And Now A Few Words About Friends

Last week's big entertainment news was the reunion of the cast of the TV show, Friends. Actually I think the big news was the frenzied hyper ventilating reaction to the Friends cast getting together. It was a story that garnered a lot of interest and excitement. 

And I'm not sure why. 

I know that in a way the cast of Friends became our friends which is kind of sad and pathetic because, you know, they're TV characters. Still, there's this urge, this desire to see a beloved cast from a beloved TV show or movie to get back together again. To see them reclaim that old magic one more time and capture our hearts again. 

And usually, it's not really good. Whatever scenario has brought the gang together is contrived and everyone has to sneak in their popular catch phrase at least once. 

In the reunited cast, you'll find one or more of the following:

• The movie star who is doing quite well for herself and actually too damn stuck up to do this silly reunion. She's doing it anyway because she wants to avoid the negative publicity of being too damn stuck up to do this silly reunion. 
• The actor who went on to a TV series where he's the star bur now he's gotta come back to revive the comedy relief sidekick goofball that he thought he left behind and you can tell he doesn't like it.
• The actress who gave up acting to do other things but is convinced to come back for this big reunion where you quickly realize why she gave up acting.
• Then there's...the actor who never left. He's still doing his character at car dealership events, convenience store openings, bar mitzvahs, community theater, you name it. Of course he's at the reunion. He really wants first crack at the craft services table. He will literally work for food.

Let's not forget the game that's going on with the audience, deciding who still looks good, who's obviously had work done, who has lost weight, who has gained weight and who has just let themselves go. 

Here is a cast photo of the Friends gang.

You do know the cast of Friends doesn't look this anymore, right? 

Of course the actors on Friends were young men and women when they started the show and it's only been 10 years since the show ended and...who's this grey haired gentleman? 

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!! THAT'S MATT LEBLANC?!?!?

And this photo of Lisa Kudrow's mom....

IS ACTUALLY LISA KUDROW!!!

Don't get me wrong. Matt LeBlanc makes for quite a handsome older gentleman and Lisa Kudrow's mom Lisa Kudrow is still kind of hot. (Meaning I would still have sex with her. For free!) They're doing the aging thing a whole hell of a lot better than me, that's for sure. But the thing is, that's not Joey and Phoebe. Joey and Phoebe are still lovable goofballs, forever young in our memories and in perpetual reruns. It's enough that real people, including actors, have to get older. Do fictional characters have to as well? 

Back to the Friends reunion....

I'm still not sure what form it's going to take. The reunion is actually part of a larger tribute to TV director legend James Burrows. Is the cast of Friends getting together to stand on a stage, wave, indulge in banal, scripted banter and declare how great Burrows is? Or will this be an actual scene with the cast in character? 

And what are they going to do about Chandler? 

The thing about reunions is that there's frequently one hold out. Sometimes it can't be helped. Someone is just too old and in poor health or even, God forbid, dead. This casts a sad shadow of mortality over our beloved characters. But then there's someone who is just too busy, gosh darn it, to work it in. It seems to me there has to be a way to make this kind of thing work if you really want to. So Will Smith can't make the Independence Day sequel due to a schedule conflict? I'm thinking the producers just didn't want pay what Will Smith costs now while Jeff Goldblum will work for food. Or Will Smith saw the script for the sequel and said, "Hey, I did Wild Wild West so I know NOW what a bad script looks like and this one's really bad. I mean, damn!"  

So the Friends reunion has its fly in the ointment in the form of Matthew Perry who can't be there with the rest of the gang because he's rehearsing a play in London. (LONDON, BABY!) Right, he can't break away from rehearsals, not the actual production of the play itself. Yes, rehearsals are extremely important but come on. And they have these things, what are they? Oh yeah! Airplanes! I hear they fly pretty damn fast. You pop back over the states, do a bit with the gang and pop back to merry olde England. Could that BE any simpler? 

Apparently he can be there for them but just not in person. I guess Monica and the twins will have to talk to Chandler via Skype. 

So to sum up: 

• I'm not a big fan of reunions.
• Reunion shows usually suck.
• Getting old sucks but some do it better than others.
• There's one person who won't show. 

Yeah but will I watch when the Friends gang gets back together? 

Hell yeah I will. 

You all be good to one another. See you back here tomorrow with another blog post.

Dave-El
I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You

Oh...

One more thing. 

Yeah, just a second.

A quick reminder.

It's practically here!