Friends - Review

"I’ll be there for you” – A review of Friends. 

I miss sitting down to watch a good sitcom. Watching something light and funny, with relatable characters in ridiculous situations, is a lovely way to spend an evening. One of my favourites for this is Friends. First airing in 1994 and spanning ten seasons, Friends focusses on Joey, Ross, Chandler, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe, six friends who are navigating life, love and work in New York City, and it’s a show that resonates and brings joy to people across the world, myself included.

I find it difficult to find fault with this show. Firstly, the characters and performances are brilliant. Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer bring their respective characters to life with consistently brilliant performances and the chemistry between the actors is palpable. Each character has such a distinct personality too; Monica is highly competitive, Chandler is hilariously sarcastic, Joey is lovable and naïve, Rachel is sweet and experiences so much growth, Ross is very awkward, and Phoebe is wonderfully eccentric, making the group well balanced in a way that means that the show is rarely repetitive and never dull.

The writing is great too. Witty, sharp and hilarious, this is a show which is full of running gags and memorable one liners (were they on a break?!) and the comedic timing is always perfect. Despite having been off the air for quite some time now, Friends is still deeply cemented in pop culture, and lines such as “How you doin’?” are still instantly recognisable.

The impact Friends had on popular culture can’t be dismissed. The nostalgia I feel when I hear the iconic “I’ll Be There For You”, the theme song by The Rembrandts, is always strong, and the show has influenced countless other sitcoms that followed. Friends had an impact on everything, including fashion – remember the Rachel haircut?

There’s so much to love about this show. The writing is always funny and often heartwarming; themes of friendship and love are relatable and there are tonnes of memorable guest stars and reoccurring characters who are always hilarious. Sure, you can argue that some jokes and storylines are slightly problematic by today’s standards, something that brand new viewers pick up on, and yes there is a slight overreliance on cliched sitcom tropes, but overall, Friends is such a great show whether you’re revisiting it or discovering it for the first time.

There’s a good reason that Friends has stood the test of time. It’s funny, it’s witty and it’s heartfelt, full of relatable and lovable characters and slightly ridiculous but always hilarious storylines. Sure, it hasn’t aged perfectly, and there are bound to be moments that make a modern audience cringe, but the core message of the importance of friendship is universal and timeless. If you want a comforting, nostalgic watch to get you through the colder winter months, Friends is well worth getting in to.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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