Friends Reunion [HBO Max]

fluke

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Poor Matt Le Blanc has become a meme

You're referring to the culchie ones circulating?

I find them pretty funny. Definitely know a few people like that.

retro:electro

Those memes are gas!

Guy:Incognito

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Courtney Cox now looks like Cher !! They must have the same plastic surgeon

Her and Jennifer Aniston look terrible in the closeups when they're on the couch in the apartment.

All I can see around jennifer Anistons mouth is Joseph Gordon Levitt in looper when he's done up to look like young Bruce willis

Matt leblanc just looks like a man in his 50's that isn't that active.

antimatterx

Have to say I really enjoyed it. It was such an easy watch. I'm a big fan of the show, and I was happy to see the reunion. I was dying laughing at some parts.

Pussyhands

fluke wrote: »

You're referring to the culchie ones circulating?

I find them pretty funny. Definitely know a few people like that.

They're sooooo unoriginal.

"culchie man doing something" and the fool on twitter thinks they're a comedic genius then.

Addle

I think they’re hilarious. And exactly what I thought of when I saw the shirt.

Pussyhands

We'll never see a sitcom like it again imo. Now everything is social media related, all about likes and followers and tweets.

I find it kinda mad to think these episodes were before social media, youtube, instagram, twitter etc. Even most of them were pre 9/11. None of them ever had mobile phones I don't think or maybe they did at one stage. They wrote their numbers down and gave it to others.

I was actually watching the episode where Chandler and Ross were putting up photoshops on the college alumni page and thinking...that's how facebook started!

py2006

Is there an extended version of the reunion show?

The one I saw was about 1hr 45mins, however I am seeing clips online with bits that weren't in the one I saw!

py2006

py2006 wrote: »

Is there an extended version of the reunion show?

The one I saw was about 1hr 45mins, however I am seeing clips online with bits that weren't in the one I saw!

They're extras on HBO max.

Pussyhands

The Gaga part was the worst part of the show.

At least the bits with Beckham, Bieber, BTS only lasted probably 3 minutes of the whole show.

Gaga came in and made smelly cat all about her.

The DayDream

silliussoddius wrote: »

And not a good one.

I disagree, the meme isn't being cruel it's basically saying he looks like a typical 50something Irish uncle/lorry/taxi driver, as his outfit and mannerisms in the reunion show are spot on for those lads.

It's one of the most wholesome memes you could be made into.

DebDynamite

Pussyhands wrote: »

We'll never see a sitcom like it again imo. Now everything is social media related, all about likes and followers and tweets.

I find it kinda mad to think these episodes were before social media, youtube, instagram, twitter etc. Even most of them were pre 9/11. None of them ever had mobile phones I don't think or maybe they did at one stage. They wrote their numbers down and gave it to others.

I was actually watching the episode where Chandler and Ross were putting up photoshops on the college alumni page and thinking...that's how facebook started!

If it was made today, Phoebe would be a woke social justice warrior, Rachel would be an annoying influencer obsessed with social media...thank god the series was made when it was!

DebDynamite

The DayDream wrote: »

I disagree, the meme isn't being cruel it's basically saying he looks like a typical 50something Irish uncle/lorry/taxi driver, as his outfit and mannerisms in the reunion show are spot on for those lads.

It's one of the most wholesome memes you could be made into.

Yeah, it means we find him relatable. They way he was sat with the arms folded was like someone we all know!

silliussoddius

The DayDream wrote: »

I disagree, the meme isn't being cruel it's basically saying he looks like a typical 50something Irish uncle/lorry/taxi driver, as his outfit and mannerisms in the reunion show are spot on for those lads.

It's one of the most wholesome memes you could be made into.

I don’t think it’s cruel, just some are very cringy.

JP Liz V1

The DayDream wrote: »

I disagree, the meme isn't being cruel it's basically saying he looks like a typical 50something Irish uncle/lorry/taxi driver, as his outfit and mannerisms in the reunion show are spot on for those lads.

