Tuesday, March 11, 2014

I'll Be There For You: A Character Analysis of our Beloved 'Friends'

There will never be a group of friends quite like them; so close, so intertwined, and so caring. Here's why Phoebe, Ross, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Monica are so special. 

Monica:

Monica is quite literally the “Neat Freak” of the group. She picks up after Joey and Chandler’s path of destruction; food crumbs, sneakers, clothes, the bathroom, and even underwear (see: The One with Ross’ Sandwich). Along with her obsession for neatness, she is also very self-conscious about what people think about her. I usually watch one episode of Friends multiple times and I remember watching “The One with All the Candy” where Monica makes little chocolates for the entire building. She does so in order to get to know them better but in doing so, she doesn’t realize they start to take advantage of her for just her candy. This is very much what everyone sort of goes through when they are in a situation where they need the approval of others, like a freshmen in college or a person who has been laid off from their job. You need approval. When someone does that, I call that "pulling a Monica". Even so, the show just wouldn’t be the same without her nurturing.

Rachel:



Rachel is the screw-up, gone straight. She entered the show with a wedding dress on, soaking wet from the rain and having just run out on her wedding with a very successful doctor. The show just wouldn’t be the same without her. Who would Ross lust after? Who would he fight with? And how else would all of the other Friends get by without Rachel Green’s “no nonsense” attitude? She doesn’t take crap from anyone and that makes her the backbone for a lot of friends such as Chandler who is always afraid to confront people (like when he gets his hat stolen by a group of coffeehouse bullies).

Phoebe:


Phoebe. Is. Fantastic. She is the friend that everyone wants because she’s done so many worldly things that you couldn’t match up to even if you tried. Couple that with her crazy attitude, refreshing perspective on life, and her singing of the song, “Smelly Cat” and you have an amazing character and someone that everyone loves. Whether you feel sad for her because she lived on the street, or find it weird that she once raised rat babies in her apartment, you’ve got to love Phoebe.

Joey:

“How you doin?” is something that I wish could hear Joey say to a girl in real life. Joey is the Friend who may not be able to outsmart Ross in paleontology, or Chandler in data reconfiguration but he sure is good with matters of the heart and understands enough to give his friends advice on more than one occasion. Whether that is through his hilariously embarrassing acting roles (like Al Pacino’s butt double) or getting a hernia from a 10 pound weight, Joey Tribbiani offers some decent advice when it counts. Joey is unlike anyone you’ll run into in your life, but he is someone you do wish was real (sometimes). He is the ideal family friendly Italian actor who mooches off of his friends, can eat an entire 20-pound turkey and is quite possibly the nicest ladies man I’ve ever seen.

Chandler:


Chandler. Oh Chandler. The Friends screw up who embarrasses himself with everything he does. He dates Janice, the high-pitched, annoying, and leopard print clad woman who eventually cheats on him. Were it not for Monica, Chandler might have been stuck in the dating game forever, a game he never had a chance of winning. Therefore, Chandler is almost as entertaining to watch as Ross and his hilarious mistakes.

Ross:


Ross is very enthusiastic about life and really strives to do things to the best of his ability. Sometimes, he does get a bit too eager and bites off a lot more than he can chew. Aside from the fact that he was married three times (once to a lesbian) and drunkenly kissed his sister Monica at a house party, he really is passionate about life and his career. He is insanely entertaining, sometimes prompting you to rewind back multiple times to watch him yell at his boss over a sandwich or attempt to pull up a tight pair of leather pants smeared with lotion and baby powder. You can do that, of course, if you have every single season on DVD like I do. I think I can relate most to Ross than any other Friends character because of his passionate nature, which gets him into trouble a lot of times.

**This review was written in the style of my third critic from The Duds. Though that review was written by 3 people, I modeled my review after the "J" or Jessica.**
Word Count: 810 

No comments:

Post a Comment