Super Controversial Topic: Friends (the TV show) isn't actually very funny...

[Ann.without.an.e]

I was looking for something lighthearted to watch while I was working on something. Years ago, I made it to Friends season 8 so I thought, what the heck, why not finish something for once lol. The audience laugh track is soooooo irritating. Maybe it was because I just finished New Girl (often very funny and no laugh track). Ross is not a good person and also pretty irritating (Rachel could do so much better and I already agreed with this point before trying to watch again).     I found clips without the laugh track and here you go...

 

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[Terabith]

Completely agree.  It's not funny, and it's horrifying the way they treat people.  

[JustEm]

I never really thought it was funny and have never understood the love for it. But then again, I didn't find the few episodes of New Girl I watched particularly funny either.

[Melissa Louise]

That's not controversial! It never was that great. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Glad it’s not just me 😅

I never did love it. I just had so many people telling that I *had* to watch it that many years ago I slowly worked my way through some seasons (stretched out over several years). 
 

@hjffkj  I have mixed feelings on New Girl as well lol. My point was it is funnier than Friends and has no laugh track.  

[Carrie12345]

Laugh tracks have pretty much fallen to the wayside, so I think we’ve been conditioned out of them at this point.

Friends still has a place in my nostalgic heart, but there’s zero denying that it’s problematic in tons of ways today.  Even shows from just 10 years ago play different today.
I don’t even want to talk about how many 80s movies we’ve had to skip showing the kids.  Just the number of slurs that get thrown around that we didn’t even blink at back then. Ugh.

[Faith-manor]

I never liked Friends. And it seems like most 80's shows and movies are just a mine field of yuckiness. At least that is how I feel every time I try to watch things from that era.

[gardenmom5]

Never watched it, but I understand watching something with new eyes. 

I recently watched a couple episodes of the original Beverly Hillbillies and was astounded at the mockery by the writers of those they deemed unsophisticated. 

[Danae]

I’m confused by the current Friends revival, or attempt at revival.  There was a big display of Friends themed kitsch at my local craft store, and T-shirts at Target (I think it was Target), but it seems to be a marketing push not anything I’ve seen a fan-based demand for. 

[TexasProud]

I always hated that show and never understood its appeal. 

[alisoncooks]

2 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Friends still has a place in my nostalgic heart, but there’s zero denying that it’s problematic in tons of ways today.   

Same. 
My freshman year of college, I was pretty antisocial (or depressed, in retrospect), and I watched Friends non-stop (other than classes and meals). I haven’t really watched it since, but I think of it nostalgically. 

[Soror]

3 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Glad it’s not just me 😅

I never did love it. I just had so many people telling that I *had* to watch it that many years ago I slowly worked my way through some seasons (stretched out over several years). 
 

@hjffkj  I have mixed feelings on New Girl as well lol. My point was it is funnier than Friends and has no laugh track.  

I never really watched Friends as we didn't have a channel that had it and it hasn't been on the streaming platforms we have.

I have watched New Girl more than once. It is up there with Parks and Rec and The Office for me as far as rewatchability. I actually laugh out loud with all of them. But--- all of them have things we'd thing problematic now, all of them have little inside jokes that aren't so funny when you've not seen many episodes, and there are always some episodes better than other. I like to put on comedy series when I'm chilling. I want things I don't have to think about that don't matter if I miss some because I've seen it before and the story line isn't that deep. 

[KSera]

I didn’t actually see what was wrong with Ross in the sandwich clip 🤷‍♀️. I was thinking he was going to do something awful, but he was just upset. Dude ate his sandwich and threw away the rest! 
 

Their treatment of women is my bigger issue with the show. Especially Joey, but all of them. 

[PaxEtLux]

Have any of the 1990s sitcoms held up well?  Seinfeld is even worse.

[wintermom]

I liked Family Ties - especially Michael J. Fox, mostly because he is Canadian, but it was a pretty funny show. 

I never watched more than a part of an episode of Friends. It just wasn't appealing at all for me. 

[Scarlett]

I  think it  is pretty common for the funniest part of sitcoms to be how they fit in with current societal norms. You (collective) can’t be hatin’ on a series from 30 years ago. 

[Indigo Blue]

I always thought Debra in Everybody Loves Raymond was sometimes a bit mean. And Marie, probably narcissistic. Well, the whole thing was about a quirky, sometimes dysfunctional family. Still, I always thought it was funny. More so than Friends or Seinfeld.

[OH_Homeschooler]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Laugh tracks have pretty much fallen to the wayside, so I think we’ve been conditioned out of them at this point.

