Lori Lea

Friendship edits. 'He's gonna get some. of the glare from the streetlight out of his apartment. So, hes closed the drapes there, so he can have a nice, pleasant. conversation with your little sister. Well I'm off to bed.

This show, of course, is filmed in front of a live studio audience. And there's a reason so many comedies do that. While it seems distracting (until you get used to it) it actually does something almost sinister. It makes a show seem funnier than it actually is. Laughter is more contagious than any disease on earth, so when we hear a studio audience cracking up, we will, too. That being said, this show is genuinely funny - but not because of the writing. Sure, the writing can be great (the "Backpacking in Eastern Europe" story is a standout in fantastic writing, as is "The One With the Embryos. but surprisingly, the thing that makes this show so damn funny is the actors. And it's one of the only comedies that operates this way. The vast majority of comedies work because of the writing (think "Malcolm in the Middle. How I Met Your Mother. Master of None. 30 Rock. Modern Family. There are a few rarities that work because of the directing (think "Arrested Development" and "The Office. but "Friends" is pretty much the only one (although the Office does too, a little) that works because of the acting. For me, the funniest moments in the show are all attributed to the actors' performances. These include Rachel coping with Ross' new Girlfriend in early S2 (Julie! Isn't that just kick-you-in-the-crotch- spit-on-your-neck-fantastic. Chandler and Phoebe's career performances in "The One Where Everybody Finds Out, Monica crying in "Rachel's Going Away Party, Joey Speaking French, and of course, the ALL-TIME FUNNIEST PART OF THE SHOW, Ross being "fine! and spelling out the word L-O-V-E in his intense state of denial. But beyond the acting and a few other moments of great writing, the show doesn't offer any real heart. I enjoyed the episodes with Ross and Rachel, and Chandler and Monica, but not because I was invested in their love stories, because they used great jokes in those episodes. And at the end of the day, that's the show's largest weakness: the characters. The six mains are either complete stereotypes, or have no real personality. I'll show you. Ross: The only consistent thing about him is that he's a nerd. But in any given episode, he's barbaric, romantic, rational, insane, or anything else you could attribute to a human. Weak character. Rachel: Also has no personality. She's spoiled, but other than that, nothing, really. She's also too down-to-earth for her own character at times. Monica: A stereotypical control-freak, neat-freak, competitive type. No other depth. Joey: Stereotypical ladies' man. All about the ladies, dumb as hell, but a child at heart. Makes for good comedy, but not good television. Phoebe: Literally just the oddball in the group. Not only are the throw-away jokes about her past contradictory to each other almost constantly, so are her personality traits, the things she says and does. and oh yes, she's very there's an episode devoted to her. You'll notice I left Chandler out of that. And that's because Chandler is actually a really good character. At first, it seems that Chandler is just a way for the show to deliver stand-up-style jokes, but it works because that's exactly who Chandler is. He uses humor as a coping mechanism, and as he says, it's all I have." While that's really only two layers of personality, that's twice as many layers as everyone else on the show, so kudos. My other note, neither criticism nor praise, is just an observation worth sharing: in my opinion, the show peaked from Seasons 3-6. It took a while to find itself completely, and fell flat towards the end, but those four seasons are truly great. The best one is S4. You're probably thinking I'm being to critical of the show. But I gave it an 8/10. That criticism would bring a drama down to a 5, maybe a 4. But after it all, Friends" is a comedy, and it's purpose is to make people laugh, and in that, it succeeds admirably. It remains a funny show on multiple viewings. It's humor got it to an 8. The only thing that kept it from a 10 was quality and depth (and don't think that comedy can't be deep and funny. look at "Modern Family" and "Master of None. br> 8.4/10. As far as comedies go, this one's damn good.

1. Columnist: Kwaisi France
2. Resume: Co-Founder @killingthebreez, Baltimore raised, sports enthusiast, hip hop head, political pundit, investor, educator

Friends Rated 4.0 / 5 based on 276 reviews.