Let me just start off by noting I'm a fan of F•R•I•E•N•D•S and an avid viewer; It's great background noise and I'd never dare confess how many times I've actively re-watched the series, even if I knew.
Ok, so now I can explain how absolutely atrocious the characters are-- and not in terms of writing, comedically or structurally-- just in terms of 'real-world existence'; if they were your friends..
They'd never be there for you.
Here's a light-skim of how terrible [truly beginning at #4]:
-
JOEY — Okay, here's the only irregularity; Joey is the only 'good' friend. Not quite squeaky clean: he's a chronic womanizer, white-lies here and there, and mooches food & money from everybody without shame. What makes him redeemable is that he's always encouraging and kind. He openly discusses his crush on Rachel with Ross before crossing boundaries, he keeps your secrets when the info is tarnishing, and [because he's so dim] doesn't feed the harsh jokes they make about you. And hardly makes jokes at anybody's loss at all; if anything, the joke is mostly on him. No wonder he migrated across the country for his spin-off.
-
MONICA pt. 1 s1-s6 — Early in the show, Monica is the most human; her flaws are common flaws, like her career struggles and communication with her parents-- so her behavior is believable and forgivable, aside from some obnoxious obsessive-compulsive outbursts and some outrageous squabbles with boyfriend-Chandler [switching rooms on vacation, chastising Chandler, and he apologizes?]. Otherwise: Monica cooks food for everybody, always [extra food items on the show are boughten, like pizza and meatball subs, or stolen, like cheesecake] and Monica essentially adopts baby-Rachel. Somehow this compassion takes a nosedive. For 'Monica pt. 2' see #6.
-
CHANDLER pt. 2 s7-s10 — Happening late in the show, Chandler suddenly becomes a non-issue character; non-antagonizing and apologetic. Occasionally he dramatizes some things and unnecessarily pouts. And he almost runs out on his wedding. Aside from that, his jokes become more dry, less contiguous. He's a middle-of-the-map character with nothing to do and nowhere to go. As a Friend and a friend, he's off the hook, for now. For Chandler pt. 1 see #7.
-
PHOEBE — She's the world's worst confidant; she'll spill your secret in the same episode and not only that, she'll criticize you for whatever it is. She'll call attention to your flaws. She'll abandon you as a roommate without notice. She'll sell you out in front of everybody. The worst thing is that she's seemingly aware of her blabbermouth and yet doubles-down. Could have something to do with her childhood(?) Can that excuse Phoebe from being a bad friend?
-
ROSS — Arrogance. He'll argue with you on meaningless topics because he thinks he's more intellectual. His temper will ruin a conversation. He will never swallow his pride. He's looking for a conflict, always. He's deeply insecure and possessive in a relationship. Could his temper be a run-off from being the butt of the joke so many times in his life? Who knows. Maybe in a weird way he's sabotaging his friendships purposefully. Total asshole, nonetheless.
-
MONICA pt. 2 s7-s10 — Exists only as a clawing nightmare on the fabric of her marriage. Belittling her husband in front of everybody, and in private. Squishing Chandler down into an cube and again into a 2D square. What's happening here? She seemingly loathes her marriage from the get-go. And her hateful attitude branches into her friendships; she scorns everybody. She hates your life choices and will control you. An unenjoyable, cold-hearted person.
-
CHANDLER pt. 1 s1-s6 — Would you still laugh at Chandler's jokes if they were always at your expense and not very funny? Avoiding all serious conversation, Chandler will never have your back. As far as backs go, he'll do everything behind it; sleep with your girlfriend [Joey's], make out with your sister [Joey's], sleep with your sister [Ross's]. Honestly, the latter is why he's so high on the list: He sleeps with your sister at your wedding, and continues for like six months without discussing it with you [keep in mind, you've been 'friends' since high school]. He's the "it's just a joke, bro" friend. He doesn't care about you.
-
RACHEL — Why this list exists. Without Rachel, there's no show, because there's no real conflict. All the shitty flaws funneled into a spoiled, selfish, narcissistic twit. Starting from minute 1; she's runs out on her wedding and gloms onto Monica, who offers a room rent-free [by the way, she never thanks Monica, ever]. She'll really never thank you for anything. Next up, she burns Phoebe's apartment down [blaming Phoebe when it's found to be her own fault!], she moves in with Joey and forces her lifestyle choices on him. She'll victimize herself above you, always-- It's not her fault ever, especially with Ross [I'm.. not going into that relationship, it's a war-zone] ..Ok, one thing with that, she flies to London to fuck with Ross's wedding because she still loves him; inadvertently ruining the wedding and everybody's time. Afterwords, she must tell Ross "how she feels"; so at the peak of Ross's short-lived marriage crumbling, she says she "still loves him" and immediately laughs in his face, whoops she changed her mind! Seriously, 10 seasons, [Julie, Emily, Elizabeth, etc], if Ross is on the brink of happiness, Rachel will stop it. She's an insufferable hypocrite. She's passive aggressive. Gossipy. Greedy. Victim-complex that never evolves and plagues the entirety of the show.
Ok, cool, ranted & raved. Still, funny show, culturally significant-- just, shitty friends.
Submitted August 03, 2017 at 12:13PM by jakejames http://ift.tt/2u4Bwtq
No comments:
Post a Comment