Friends: The Reunion in the Eyes of a Devotee

Where is Gunther? 

"My eyes! My eyes!"

Borrowing Phoebe Buffay's famous line, my eyes had both tears of laughter and of sadness as I watched Friends: The Reunion. It was a long-time longing. As Friends "devotees," as we call ourselves, my husband and I set aside what we were doing that day to catch the premiere streaming of the show. When the pandemic kicked in last year, we had a Friends marathon at home to divert our attention from the health crisis. (That and K-dramas.)

Watching the reunion, I felt as if the past started coming back. I recalled the time when I would hurry home from work in Makati to catch the show. It was a terrible feeling if traffic was bad because it would mean I would miss an episode. We did not have cable TV, so I was relying on its free-TV airing on TV5. Eventually, I collected all 10 DVDs that I left in the Philippines. Sadly.

I appreciated the fact that the cast never got tired of their friendship. Recalling their beginnings and how they quickly rose to fame after a season, it is truly the magic of their authentic bond that made the show legendary. I could relate to what they were going through at that time. I am a Generation-X young pro when Friends' influence was at an all-time high. The real adulting was happening back then. I could identify with Monica, being obsessed with order, tidiness, and competitiveness. But I also felt what Rachel had to deal with when it comes to being independent, cutting the umbilical cord from her parents. I love Phoebe's humor and her inclination to music (guitar, like me!). I used to imagine myself and my posse living under one roof. It happened, but not for a long time. It was fun. Like what the show said, there will come a time when you truly have to be separated. Instead, we satisfied ourselves by spending many Saturdays and Sundays together, cooking together, watching together, playing games together, sleeping over, all in one home. 

The acting credits belong to the gang. They gave justice to the roles and put them to life. But the whole idea, the lines, the concept, and the casting, were perfectly executed by the brainy writers. I saw some table-reading and brainstorming sessions from one of the many Friends videos online. I am impressed at how they made things excellently from start to finish. Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright were brilliant (and that word falls short of the best description).

During the reunion, I am deeply touched by the man-on-the-street interviews they did. These are common people who have been impacted by the show. One of them talked about being in a deep depression with suicidal tendencies but was comforted by Friends. Yes, the actors and the writers do not know us on a personal level. But the power of the medium they used to effectively touch the lives of the audience is noteworthy. 

If there was one thing I would like to see in the reunion, it would be to have more extrapolations. They talked about it at some point, predicting what they are now after 17 years. But it would be great to see them acting it out or doing table readings with new funny three-minute dialogues. This is to see them throwing witty lines at each other while proving that the charisma has not vanished all throughout the years. Also, the spin-off, Joey, was not mentioned. I was hoping that somehow, Matt Le Blanc would say something about it even as a joke.

I was expecting other big-named guests such as Bruce Willis, Jon Favreau, Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, Elle Macpherson, and of course, Brad Pitt. When I saw Justin Bieber's, and Cara Delevingne's names, I wondered about their connection to the show. Then after seeing many reviews online, I learned that Justin Bieber is a big fan. I do not know about Cara Delevingne. Nevertheless, the line-up was OK. The BTS part was a bit disappointing with their very minute appearance. The director forewarned us in a Tweet, though.

I was also hoping that they did not cut James Michael Tyler's, aka Gunther, part in the special where he appeared only via Zoom. He almost did not have lines early on in the show's 10-year run and was only given some lines during the later years. In the reunion, it was like history repeating itself.  

All in all, it is still best to have a reunion, albeit short. The fanatic in me would never be satisfied and wanted to see more of the group. But it is still OK. 

So here I am channeling my inner Phoebe. I was inspired to study Smelly Cat's chords and made this video for this reunion season. This version is dedicated to all the street cats roaming around my former village. Never had one because it is smelly (my inner Monica speaking here). Hahaha! 

Cheers to the Friends: The Reunion special! It has awakened the sleeping giant of a fan in many of us.