Netflix recently added the complete series of Friends to its diverse range of television shows, movies, and documentaries. I never really watched the show when it was on, and after hearing many people quote it recently, I decided to give it a shot. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been binge-watching it. The more I watch Friends, the more I lose my real friends, BUT I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT. I HAVE TO SEE HOW EVERYONE ENDS UP.
Anyway, as much as I love the show. There’s a few problems I have with it so far. Granted, I’m only on the beginning of the fourth season, so I’m sure there’s more to come. My first problem is with Phoebe. She’s a funny, quirky, and sweet character, but in all honesty, there’s no way anybody could tolerate her for as long as the characters did. She’s incredibly weird, awkward, and talks about death way too much. She might be good in small doses, but to hang out with her that much, come on. Would you really want to go out in public with Phoebe? And introduce her to your lovers and family members? And this leads me to another point. There is no way all of the characters would hang out with each other for that much time without killing one another.
The show stars six characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Besides boyfriends, girlfriends, and family members, these people never hang out with ANYONE else. Yet, they somehow never really fight with one another. When you’re that close of friends with people, it’s easy for them to get on your nerves and it’s even easier to tell them you hate them and need a break from them. They even visit each other at their jobs. None of them let one another breathe. Rachel never became a good waitress, because she was too busy talking with her friends at work. She couldn’t remember anybody’s orders and kept screwing everything up, because she was too busy dealing with her friends’ problems. This leads me to another problem. The six amigos spent WAY too much time at Central Perk.
I get Rachel worked there for a little while and I get they usually bought a coffee or a pastry there, but when does enjoying your product at a coffee shop for a little while become soliciting? The characters were in their mid to late twenties, but were quite the hooligans at Central Perk. They took up the whole entire couch area, talked loudly, and made everything revolve around them. If Gunther wasn’t in love with Rachel, he probably would’ve called the cops on them. Gunther never got a change with Rachel, though, because she was head over heals for Ross. And this taught us another valuable lesson: Women are terrible people.
Rachel had no interest in Ross in high school, because he was nerdy and awkward. She wanted to date the bad boys. The older she got, the more she realized that the bad boys weren’t faithful, respectful, or safe. So she eventually gave in and fell for Ross. He had a great educational background, a great job, and could take care of all of her materialistic needs. Did she ever really love him? Who knows.