Friends: The Reunion is everything I expected it to be. I expected it to be good. But I also expected that it would never be good enough.
For starters, it isn’t a sequel to the series. While I agree that Friends – a show that I’ve grown to love more and more since I first watched and reviewed it – doesn’t really need a sequel, that it already ended perfectly the way it did (let’s pretend Joey never happened), I wouldn’t have minded a special in which we get to see where the characters are now in their lives. Besides, I would argue that the only appropriate thing to do with any Friendsreunion is a sequel episode. “The One Where They Get Back Together”, which is an alternate title for this special, should have only been used on an actual sequel episode.
In fact, the way this reunion was hyped, it was as if it was going to be a sequel episode. As a result, those who couldn’t be bothered to read up further on it actually thought it was going to be a sequel episode (I saw several of these in my Facebook newsfeed).
To be fair, fans of the show will still find Friends: The Reunion to be a treat for the most part. It’s been really well-designed to evoke nostalgia, and to satisfy as a production.
It kicks off with the six cast members arriving one by one at the studio where the show used to shoot in (the sets were built up again for this special). This infuses a strong sentimental effect on the special from the get go. Building on this striking note, the rest of the special makes the cast members reminisce and feel warm and fuzzy about Friends– and the viewers get to reminisce and feel warm and fuzzy with them.
The 104-minute special consists of a couple of segments – including the cast hanging out in their old sets, an interview session with James Corden in front of the iconic Friends intro fountain, table reads of some notable scenes, testimonials from fans (celebrities and normal people alike), and others – which don’t play out one at a time. Rather, the director jumps around these segments – a clever choice that gives the special a kinetic feel, and prevents each segment from getting stale. Also popping out here and there across the special are some of the supporting cast members during the show’s run.
Still, when one is able to see beyond its nostalgic appeal and diverting gimmicks, one realizes that there’s not much substance going for this special – or, rather, its actual substance doesn’t match to the momentous event that it’s supposed to be. Again, this reunion was built up as if it was a sequel. Thus, when one catches on that the whole thing is actually more of a glorified bonus material for a home media box set, one feels its sense of fun to be somewhat superficial.
Another major cause of bummer is the absence of Paul Rudd and Cole Sprouse, who played Mike Hannigan and Ben Geller, respectively. The two have become bigger stars since their days playing supporting characters in Friends (Rudd is now a household name, thanks to being the MCU’s Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man, while Sprouse is much beloved as Riverdale’s Jughead), and them being in this special would have been a huge, huge deal. Seriously, all my problems with this special would have been appeased if Paul Rudd made an appearance.
In the end, regardless of what it lacks, Friends: The Reunion is still a must-watch for Friends fans. That’s just how it goes. And if you recognize and accepts it as it is, and curb some of that disproportionate hype, as I did, the special will still please – at least, as a decent source of ephemeral nostalgia rush.
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