It's one of the most wholesome memes you could be made into.

Yes looking at it like that way so true

Guy:Incognito

jk23 wrote: »

Exactly, you had Fresh prince of bel air, Moesha, Sister Sister, Family matters, Kenan and Kel and My wife and kids in the 90s to name a few with very little white actors and I really enjoyed all those shows

My wife and kids was 2000's but nonetheless , comparing shows based around a family in a suburb with a group of friends in a city like new York is being disingenuous.

I can't remember how many non black characters were on those shows , it's that long since I've seen them,so I won't try to say how many there were. It's a completely different scenario and reasons for shows existing though. Decades of black characters being minimal presence in shows or the butt of the joke led to the need for proper representation and their own shows .

The fact that people can pretty much name off the non white characters on friends is not proof that they were well represented, its the opposite. It was new York ffs.

Pussyhands

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

My wife and kids was 2000's but nonetheless , comparing shows based around a family in a suburb with a group of friends in a city like new York is being disingenuous.

I can't remember how many non black characters were on those shows , it's that long since I've seen them,so I won't try to say how many there were. It's a completely different scenario and reasons for shows existing though. Decades of black characters being minimal presence in shows or the butt of the joke led to the need for proper representation and their own shows .

The fact that people can pretty much name off the non white characters on friends is not proof that they were well represented, its the opposite. It was new York ffs.

Give it a rest, there were loads of black characters not named.

We're just listing off ones we remember.

Rhonda, worked in the museum.

Chandlers boss

Guy Ross and Chandler had fist fight with.

Girl Ross and Joey were fighting over.

Guy Joey sings with from his apartment window

pixelburp

What remains offensive to New Yorkers as far as I could make out, is the idea that a waitress and out of work cook could afford their palace of an apartment. Heck it was huge by Dublin standards lol.

As to race, well New York is now predominantly nonwhite (Caucasian only making up 45% percent of demographics) so I could see why it wrinkled to American audiences that its most cosmopolitan city was represented by 6 wet blankets

Guy:Incognito

pixelburp wrote: »

What remains offensive to New Yorkers as far as I could make out, is the idea that a waitress and out of work cook could afford their palace of an apartment. Heck it was huge by Dublin standards lol.

That was passed off as being Monica's granny's apartment that was rent controlled.

pixelburp

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

That was passed off as being Monica's granny's apartment that was rent controlled.

Yeah I vaguely remembered something like that. Still, that they had to come up with a hand wave, the producers clearly realised some were like "I wish I lived in that places corridor" lol

Guy:Incognito

pixelburp wrote: »

Yeah I vaguely remembered something like that. Still, that they had to come up with a hand wave, the producers clearly realised some were like "I wish I lived in that places corridor" lol

They needed to be able to have them sitting around lots of the time so I suppose having high powered jobs, working 60 hours a week wouldn't really fit with that.

JP Liz V1

Pussyhands wrote: »

The Gaga part was the worst part of the show.
At least the bits with Beckham, Bieber, BTS only lasted probably 3 minutes of the whole show.
Gaga came in and made smelly cat all about her.

Gaga was not needed I think if anyone Chrissie Hyde or Taylor Swift would have been better fits

I must watch the full HBO Max version

Cosmo Kramer

A bit late to this as I only watched it last night. Thought it was a mixed bag overall, some good bits and some cringe worthy stuff as well. The stories about the casting and the re-reads of memorable scenes were enjoyable. The stuff with modern day celebrities and the catwalk nonsense took away from it though. Corden was predictably irritating, how he is actually popular in the US is beyond me.

Schwimmer, Kudrow and LeBlanc came out of it best. Schwimmer seemed really into it which was great. Was depressing to see what some of them have done to their faces all the same, obviously Aniston and Cox stand out here because they were so attractive to begin with.