Friends still has a place in my nostalgic heart, but there’s zero denying that it’s problematic in tons of ways today.  Even shows from just 10 years ago play different today.
I don’t even want to talk about how many 80s movies we’ve had to skip showing the kids.  Just the number of slurs that get thrown around that we didn’t even blink at back then. Ugh.

Yeah, I think it's funny. And new shows with a laugh track are total cringe to me (my controversial opinion-I never found The Big Bang Theory funny, personally). But since I "grew up" with Friends (I was in college when it premiered, haha), the laugh track doesn't bug me. It's just part of a familiar show.

Friends is certainly problematic with the homophobia, fat jokes, etc. But that was the 90's. Just last week one of the showrunners apologized for misgendering Chandler's parent. We know better now, and it's good to see people actually doing better as a result. 

And while the character of Ross was admittedly a tool at times, David Schwimmer seems to be an absolute stand-up guy. 

[Garga]

I never thought Friends was funny back when it was on TV. 

I thought Seinfeld was, and still do, even though there are some very dated ideas/plot lines.

I love The Office and New Girl.

I also used to like Malcolm in the Middle, but haven’t had a chance to see it in years, so maybe it would be different watching it now.

Otherwise, I don’t think there are any other sit coms out there I like. I didn’t like Arrested Developement or Parks and Recreation, for example, or anything else I can think of.

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

Never watched it, but I understand watching something with new eyes. 

I recently watched a couple episodes of the original Beverly Hillbillies and was astounded at the mockery by the writers of those they deemed unsophisticated. 

I never cared for Beverly HIllbillies. I thought it was just a tacky show, and I was only 10 or 11 when it was on. Also, I do NOT like being called "Ellie Mae," and of course, that's what people picked up.

[Katy]

I agree. I never thought Friends was that funny though. I did like How I Met Your Mother, but it hasn’t held up very well either. The last time I watched it I decided I really dislike Ted. 

I subscribe to this podcast called Scriptnotes, “A podcast about screenwriting and things interesting to screenwriters.”  Anyway ages ago I decided I wasn’t really interested in screenwriting but I still listen because I like it and it’s an interesting take on Hollywood, as well as why some stories work and others judt don’t. 

They just did an episode on Clueless, which is from the 90’s and has held up surprisingly well. Except the phones. Their take was that it was still funny because it was written and directed by a woman and it was from the point of view of a woman. So it was free from all the cultural misogyny that infected most everything else. And that today it might be called Privileged but otherwise be surprisingly unchanged. 

[wintermom]

I always interpreted Beverly Hillbillies as a huge spoof on both the down-to-earth country folk and the full-of-themselves city folk. It was easy to watch from a distance (Canada) and laugh at both worlds and how they interact. I preferred the country folk - they were practical and far less judgemental than the uppity folk. 😉 

The British sitcom from the early 90s, Darling Buds of May, is similar, with the Larkins being friendly, practical country folk, who are less judgemental than the uppity town folk.

Edited July 21, 2022 by wintermom

[PaxEtLux]

13 minutes ago, Katy said:

They just did an episode on Clueless, which is from the 90’s and has held up surprisingly well. Except the phones. Their take was that it was still funny because it was written and directed by a woman and it was from the point of view of a woman. So it was free from all the cultural misogyny that infected most everything else. And that today it might be called Privileged but otherwise be surprisingly unchanged. 

 

And also based on Jane Austen's Emma

[mommyoffive]

Ok I am the rare person who loved and still loves Friends.  I have watched it since college and dh and I still watch it pretty much every night.  We love it.  I do agree that some of the stuff doesn't hold up well to our current times, but I think that is really common from shows from so long ago.

[Terabith]

My youngest kid recently had to watch an episode of Seinfeld for an economics class, and the whole thing completely befuddled her.  I wound up watching it with her to explain stuff.  She was just like, “Why on earth does this man put up with all these hordes of people constantly barging into his apartment and being awful?”  

[HSmomof2]

18 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Ok I am the rare person who loved and still loves Friends.  I have watched it since college and dh and I still watch it pretty much every night.  We love it.  I do agree that some of the stuff doesn't hold up well to our current times, but I think that is really common from shows from so long ago.

I agree…..Friends and Seinfeld hold a lot of nostalgia for me. No, they don’t hold up well to current times, but there are still some classic episodes I find funny…..Ross in the leather pants, his spray tan, and Joey doing lunges wearing all of Chandler’s clothes…..

[mommyoffive]

Just now, HSmomof2 said:

I agree…..Friends and Seinfeld hold a lot of nostalgia for me. No, they don’t hold up well to current times, but there are still some classic episodes I find funny…..Ross in the leather pants, his spray tan, and Joey doing lunges wearing all of Chandler’s clothes…..

