Ross and Rachel have a very bad day. They're both going through bad relationship breakups. Rachel leaves her fiancé at the altar when she realizes she doesn't love him, and Ross is recovering from a recent divorce. Having no place to stay, Monica suggests she moves in with her and the guys.
I was quite critical of Friends earlier in my life. I couldn't warm up to the characters, the humor didn't totally click and it just didn't stand out as a particularly innovative show. However, I only actually saw one episode in full (and I didn't pay attention there anyway, so even that barely counts), and being a fan of sitcoms I wanted to give it one more proper try instead of writing it off just yet.
The first notable thing is how my impression of these characters is completely different this time around. Even though there is some typical "first episode" jitters visible, they have a solid dynamic and you buy how they've known each other for years. The only one new to the group is Rachel, whom I will talk about in a minute.
The person I found the funniest one of the bunch is Joey. Matt LeBlanc really nails the easy-going, chill attitude. The jokes are pretty hit-and-miss as a whole, but most of the lines he get got chuckles out of me, especially his remark when Ross says "Hello" in the most depressing manner possible. He also has a pretty funny speech where instead of "fish in the sea" he uses ice cream flavors as an allegory for how there are women out there for everyone. Chandler has some amusing lines too.
Phoebe's role as the wacky one needs some finetuning, but she has her moments.
Monica doesn't really get anything funny to work with, but has a likable energy.
As controversial of a character Ross seems to be, he's not so bad here. You sympathize with his plight and he has a cute scene with Rachel towards the end. It kinda surprises me how quickly they consider the possibility of pairing these two together. I'm used to The X-Files where Mulder and Scully take 7 freaking seasons to kiss and when Scully gets pregnant he only donates his sperm instead of actually having sex with her.
Luckily, the circumstances don't make it seem that farfetched. You can understand Rach feeling flattered Ross has had a longtime crush on her, and for him to ask her out so soon shows some real guts. Although this does beg the question: How come that earlier when Monica introduced her friends to Rachel, Ross didn't admit that he recognizes her? Eh, maybe he's embarrassed.
Besides that scene at the end though, Jennifer Aniston is the weakest point so far. Her acting looks very forced, and overdoes her lines much more compared to the rest of the cast. She's good in the aforementioned scene though, so maybe her strongest suit is sublety. However, this is the pilot we are talking about after all, so maybe her comedic chops improve eventually.
Some of the humor is pretty good, but when a joke fails I just kinda sit there with a confused expression. The constant repeating of "Paul The Wine Guy" is a very cliché bit and especially doesn't work when we don't get much of an insight to why he is called that. It feels like the leadup to a punchline that never comes. Chandler mocking Joey for acting in Pinocchio would probably make someone else fall out of their chair, but I personally just found it silly.
In conclusion, this is a somewhat imperfect start, but still good. Laverne & Shirley didn't start off with a bang either, it took a couple episodes before I really started loving Shirley for instance. With some polishing, this could turn out to be a better series than I first took it for.
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