And then there was Matthew Perry. I think, for those of us that grew up with the show, these people were so likeable and relatable, especially the Chandler character that he played, it's actually difficult to process what he has done to himself. He is obviously very unwell and I don't think it's something he can recover from - the damage has been done. That the response from people who know him was that he actually didn't look that bad compared to how he has been previously just makes it worse, this may well have been him on a good day. It's such a negative thing but that's what I'll remember the reunion for more than anything else - I mean he could hardly get a coherent sentence out. So sad to see.

Guy:Incognito

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

And then there was Matthew Perry. I think, for those of us that grew up with the show, these people were so likeable and relatable, especially the Chandler character that he played, it's actually difficult to process what he has done to himself. He is obviously very unwell and I don't think it's something he can recover from - the damage has been done. That the response from people who know him was that he actually didn't look that bad compared to how he has been previously just makes it worse, this may well have been him on a good day. It's such a negative thing but that's what I'll remember the reunion for more than anything else - I mean he could hardly get a coherent sentence out. So sad to see.

I was thinking hed been in stuff relatively recently, but looking at imdb, his last acting credit is 2017 (with a new film in post production). The last thing I watched him in was the odd couple, that finished in 2017 and I didnt think he was so bad in that, just aged. Must watch an episode and see if Im remembering it right. Must have been a rough last few years for him.

The entrances at the start seemed a bit fake. US shows like this tend to do that, they cant all just be there, they have to have the manufactured "I havnt seen you in so long" intro, even if they still hang out. They had their mic packs on , make up done etc, so they were most likely sat together for a couple of hours beforehand,

jk23

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

My wife and kids was 2000's but nonetheless , comparing shows based around a family in a suburb with a group of friends in a city like new York is being disingenuous.

I can't remember how many non black characters were on those shows , it's that long since I've seen them,so I won't try to say how many there were. It's a completely different scenario and reasons for shows existing though. Decades of black characters being minimal presence in shows or the butt of the joke led to the need for proper representation and their own shows .

The fact that people can pretty much name off the non white characters on friends is not proof that they were well represented, its the opposite. It was new York ffs.

Most of the those shows I mentioned hadn't many white characters and there is no issue with that. Just the way the main characters in friends were white and interacted mostly with each other and sometimes with other races.

It was the 90s don't forget so racial inclusive wouldn't have been a priority of these shows either at the time.

I get your point about New York being multi cultural even during that time period but 4 of the characters were closely linked through family or attending the same high school...it was not like they just arrived in New York and met each other for the first time.

Pussyhands

Was the set in the reunion the actual set they recorded in?

Like central perk, was there an actual outside or was that all still the set?

expectationlost

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

A bit late to this as I only watched it last night. Thought it was a mixed bag overall, some good bits and some cringe worthy stuff as well. The stories about the casting and the re-reads of memorable scenes were enjoyable. The stuff with modern day celebrities and the catwalk nonsense took away from it though. Corden was predictably irritating, how he is actually popular in the US is beyond me.

Schwimmer, Kudrow and LeBlanc came out of it best. Schwimmer seemed really into it which was great. Was depressing to see what some of them have done to their faces all the same, obviously Aniston and Cox stand out here because they were so attractive to begin with.

And then there was Matthew Perry. I think, for those of us that grew up with the show, these people were so likeable and relatable, especially the Chandler character that he played, it's actually difficult to process what he has done to himself. He is obviously very unwell and I don't think it's something he can recover from - the damage has been done. That the response from people who know him was that he actually didn't look that bad compared to how he has been previously just makes it worse, this may well have been him on a good day. It's such a negative thing but that's what I'll remember the reunion for more than anything else - I mean he could hardly get a coherent sentence out. So sad to see.

perry blamed the slurring on dental work, it wasn't there all time, was the show shot over 2 days?

zeebre12

ziedth wrote: »

I really enjoyed it when I thought I wouldn't and it would be like the dire Inbetweeners reunion and when I heard Corden was involved I debated not even watching it but I has a big stupid smile all the way though and even though I was a little on the young side when it started (maybe13/14) I watched 90% of the episodes as they aired from start to finish so had a real soft spot.

