The long-delayedFriendsreunion gets off to a lovely start.
“This is beautiful.”
Next comesLisa Kudrow,Jennifer Aniston,Matt LeBlanc,Courteney Cox, and finallyMatthew Perry.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc on ‘Friends: The Reunion.'.HBO Max
Hugs and tears ensue.
“It’s amazing,” whispers Aniston, her voice cracking.
“All right, but where’s the tissue box?”
Finding none, she grabs a napkin from Monica’s kitchen table.
Unfortunately, the bloated, 104-minute (!)
special sandwiches these flashes of reunion magic between a lot of silly, tiresome filler.
Then, of course, came the pandemic.
HBO Max launched in May, while theFriendsspecial wasdelayedmultiple times, understandably, for safety reasons.
The cast each of whom receiveda reported $2.25 to $2.5 million appearance feefrom WarnerMedia are certainly game.
And the stars laugh until they cry while watching bloopers on Monica and Rachel’s ancient-looking TV.
squeals Kudrow, while a squeamish Aniston buries her face in one of Monica’s throw pillows.)
Whenever the action moves away from Stage 24, things start to fall apart.
The celebrity testimonials add little, except to the reunion’s runtime.
(In case you were wondering, David Beckham is a Monica.)
(“What about that!
What a treat!")
There is also a very unnecessary fashion show of “iconic costumes.”
At one point, the cast watches a pre-taped segment featuring fans around the globe rhapsodizing aboutFriends.
Nancy from Ghana says the comedy saved her from a deep depression.
Nobel Prize winning activist Malala Yousafzai reveals that her favorite episode is “The One With the Routine.”
(Breaking news: EW firstreported this factin 1995.)
So what’s aFriendsfan to do?
