Ah yes my friends the day has finally come. The Friends reunion, meant initially to celebrate the launch of a new streaming service, that was delays by COVID is finally here. Since I am a huge fan of the show, as if you couldn’t tell by my episode guide awhile back, I had to watch. It finally reunited all six cast members together!
So I decided since I reviewed every episode and discussed other aspects of the series, it was only fitting to go over this special and discuss what worked, what didn’t work...and what I wish they had included. I know, it was almost two hours as it was!
The special was amazing….but not perfect. While it was a standard reunion that we’ve seen other shows a million times do it was also kind of a documentary too. So we kept going back and forth between the on set reunion of the cast and the literal reunion with the cast in front of an audience with behind the scenes segments mixed in.
What I Liked-
The on set reunion was nothing short of perfect. I often grumble about reunions recreating a series set because it’s never exactly right. There are either things missing or only a portion of the set was restored. Wow, not in this case I mean they did a fantastic job putting the set as it was. Yeah some small things were missing or replaced, but for the most part it was near perfect. And the six leads being able to casually walk around and reminiscence was a lot of fun to see. The recreation of Ross’s trivia game was cute (thought clearly written and not spontaneous) and the gang watching bloopers was a lot of fun. I always wanted to see when Matt LeBlanc wrecked his shoulder.
The Interview. So they also did a typical reunion with a host and a live audience. Having it in front of the fountain that was in the opening as a great choice. Putting aside the choice of host, I’ll get to that, the reunion was good. I can tell why it wasn’t the whole special, honestly if the special had just been that outdoor interview people would have said “That’s it??” That doesn’t excuse all the padding they put in but again, I’ll get to that.
The Documentary style stuff was fine if incomplete. They spent time talking about how the cast was chosen which was good. It didn’t feel as rushed as other segments. And gotta give them cred for not telling stories fans would have heard a million times by now.
The Reunions. Ok what I mean by this are the former Friends guest stars that popped up. They didn’t get a lot of time or were underused (Tom Selleck for example) but it was still nice to see faces like Maggie Wheeler and James Michael Tyler again. Christina Pickles and Elliott Ghould. And Larry Hankin as Heckles was priceless. Bringing back the hand twin? I’ll let that go even if the actual episode was moronic.
What I Did Not Like-
Ok let’s get this one out of the way. The internet has been abuzz talking about how sad, and even disinterested, Mathew Perry seemed in lots of this. I noticed it to and even wondered if he was ok. I don’t blame him of course, and its possible he was just a victim of bad editing. Reports say he had a dental issue and if he was in dental pain I can relate to that. On a re-watch I realize it wasn't that bad really, I just wish he had said more.
The Unrelated Celebrities-This is one of two things that I just hated. Having former guest stars on there is awesome, but why in the hell do you need celebrities who had no connection to the show at all? I’ve seen this trend for years I get the feeling networks push this in fear if they don’t shove a modern celeb into the show younger folks wont watch. Like how The Carol Burnett Show 50th Ann had Caley Cuoco for no reason or when Ray Romano inexplicably hosted the Dick Van Dyke Show reunion years ago.
Some I can forgive. James Corden hosted the interview part and I can accept that. That’s not a big deal really. And Lady Gaga singing Smelly Cat with Lisa Kudrow was ok because there is precedent for it. Phoebe has sang that song with real singers (Chrissy Hynde for instance) so it felt like appropriate. But Mindy Kaling? Really? And who is this boy band group that is now being shoved into everything? And thank goodness we found out how the show influenced that soccer player I've never heard of. I couldn't have lived without seeing him in this. It wasn’t overdone thankfully but they also should have been cut out for time if anything. There were some cut for time like Allyson Janney and Bob Newhart. Speaking of things being cut for time...
Deleted Scenes (WTF)- In fact they did cut some stuff for time and put them as “extras” online. Why? Ok some of them I can understand but some choices were odd. I man acknowledging the amazing James Burrows was not good enough to stay in but listening to Beckham was something we couldn’t live without?????? It’s already pushing 2 hours why cut ANYTHING? The extras are great and some should have been in the special. But at least they exist in some form. And why do we care about the fact the show airs in other countries? And they spent way to much time hearing how it affected people from other countries, who cares?
The Fashion Show. This is just me but I hate these and reunions love doing them. Even one I once saw for the Batman series, while kind of appropriate, I found lame. Why is this cool? Oh look a stranger is wearing a gag from an episode that really has nothing to do with the series. I mean we just had to see the Holiday Armadillo costume! Yay. Ok Matt LeBlanc actually wearing his was funny. I don’t get it but someone must like them. Off topic but man Cindy Crawford still looks good.
Being only available of you pay for HBOMax. God I hate all these streaming services, but that’s a topic for another day.
What I wish they had done-
The cast reenacted some scenes around a table which was a lot of fun. The table reads were about as close as we’ll ever get to seeing this six in character again. Which is a shame. Ok don’t want to do an episode (and a movie is a terrible idea) then do a five minute segment just for fun. Why not? I mean the opportunity was right there!!!!! But all we have is the tale reads and I'll be honest I could watch a whole show of them doing that.
This one surprises me, but show more clips! They did callbacks more than clips which is nice but it seemed like more clips or even a decent montage would have been a nice thing to add. Why was the tone of this generally somber too?
While it was great to see all six together it seemed like we only saw all six together. Some more one on one with each separately would have given each a chance to shine rather than having to fight for attention (poor Matthew Perry seems to disappear in parts) and maybe give us more insights to the characters. The closest we get is Lisda Kudrow doing Smelly Cat. And of course a lot of former guest starts were noticeably absent such as Paul Rudd but under the circumstances I’ll take what I can get.
So bottom line, it was a great special and I watched it with a smile on my face for most of it. While it was a touch long at least it went out of its way to give the fans what they wanted. What could have been a quick cash grab became a memorable reunion indeed.
Good to see you back
ReplyDelete