I would have watched 2 hours of them reminiscing and doing the table reads but it was all very watchable. With some nice info I didn't pick up before. My take on cast was;

Leblanc obviously has aged the most but outside of packing a few pounds looks good and seemed the most genuinely happy and Warm. I'd say a decent guy.

Schwimmer looked good, came across really well and his table reads were excellent.... I picked up a closeness between him and Leblanc that I expected to see with Perry.

Cox and Anniston were as I expected..... kind of camera aware and put on a show. Both looked well for 50's allowing for work done.

Kudrow aged the best and seemed right up for it. Her laugh us genuinely infectious

Perry I'd imagine it's all been said above. His deamons are all over his face and was very quiet or cut out..... I'd go to the point and say he was fed that line about if you meet one of the other friends at a social occasion..... if I didn't know any better I would have guessed he had neuro isssues or some kind health problems. Very sad as he was my favourite character.

Overall I think I enjoyed it more that I would have a 1hr special episode that most likely would have been a disappointment. I did chuckle at the obviously preplanned "We are not doing a movie" answer..... in fairness I'd say aside from any work done they are still doing very well from the royalties from the reruns

"The wildly popular television comedy generated nearly $1.4 billion in earnings since Friends’ broadcast debut in 1994, according to Forbes estimates. Of that, Forbes estimates that the six Friends stars received nearly $816 million in pre-tax earnings, or roughly $136 million each". Not too shabby. They also got $3-$5 million each for the reunion

jk23

zeebre12 wrote: »

"The wildly popular television comedy generated nearly $1.4 billion in earnings since Friends’ broadcast debut in 1994, according to Forbes estimates. Of that, Forbes estimates that the six Friends stars received nearly $816 million in pre-tax earnings, or roughly $136 million each". Not too shabby. They also got $3-$5 million each for the reunion

I can't even process what it would be like to go to your ATM and see that amount of money in there... unbelievable

zeebre12

jk23 wrote: »

I can't even process what it would be like to go to your ATM and see that amount of money in there... unbelievable

Realistically what would you even spend $1 million a year on?

topmanamillion

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Corden was predictably irritating, how he is actually popular in the US is beyond me.

Painful.
There's an episode of Gavin and Stacey where Cordens character uses a posh accent to try to impress a woman he's dating.
It's the same posh English accent he's now putting on in America!

jk23

zeebre12 wrote: »

Realistically what would you even spend $1 million a year on?

Definitely pay off bills, a very good holiday, new car and renovation of the house would be lovely!!!

Guy:Incognito

zeebre12 wrote: »

Realistically what would you even spend $1 million a year on?

Rather have it and not need it, etc.

zeebre12

jk23 wrote: »

Definitely pay off bills, a very good holiday, new car and renovation of the house would be lovely!!!

I mean what would a person like Jennifer Aniston who already has everything really even spend $1 million on let alone $25 million?

guy2231

zeebre12 wrote: »

I mean what would a person like Jennifer Aniston who already has everything really even spend $1 million on let alone $25 million?

Bathe in it most likely.

Cazale

zeebre12 wrote:

I mean what would a person like Jennifer Aniston who already has everything really even spend $1 million on let alone $25 million?

Cosmetic surgery by the looks of it.

Agent Coulson

Pussyhands wrote: »

Was the set in the reunion the actual set they recorded in?

Like central perk, was there an actual outside or was that all still the set?

No the original set was taken down

That set is a tourist attraction on Warner Brothers Studio tour in LA.

JackTC

Was just thinking there that Friends should have ended at the episode where Monica and Chandler got married.

I'm happy with the current ending but I just think it would have been the best way to wrap the show.

raclle

jk23 wrote: »

Definitely pay off bills, a very good holiday, new car and renovation of the house would be lovely!!!

and what about the year after?

Avon8

How is David Schwimmer getting away with the cosmetic surgery criticism, while JA and CC are getting lambasted? Because he's more likeable? He has easily as much work done as the other two.