I am laughing just thinking of those episodes.  Seriously dh and I have watched it since college and we laugh every time.  

[Farrar]

I agree that overall Friends just isn't that funny and is borderline offensive. I remember how it just started to leave a bad taste in my mouth back in the day and I stopped watching it.

There are a few funny moments though. Many of the Phoebe bits are genuinely good - not just the songs she did, but other recurring gags with her. Like the Tollhouse cookie recipe bit was pretty funny. And some of the Joey things are still kind of funny, like "it's a moo point. You know, like a cow's opinion."

But I've still never seen the later seasons.

[Farrar]

By the way, New Girl rubs me the wrong way. I watched the first season or so and I don't mind a manic pixie dreamgirl sometimes, but it's not that great.

I do like Happy Endings, which is a bit like Friends, but was a little more recent and therefore a little less offensive. I love the episode where Max tries to find which kind of gay he is. But the final season of that is borderline unwatchable. They changed the whole vibe. 

[MEmama]

I think it’s a positive that shows from 30-40 years ago don’t hold up today. They shouldn’t, honestly. That they make us cringe now is a clear indicator in how far we've progressed in the past few decades; no matter how hard a minority is trying to take us back to the mythical good old days, we will never go back. The misogyny, homophobia and transphobia, and lack of diverse representation are troubling now because we (collectively) are doing better.

Theres not much from my youth that stood the test of time except music. That kids today aren’t growing up with the same misogynistic trappings of our formerly beloved sitcoms and John Hughes movies means they won’t make many of the same mistakes we  made, forcing ourselves into boxes that weren’t meant for us. Instead they watch excellent shows like Sex Education and Heartstopper and learn to embrace their individuality, create boundaries and respect others. I hope we can all agree it’s a good trade.

 

 

[fraidycat]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Ok I am the rare person who loved and still loves Friends.  I have watched it since college and dh and I still watch it pretty much every night.  We love it.  I do agree that some of the stuff doesn't hold up well to our current times, but I think that is really common from shows from so long ago.

I still love it, too. There are some episodes/storylines I don't care for as much, but overall, we've been enjoying the show repeatedly for 20+ years.

We also really enjoy Big Bang Theory and re-watch it.

Two shows that DH and I have tried to watch more than once, but can't get past the first few episodes are Parks and Rec, and The Office. We keep waiting for them to get funny and they just never do. The "humor" seems so forced. I do not understand the love for those shows at all.

 

[Lady Florida.]

2 hours ago, Garga said:

I never thought Friends was funny back when it was on TV. 

I thought Seinfeld was, and still do, even though there are some very dated ideas/plot lines.

 

Same here but I was almost 10 years older than the Friends characters when it first aired. I was closer to the age of the Seinfeld characters. Still, I think Friends had some funny moments but I don't think it was overall a great sitcom. Both are definitely problematic now. 

I did enjoy Big Bang Theory until I didn't. It went on too long. I can rewatch Shitt's Creek, The Good Place, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine over and over and never get tired of those shows.

1 hour ago, Katy said:

. 

They just did an episode on Clueless, which is from the 90’s and has held up surprisingly well. Except the phones. Their take was that it was still funny because it was written and directed by a woman and it was from the point of view of a woman. So it was free from all the cultural misogyny that infected most everything else. And that today it might be called Privileged but otherwise be surprisingly unchanged. 

I also think it holds up because of the classic it's based on, which people still read. If you know Emma the Clueless characters are obvious. It's also just a good movie on its own. It's one of my comfort movies to watch again and again.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

I always interpreted Beverly Hillbillies as a huge spoof on both the down-to-earth country folk and the full-of-themselves city folk. It was easy to watch from a distance (Canada) and laugh at both worlds and how they interact. I preferred the country folk - they were practical and far less judgemental than the uppity folk. 😉 

 

I think the point of that show was that even as fish out of water, the country folk had more compassion and common sense. It was the city folk who were skewered. Not that that makes it any better. Neither should be put down, but that was supposedly what made it funny.

[73349]

It was, I've said, perhaps the most unevenly written TV show I've ever seen. (While we're being controversial, I didn't find Seinfeld funny ever; at least Friends could be from time to time, though I only watched it because DH did.)

I've given up on both movies and TV series.

Edited July 21, 2022 by 73349

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, HSmomof2 said:

I agree…..Friends and Seinfeld hold a lot of nostalgia for me. No, they don’t hold up well to current times, but there are still some classic episodes I find funny…..Ross in the leather pants, his spray tan, and Joey doing lunges wearing all of Chandler’s clothes…..

