunion for Lennon and Perry, who also worked together on the 2009 film “17 Again.” In that comedy, Perry and Lennon play best friends. Variety asked Lennon to offer his memories of working with Perry over the years; below, he shares this tribute.

Matthew Perry told me a lot of stories—none of which can be printed in Variety.

Matty lived messy.

Matty had huge feelings and was not afraid to make you a part of those feelings.

A comedy sword-swallower using real swords. The swords hurt.

Matty was a cartoon mascot for anxiety wrapped in the packaging of a matinee idol.

Canadian tennis pro. Heartthrob with a racing heart. Playwright. Accidental superstar.

Matty had a lot of pain. He wore it on his sleeve.

Matty would lend you his jacket which smelled like cigarettes and still had the pain right there on the sleeve.

Matty would lend you cigarettes.

Matty joked when he was worried and he was worried more than you might think.

The butt of Matthew Perry’s best jokes was always Matthew Perry.

Matty admitted when he had messed-up which was constantly.

Matty was easy to forgive.

The world that was in the palm of his hand was in a tug-of-war with the world on his shoulders.

Matty was always trying to get better.

Matty was ready to talk.

Matty didn’t want to be alone.

Matty wanted to make you laugh even if swallowing the swords hurt.

[mojoween]

Wasn’t Thomas Lennon also Joey’s hand twin?

The “Ask Amy” column had a question that seems relevant to us.  I’ll link the newspaper page because I can’t find one without a ton of ads in between to copy/paste.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/advice/ask-amy-dickinson-matthew-perry-20231118-oruv4q6r7vhtnllkgxm6ugtnmu-story.html

Edited November 18, 2023 by mojoween

[LexieLily]

Is TBS doing their annual Thanksgiving-episodes marathon?

[peacheslatour]

11 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Is TBS doing their annual Thanksgiving-episodes marathon?

Nope. It's all just season 4. Nick at Nite is doing them all week though.

[JenLily]

11 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Is TBS doing their annual Thanksgiving-episodes marathon?

According to my guide they're starting the Thanksgiving episodes at 9am Central.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, JenLily said:

According to my guide they're starting the Thanksgiving episodes at 9am Central.

I turned my TV to TBS and it's still season 4.

Edited November 22, 2023 by peacheslatour

[chessiegal]

10 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I turned my TV to TBS and it's still season 4.

It's on Thanksgiving Day, not today.

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

It's on Thanksgiving Day, not today.

Oh man! I've been making mashed potatoes and rolls. I thought it was Thanksgiving, lol.

Edited November 22, 2023 by peacheslatour

[voiceover]

8 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh man! I've been making mashed potatoes and rolls. I thought it was Thanksgiving

This totally sounds like a line from the show.  I can’t decide who would have said it 🤣

[AgathaC]

I got my 11-year-old niece’s Christmas wish list and half the stuff on it is Friends -related. Apparently, she’s obsessed. *sniff* I’m so proud.

Then I remember her mom was that age when the show started and then I feel so very old.

[mojoween]

So I am guessing that none of the people who went to Monica’s bridal shower RSVP’d yes to the wedding invite?

[WendyCR72]

On 11/25/2023 at 9:26 AM, AgathaC said:

I got my 11-year-old niece’s Christmas wish list and half the stuff on it is Friends -related. Apparently, she’s obsessed. *sniff* I’m so proud.

Then I remember her mom was that age when the show started and then I feel so very old.

Seriously, though, the fact that the show is still gaining new generations of fans while being off the air in first run for nearly 20 years is truly remarkable.

Not every show can claim that!

[WendyCR72]

"The One With The Flashback" is on Nick At Nite now. Still love this episode.

Like how Mr. Heckles gave us Joey and Chandler as roommates and that Chandler/Monica hug.

[Olis93]

"The One Where No One's Ready" remains my favorite episode.

A perfect bottle episode and I love everyone's little stories branching off from the main plot of Ross trying to get everyone out the door asap. 

[AgathaC]

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

"The One With The Flashback" is on Nick At Nite now. Still love this episode.

Like how Mr. Heckles gave us Joey and Chandler as roommates and that Chandler/Monica hug.

That was the episode that made me start to root for Chandler/Monica — not that there was much in the show to point in that direction. The breadcrumbs were small, few and far between (if I remember correctly) before London.

[chitowngirl]

When one of the Friends needs to hide for whatever reason, why do they always hide behind the front door instead of going into one of the bedrooms? 😆

[MadyGirl1987]

4 hours ago, Olis93 said:

Ross trying to get everyone out the door asap.

I enjoy the episode, but I hate how everyone acts towards Ross. So rude. If I were him, I would have just left without them; they didn't seem to care they might make him late.

[Olis93]

59 minutes ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

I enjoy the episode, but I hate how everyone acts towards Ross. So rude. If I were him, I would have just left without them; they didn't seem to care they might make him late.

Agreed. It's almost like they were going out of their way to make him late lol. 

[Bort]

Maybe because they didn’t actually care to go to some boring paleontology dinner lecture that he probably insisted they attend.

[MadyGirl1987]

25 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Maybe because they didn’t actually care to go to some boring paleontology dinner lecture that he probably insisted they attend.

See, I get not wanting to go, I wouldn’t either, but then they should have been mature adults and said they don’t want to go. Also; Rachel was his girlfriend at the time. Sometimes in a relationship you show up for your partner at stuff you may not care about or want to do. Going to boring work events with a partner or spouse is pretty commonplace.

[Bort]

2 minutes ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

See, I get not wanting to go, I wouldn’t either, but then they should have been mature adults and said they don’t want to go. Also; Rachel was his girlfriend at the time. Sometimes in a relationship you show up for your partner at stuff you may not care about or want to do. Going to boring work events with a partner or spouse is pretty commonplace.

Oh yeah, I get Rachel going. But not anybody else. It’s why I don’t really like that episode because I’m like, WHY ARE YOU GOING TO THIS?!

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

I enjoy the episode, but I hate how everyone acts towards Ross. So rude. If I were him, I would have just left without them; they didn't seem to care they might make him late.

Ross should have just taken Phoebe. She was ready on time, and wouldn't have gotten the hummus on her dress if Joey and Chandler weren't arguing over the chair.

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, AgathaC said:

That was the episode that made me start to root for Chandler/Monica — not that there was much in the show to point in that direction. The breadcrumbs were small, few and far between (if I remember correctly) before London.

Well, Monica was the only one that knew of his third nipple. (With the classic "You bitch!" response from Chandler!)

And they were forever cozy, whether sitting in the same chair a lot or whatever.

There always did seem to be a sweetness to them and quite the comfort level. (Also still love the scene around Ben's birth when Chandler comforts Monica when she starts to cry seeing babies - Chandler even hung up on her mom! LOL!)

[AgathaC]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Well, Monica was the only one that knew of his third nipple. (With the classic "You bitch!" response from Chandler!)

And they were forever cozy, whether sitting in the same chair a lot or whatever.

There always did seem to be a sweetness to them and quite the comfort level. (Also still love the scene around Ben's birth when Chandler comforts Monica when she starts to cry seeing babies - Chandler even hung up on her mom! LOL!)

Definitely. I think, for me, I didn’t really notice those things until the flashback episode. Then, suddenly, I was looking for things everywhere. Now, when I rewatch earlier episodes, I can’t not see it.