Friends: The Reunion
— After 17 years, there’s a generation of post-“Friends” viewers probably wondering what all the fuss is about. For oldsters, most of us remember seeing six talented, mostly unknown actors, coming together for a sitcom without a “star”, where every person’s role was fully developed and equally scripted, depicting a time in people’s lives when their friends were their family. I enjoyed the reunion and it brought back how much I really did enjoy these now famous people in their breakaway roles. I would have been happy eavesdropping on a conversation among the cast members and the parts of “The Reunion” with that format were the best parts, along with James Corden’s group interview. Sections using a game show format to elicit memories and show the closeness of the cast probably weren’t necessary, but added a little variation for those needing it. What probably wasn’t necessary was the parading of celebrity guests (Reese Witherspoon, Tom Selleck, Lady Gaga, Cindy Crawford, Justin Bieber, David Beckham, etc.), interrupting everything to focus on ratings instead of reunion. (The exception was Lady Gaga in a great, “Smelly Cat” duet with Lisa Kudrow.) In the end, it was fun to see these people again and to believe they really were best friends then and now. I could have watched more.
[HBO Max streaming.]