Every time I’m making fajitas for dinner and someone asks what’s for dinner, I reply like Ross: fa-ji-tas!” (In the episode where he’s fine with Joey and Rachel…)

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I was genuinely surprised by some of the clips I've seen on Youtube. I guess that's to be expected since they are literally 20 to 30 years old. (where did the time go!) Oh, it's it so funny that Monica used to be fat! Ha ha ha... And Chandler might be gay...so funny. 

Phoebe has held up over time though. She's so whacky that she's still funny. 

I’ve thought about that with (admittedly going back further) Three’s Company. The whole premise of John Ritter sharing an apartment with two young women was on the idea that he pretended to be gay. Any time the landlord was around, he pretended to be extremely gay. 
 

It’s so distasteful now. Even my favorite movie of all time -Mrs. Doubtfire - has orientation and sexuality as a huge thematic issue. 

[Lady Florida.]

5 minutes ago, Quill said:

I’ve thought about that with (admittedly going back further) Three’s Company. The whole premise of John Ritter sharing an apartment with two young women was on the idea that he pretended to be gay. Any time the landlord was around, he pretended to be extremely gay. 
 

 

Also in the original pilot Chrissy (a different actor than Suzanne Somers) wasn't a dumb blonde but was actually smart. It didn't go over well with audiences so they got a different actor and changed her character. So, Jack pretending to be gay was fine and considered funny but two smart women in one sitcom was just too much for audiences to believe. 🙄

[Farrar]

13 minutes ago, Quill said:

I’ve thought about that with (admittedly going back further) Three’s Company. The whole premise of John Ritter sharing an apartment with two young women was on the idea that he pretended to be gay. Any time the landlord was around, he pretended to be extremely gay. 
 

It’s so distasteful now. Even my favorite movie of all time -Mrs. Doubtfire - has orientation and sexuality as a huge thematic issue. 

Or Bosom Buddies.

Honestly, this was one of those things about Conan O'Brian... he had that as part of his shtick - that was was sometimes effeminate in his tastes or perspective so he'd mock himself about it. But what was funny in the 90's when he got his start just stopped being funny by the time his show went off the air.

[Farrar]

34 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I think it’s a positive that shows from 30-40 years ago don’t hold up today. They shouldn’t, honestly. That they make us cringe now is a clear indicator in how far we've progressed in the past few decades; no matter how hard a minority is trying to take us back to the mythical good old days, we will never go back. The misogyny, homophobia and transphobia, and lack of diverse representation are troubling now because we (collectively) are doing better.

Theres not much from my youth that stood the test of time except music. That kids today aren’t growing up with the same misogynistic trappings of our formerly beloved sitcoms and John Hughes movies means they won’t make many of the same mistakes we  made, forcing ourselves into boxes that weren’t meant for us. Instead they watch excellent shows like Sex Education and Heartstopper and learn to embrace their individuality, create boundaries and respect others. I hope we can all agree it’s a good trade.

That's funny because I do think plenty of 80's films of my childhood stands up fine minus some cringe moments. Like, the core is good even if there are throwaway jokes and short side plots that are simply offensive by today's standards. Goonies, Footloose, Breakfast Club, Heathers, Clue, Say Anything... there are plenty of 80's movies from my youth that I feel like hold up fine if you can just be old enough to contextualize some of the issues. That's not to say everything does. Sixteen Candles has some funny moments, but the plot with Anthony Michael Hall and the "popular" girl and the underwear and how she's treated, and the whole Long Duc Dong thing... Oh my. Not really a salvageable film.

I'm not sure if  I can say the same for 80's and 90's TV though. I mean, I can't think of any 80's TV that holds up for much more than nostalgia value. 90's TV though... I mean, Twin Peaks, Buffy, TNG... some of this stuff still seems really watchable to me now - again, with contextualization.

I think culture is this long process of whittling it all down. We don't always know what's going to survive. But some of it will. And will be contextualized in its time but will keep enduring... like Pride and Prejudice or Gatsby or Casablanca or whatever.

I feel like a lot of the 

[rebcoola]

It never was funny.  Their are a lot of popular shows and movies that I don't find funny though.  Covid finally got us so we've been watching a lot of TV and movies.  Decided to watch Napoleon Dynamite because of all the recommendations of it being hilarious we all hated it.

I don't think it's aga their are plenty of shows and movies from the 70's and 80's that are fantastic.  My teens will sit and watch Golden Girls all day with me.

