There are 3 separate stories running concurrently throughout this episode and every one of them is a dud.
Firstly Ross has just moved into his new apartment and hasn't even had time to settle in before the head of the tenants committee comes knocking and informs Ross about the retirement of the Handyman who's been working in the building for 25 years so everyone is apparently chipping in $100 and Ross is expected to just follow suit. Naturally he balks at the idea and this makes Ross a pariah with the rest of the tenants. As if this wasn't bad enough, none of his so called friends is willing to back him on this issue and instead it's suggested he just give in. Seriously? None of this is funny and I think the fact he was even asked is the height of rudeness. For some reason it's supposed to be funny for Ross to throw his own "partay" where he intends to sit everyone down and point out his principals. Really? The whole segment just really got under my skin.
Secondly Joey is dating a girl who's into this whole ridiculous playful hitting/punching thing that girls sometimes do. In this instance, the punches are not really playful, they're painful blows that are landing in the one spot on Joey's arm or shoulder and of course it hurts. So not only is joey made fun of by the group, as soon as this girl does the same thing with Rachel, she realises that these punches do indeed hurt and Rachel ends up kicking her in the shin. After Joey refuses to do anything about it, the relationship effectively ends as the girl walks out. I never got the whole punching thing and why it was ever considered funny. I always thought it was a stupid storyline. Joey feeling the need to wear 6 sweaters at the one time for protective padding is also not funny, it's dumb.
Thirdly we have Chandler acting more immature than usual in that he feels Monica has "baby fever" and starts to distance himself from the whole "pressure cooker" as he calls it and they end up fighting. He approaches Monica with the idea of "tell me what to do, I'll do it and you'll think I'm all cute again". It's stupid, it's not funny and while we can agree that Chandler may not be the most mature man, this episode just paints him as nothing more than a child. The funniest thing in the whole segment is when Chandler runs in to the apartment desperately seeking Monica and she's sitting in plain view the whole time. The scene really isn't that funny but it's the only part in the episode that I could at least smile at. Monica referring to Ross simply as "two divorces" is really a low act and perhaps my most hated line in this episode.
The whole episode is just dull and badly written from start to finish. None of the storylines make any sense and while comedies generally take situations to the extreme in order to make them funny, this just takes generally annoying sets of circumstances and desperately tries to make them funny. It tries too hard to be funny and it never ceased to amaze me how this supposedly close-knit group of friends never really supported each other. With friends like these you won't need enemies.
11 out of 36 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink