Friends: The Reunion – The One Where The Audience Takes A Backseat But Doesnt Mind
On the outset, the Friends Reunion special may seem that it is made for the audiences who have waited patiently for 17 years to see their favorite New Yorker mates together again, But in my opinion it was made equally for the 6 people who spent 10 years of their life as the characters we know and love and for the crew, kind of like a high school reunion. Which is why the Reunion may seem strange at times and *gasp* even boring in bits but as soon as the above dawns on you, the fictional show audience in you takes a backseat and you start viewing it as a documentary and things become much better.
In fact, the special starts by demanding you disassociate the original show from what you are about to see by panning the camera away from the “apartment” to the sound stage. The entire set is laid bare and you see that the world you saw the cast inhabit for 10 years was no more than a few feet long!
From there on, its a journey down 10 years of memories, feelings, recollections, behind the scene tidbits and the audience is let in on a few secrets too – one of which will make you gasp and put your brain into an overdrive for a few seconds at least!
The best parts of the show are surely just the 6 interacting with each other – even today they seem to draw out the best in one another. The love and warmth radiates through the screen and envelop your heart at the tenderness which they still seem to share – Matt LeBlanc wiping away Courteney Cox’s tears or Matthew Perry & Matt LeBlanc having a separate moment away from the others in Chandler & Joey’s apartment. Compare it with the behind the scene footage, that are aplenty in this special, and you wont be able to find any differences!
Conversely, its the audience pleaser segments like the quiz a la ‘The one with the embryos’ that are a let down but even they have their moments like when Joey meets his hand twin – kind of like charming cringe if I may say so! And then you also have the cast being interviewed by James Corden in front of the famous fountain. While this segment is palatable and does include nice special appearances like that of Maggie Wheeler (Janice), James Michael Tyler (Gunther) & Elliot Gould with Christina Pickles (Jack & Judy Gellar), you do wish that it was a little shorter but only because just the 6 together were such a treat to watch! PS – Paul Rudd is inconspicuous in his absence…would have loved to see him reunite with the cast, specially Lisa Kudrow!
The table reads was perhaps one of my fav moments from the special because if you close your eyes, it will feel like you are watching the episode – so unchanged their voice & dialogue delivery has remained! Also here you get to see them read scripts, without any physical movements/comedy being a part of it, and you are hit by moments like the intensity and chemistry between David Schwimmer & Jennifer Aniston as they revisit Ross & Rachel’s first kiss.
Anyone interested in the workings behind a popular show like this would specially enjoy the producer interviews as they discuss the logline for the show and how the idea came about & literally how everything can seem to go wrong but in fact there is some magic is happening behind the scenes of fate, that you aren’t aware of but it is going to change your life (and the life of millions across the world)!
The special left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling which completely overtook the initial trepidations by the end of it as I laughed at Matt LeBlanc wearing all of Chandler’s clothes one last time or so we believe right now anyway.
The 6 actors promise each other that they wont so long ever again for a dinner together and as an audience you hope it is true because these 6 deserve that time together, even if you don’t get to be a part of it.
The special is airing on Zee5 for viewers in India.
Starring – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc