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

I always thought Debra in Everybody Loves Raymond was sometimes a bit mean. And Marie, probably narcissistic. Well, the whole thing was about a quirky, sometimes dysfunctional family. Still, I always thought it was funny. More so than Friends or Seinfeld.

My issue with so many sitcoms is that the man is "stupid" or whatever, and then the wife or girlfriend or closest female friend is his default mom. Ugh. Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, etc.

And fat shaming was a big deal, Wings was one that engaged with that, the main female character constantly being harassed about the size she used to be. 

Family Ties seems to have been a bit more "functional" in that regard, aged better.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Faith-manor

[Sneezyone]

I never really watched it, lol. It was bland and boring…like Seinfeld…over my head or beneath my notice, take your pick. We  were too busy watching Living Single and Martin (cringe). That was must-see TV for us with watch parties and all in our campus appt. Bigger women weren’t shamed or seen as unsexy (altho heteronormative expectations existed) and controversy was embraced.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Lady Florida.]

3 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

My teens will sit and watch Golden Girls all day with me.

Golden Girls has some cringe worthy moments but not as many as some other shows. The shaming of Dorothy got worse in later seasons. However, they tried to address what were then controversial topics - accepting of someone who was gay, helping the homeless, and other issues I can't think of off the top of my head. Betty White was certainly one of the reasons the show enjoyed continued popularity but I also think it aged better (no pun intended) than some other sitcoms of the time.

BTW, did you all know these "older women" characters were supposed to be in their 50s? 😂 We tend to think of them as much older but that's not the case. 

[rebcoola]

2 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Golden Girls has some cringe worthy moments but not as many as some other shows. The shaming of Dorothy got worse in later seasons. However, they tried to address what were then controversial topics - accepting of someone who was gay, helping the homeless, and other issues I can't think of off the top of my head. Betty White was certainly one of the reasons the show enjoyed continued popularity but I also think it aged better (no pun intended) than some other sitcoms of the time.

BTW, did you all know these "older women" characters were supposed to be in their 50s? 😂 We tend to think of them as much older but that's not the case. 

Yes their are a few cringe moments but surprisingly few.  Yes I'm only 38 I thought they were so old when I first watched it. Their is an episode where Blanche is sure she is pregnant!! 

 

[pitterpatter]

4 hours ago, alisoncooks said:

Same. 
My freshman year of college, I was pretty antisocial (or depressed, in retrospect), and I watched Friends non-stop (other than classes and meals). I haven’t really watched it since, but I think of it nostalgically. 

It was a college show for me too. My freshmen suite mates and I watched the whole line up on...whatever day it was. I haven't been able to watch it with joy since.

[Indigo Blue]

3 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

We tend to think of them as much older but that's not the case. 

You know, that’s a whole ‘nother thing. I was thinking one day that people really do seem younger for their age as compared to generations back. Like, a woman or man  in their 50’s looked older in the fifties than a woman or man in their 50’s today. I found a video on this a few days ago. Don’t know if it’s actually true or if it’s just hairstyle, clothing, etc. Just interesting. 

[Sneezyone]

I do think Friends reflects a time where people were far less aware of the ways in which the white experience was meant to represent the nation as a whole. That really started to change with 90s TV shows like Sister-Sister, Family Matters, Kenan and Kel…lots of changes and much more stratified media consumption habits (cable) accelerated the diverse offerings.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Farrar]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Golden Girls has some cringe worthy moments but not as many as some other shows. The shaming of Dorothy got worse in later seasons. However, they tried to address what were then controversial topics - accepting of someone who was gay, helping the homeless, and other issues I can't think of off the top of my head. Betty White was certainly one of the reasons the show enjoyed continued popularity but I also think it aged better (no pun intended) than some other sitcoms of the time.

BTW, did you all know these "older women" characters were supposed to be in their 50s? 😂 We tend to think of them as much older but that's not the case. 

I first learned about menopause from The Golden Girls. I had genuinely never heard of it in any other context at that point.

[Sneezyone]

40 minutes ago, Farrar said:

I first learned about menopause from The Golden Girls. I had genuinely never heard of it in any other context at that point.

Me too. Their conversations about aging womanhood were riveting.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Sneezyone

[kbutton]

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I think the point of that show was that even as fish out of water, the country folk had more compassion and common sense. It was the city folk who were skewered. Not that that makes it any better. Neither should be put down, but that was supposedly what made it funny.

That's what I always got out of the show as a kid.

I really hated Friends. I think I maybe got through part of one episode. The people I know who loved it at the time are very fond of inside jokes, and it shows when you spend time with them, sadly.