Lisa Kudrow must have the magic formula, and Le Blanc looks to have embraced aging, in a good way

Pussyhands

Agent Coulson wrote: »

No the original set was taken down

That set is a tourist attraction on Warner Brothers Studio tour in LA.

So the set was rebuilt from scratch based on the original set then?

It wasn't even the same location was it?

Pussyhands

Avon8 wrote: »

How is David Schwimmer getting away with the cosmetic surgery criticism, while JA and CC are getting lambasted? Because he's more likeable? He has easily as much work done as the other two.

Lisa Kudrow must have the magic formula, and Le Blanc looks to have embraced aging, in a good way

Really? I don't see much work on Ross...his face looks saggy due to old age.

Aniston looks like CGI at some parts.

seamus

Avon8 wrote: »

How is David Schwimmer getting away with the cosmetic surgery criticism, while JA and CC are getting lambasted? Because he's more likeable? He has easily as much work done as the other two.

Cos his lips still work. Aniston and Cox remind me of that episode of Scrubs where Jordan gets botox and she can't move her face.

Pussyhands wrote: »

Was the set in the reunion the actual set they recorded in?

Like central perk, was there an actual outside or was that all still the set?

I don't know if it was the actual studio originally filmed, but they were the original sets put back together. Some of it was in a "musuem", other bits were scattered around.
Other outside sets would have been built to spec as needed. There would have been very few actual "outside" bits. London is one I can think of, maybe parts of Vegas too? Oh, and that scene where Chandler is chasing Cathy.

Pussyhands wrote: »

Give it a rest, there were loads of black characters not named.

We're just listing off ones we remember.

IIRC Schwimmer made a pretty big song and dance about this, you'll notice scenes with "other" characters and Schwimmer more frequently involve PoC and other minorities.

Pussyhands

seamus wrote: »

I don't know if it was the actual studio originally filmed, but they were the original sets put back together. Some of it was in a "musuem", other bits were scattered around.
Other outside sets would have been built to spec as needed. There would have been very few actual "outside" bits. London is one I can think of, maybe parts of Vegas too? Oh, and that scene where Chandler is chasing Cathy.

Chandler and Joey with the baby is outside too right?

I assume the main set was there permanently during recording for the 10 years. I guess there was another studio with the less frequent sets, Ross's apartment, Mikes apartment, museum etc.

HildaOgdenx

Watched it last night, really enjoyed it.

Would have liked more pieces with just the six of them, (and less of James Corden) and more time with guest stars like Maggie Wheeler, Tom Selleck and James Michael Tyler. It felt like they were rushed off, in favour of including pieces from random celebrities talking about Friends.
Missed various people whom I would have loved to see, Paul Rudd, for one, but the ones who did get to take part, were great.

Matt Le Blanc is just such a warm and funny person, he was the most at ease from the start, I thought. Lisa Kudrow, likewise. I loved hearing the stories of how they were cast, and definitely as was said in the programme, each one was cast perfectly.

All in all, I loved seeing the six of them back together and the reading of various scenes was so funny. I loved the way the readings were interspersed with the original scenes.

Will definitely have to rewatch.

Butson

Watched it over the weekend, really enjoyed it.

Cheesy as hell but so was the show.
Was there really any need for the world tour to interview crying fans?

MrStuffins

Butson wrote: »

Watched it over the weekend, really enjoyed it.

Cheesy as hell but so was the show.
Was there really any need for the world tour to interview crying fans?

That one guy:

"So my father was diagnosed with something really bad and it's terminal. He has a year to live at most........ but Friends is gas! Love that show."

Hangdogroad

Interview in last weekends Sunday Times magazine with the guy behind the reunion Ben Winston (son of tv doctor Robert Winston). The question of why James Corden was chosen as host is answered as most of the interview is a love letter to his "mate" JC. This fella sounds equally insufferable, shameless name dropper (typical quote: "Becks was never my hero, just a mate of mine")

py2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB60P7ybtP8

JP Liz V1

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1406957851847892992