#Friends reunion 2021 plus#

Brief sympathy is given, but we were away before the looming public knowledge of Perry’s addiction problems during the early seasons could spoil the mood. At one point, Perry, unexpectedly by far the quietest of the group, says that on filming days, “I felt like I was going to die if I didn’t get a laugh – I’d sweat, have convulsions”. And any hints of unhappiness among the memories are swiftly glossed over. There is nothing about the features of Friends that have dated badly – the now-famous dearth of characters of colour, the fat jokes, the homophobic and transphobic edges detected by many. Contributions from former guest stars such as Reese Witherspoon and Tom Selleck add to the love-in.

#Friends reunion 2021 plus#

Plus there are interviews with Marta Kauffman, David Crane (co-creators of the show) and Kevin Bright (who executive produced it), which yield little new insight but – well, it’s just a comfort to have them there. There are table reads of key scenes that feel uncanny in their reproductions of the originals (especially after another segment reveals that very few of the Friends have watched much of the show at all, let alone repeatedly as viewers do – it has been watched 10bn times across all platforms). But then there is also David Beckham, recapping his favourite scene for seemingly no other reason than he is mates with Corden.Ġ2:07 'Where's the tissue box?': new Friends: Reunion trailer released by HBO Max – video There is a rather lovely set of testimonies from fans around the globe about how the show helped them through times of need and loneliness. The running time suddenly felt as much of a stretch as the trousers were in 1995. The interview culminates in a fashion show in which Cara Delevingne sports the holiday armadillo costume, Justin Bieber is ‘Spudnik’ and Cindy Crawford wears Ross’s leather pants. “Time,” he ended, “for Marcel to fuck off.” But the main point of interest, though we probably shouldn’t admit to such prurient urges, comes when Schwimmer talks about “crushing hard on Jen” and it eventually being reciprocated but never when they were both single “so that line was never crossed.” “Bullshit,” coughs LeBlanc into his hand, which brings the house down.

Did they consider Ross and Rachel to have been on a break? Who has the loudest laugh? When can everyone just collect their fee and go? In a moment of catharsis, Schwimmer reveals a hatred of Marcel the monkey – and the live grubs he was fed on the actor’s shoulder between takes – that remains gloriously undimmed by the passing of the years. The least successful segment is the “official” interview with the whole cast, in front of a live, socially-distanced audience, hosted by James Corden.

David Schwimmer first, calm and thoughtful, noting original features and the spot “Jen and I had our first kiss”, followed by Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston (dissolving into happy tears), ebullient Matt LeBlanc (“What are you guys doing here!”), Courteney Cox (happily tearful too) and finally a nervy Matthew Perry (“Could you BE any later!” cries LeBlanc). They arrive one by one on the re-created set. The reunion marks the first time the six actors – probably for those 10 years the most famous in the world – have all been together publicly since the show ended. Although Covid delayed things, it was still never going to be anything other than a nostalgic celebration of times past-but-still-in-lucrative-syndication. The special was intended to mark the launch of the US streaming service HBO Max (and as sand kicked in the face of their rival Netflix, from whom it has poached the entire 236-episode run). Someone might have told us time would go by quickly, but how has it been a quarter century since this comedy first aired? As the memories wash over the cast, many viewers may see themselves, and bits of their own lives, in these old friends.T here was never any real danger that Friends: the Reunion would let in too much light upon the magic that was created in 1994 and held, on average, 25 million US viewers a week in its thrall for the next decade. 'So no one told you life was gonna be this way,' a line from the show's theme song goes. The revelation about two cast members' feelings for each other already has people buzzing.īut even those who can't recount how Monica proposed to Chandler or why Ross and Rachel WERE ON A BREAK will be able to relate to the sometimes overwhelming experience at the heart of the reunion: what it's like returning to pivotal points in our past. Endearing behind-the-scenes footage shows them affectionately pranking and hugging one another. Outtakes bring a smile ('Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!': turns out the famous scene of Ross, Rachel and Chandler trying to get a sofa up the stairs led them to uncontrollable laughter between takes). The #FriendsReunion is now streaming on HBO Max. The fact that RM grew up watching Friends too 😭