Anonymous wrote:Matthew Perry was a little grating in the first few seasons. Yet his character grew the most, and Chandler and Monica ended up as my favorite couple by a mile. So I'd say he's my favorite, followed by all the women pretty evenly.

But in the end it was the pitch-perfect ensemble that made the show work so well. As a PP said, lightning in a bottle.

Anonymous wrote:Jennifer Aniston is sort of the Taylor Swift of actors. She's popular and likeable but without an edge.

Anonymous wrote:Schwimmer was the best. His physical comedy was next level.
I think Aniston is an under rated actress in this series. The scene where she finds out she’s not pregnant but actually is is wonderful.
Kudrow almost breaks character many times, from what I can see. Shes schwimmer level in The Comeback though. Much more nuanced performance.
Perry is good. That he delivered throughout a serious addiction is a miracle.
Leblanc also underrated, knowing his personality is so different from Joeys.
Cox is a better actress than most sitcom leads. Plus, she is drop dead gorgeous in the series. I feel like they downplayed this at times, so Aniston (not as naturally pretty) could shine.

Together they must have had so much fun filming. They played off each other wonderfully.

My order:
Schwimmer
Aniston
Cox
Leblanc
Perry
Kudrow

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Lisa Kudrow, yes. Not the others. I also never got all the hype and tears over Matthew Perry.

Matthew created an entirely new cadence for the character of Chandler Bing. You can hear him emphasize the verb.

“Could I BE wearing any more clothes?”

That’s not the writers. That was Matthew Perry.

LeBlanc said those words

Good catch. I misremembered. I still think the quote makes my point. When Joey wanted to copy Chandler, he used the delivery that Perry developed.

“I’m Chandler Bing. Could I BE wearing any more clothes?”

Astoundingly good actors.

That was a fun moment, and certainly evidence of good writing, directing, editing, and acting.

It does not show "astounding" acting talent. Many HS theater kids could say those 7 words with emphasis on the BE.

Anonymous wrote:I forget what I was watching or listening to (I'm old and watched Friends in real time on Thurdsday nights, lol), but they did an analysis of Friends with the sound off to highlight the skill of the actors' facial expressions and body language. The assertion was that you could generally follow the plot without hearing the dialogue.

Anonymous wrote:I forget what I was watching or listening to (I'm old and watched Friends in real time on Thurdsday nights, lol), but they did an analysis of Friends with the sound off to highlight the skill of the actors' facial expressions and body language. The assertion was that you could generally follow the plot without hearing the dialogue.

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Anonymous wrote:They are all excellent actors. David Schwimmer is awesome at physical comedy. Jennifer Aniston is a phenomenol comedic (and dramatic) actress; her timing is excellent and she can improvise (see Blue Blazer Black scene). Matthew Perry created the character of Chandler...his delivery, facial expressions, and ability to be sarcastic yet vulnerable is special. Matt LeBlanc is an excellent actor; his character had a lot of dimensions and depth, if you pay attention. Courtney Cox became Monica; she's honest and funny and manages to be likable despite being super type-A, etc. In my opinion, Phoebe is the worst character and, by far, the least likable, but I still think Lisa Kudrow is a great actor. No idea why so many on here claim she's the only one with talent. That's ridiculous. Her character had the least depth and changed the least over the course of the show.

Agree w all of this.

Anonymous wrote:Honest to god - I never watched Friends. I knew about it in the zeitgeist but had a feeling it would be dumb. Maybe I’m wrong. Don’t know. I know Matthew Perry was great in The West Wing and Studio 60. He did Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lisa Kudrow, yes. Not the others. I also never got all the hype and tears over Matthew Perry.

Matthew created an entirely new cadence for the character of Chandler Bing. You can hear him emphasize the verb.

“Could I BE wearing any more clothes?”

That’s not the writers. That was Matthew Perry.

LeBlanc said those words

Good catch. I misremembered. I still think the quote makes my point. When Joey wanted to copy Chandler, he used the delivery that Perry developed.

“I’m Chandler Bing. Could I BE wearing any more clothes?”

Astoundingly good actors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lisa Kudrow, yes. Not the others. I also never got all the hype and tears over Matthew Perry.

Matthew created an entirely new cadence for the character of Chandler Bing. You can hear him emphasize the verb.

“Could I BE wearing any more clothes?”

That’s not the writers. That was Matthew Perry.

LeBlanc said those words

Anonymous wrote:Honest to god - I never watched Friends. I knew about it in the zeitgeist but had a feeling it would be dumb. Maybe I’m wrong. Don’t know. I know Matthew Perry was great in The West Wing and Studio 60. He did Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue well.