Friends: The Reunion ★★★★
Ben Winston
Starring Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc
Back in May, the iconic six reunited to reminisce about their time whilst filming the ever popular US sitcom Friends.
If you haven’t seen it yet, could you BE living under a rock?
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer met on set of the nostalgic purple apartment with tissues in hand as they reunited on screen for the first time in 17 years.
The hit tv-series ran from 1994-2004 and holds a special place in many peoples hearts.
The pals and stars of the show were joined by producers Kevin Bright, Marta Koffman and David Crane alongside a list of celebrity fans and beloved guest stars to re-live the memories on and off set from one of the most watched sitcoms in television history. (It has been streamed over 100 billion times to be precise!)
From tales dating back to the casting stages all the way through to secrets behind the scenes, we see the core six take a trip down memory lane with script read throughs, an interview on the recognisable sofa with host James Corden and insights into the casts favourite episodes. It’s a match made in heaven for any Friends fan!
That being said, many fans were fairly hesitant when it came to the news of the reunion. Was it a new episode? A new series? Or was a cast interview planned? All I can say is this reunion exceeded my sceptical expectations as an avid Friends fan.
The interview itself isn’t the main premise of the show. We see round table script read throughs, chats in Central Perk and even a replay of the iconic quiz hosted by Ross (Schwimmer) that we first saw way back when in The One With The Embryos.
Seeing the cast back together again was heartwarming to say the least. I wouldn’t say there were any shocking revelations from behind closed doors, but there was definitely some behind the script secrets I didn’t already know about the series and cast. One of the stand out moments for fans saw the age old question finally answered: were Ross and Rachel actually on a break?
Whilst being interviewed and filmed catching up, the actors themselves resemble their characters so naturally which highlights how true their friendship is in real life, making them even more lovable.
Friends was created to remind you of "that time in your life when your friends are your family", which is something we can all relate to. Lisa Kudrow herself explained how carrying on the storyline after such a happy and pivotal ending would mean unraveling some of that happiness, which isn’t what anybody wants. This is exactly what we needed as one last celebration of the sitcom's success and evergreen appeal to new and old audiences.
The reunion for me didn’t quite hit the 5 star mark because (spoiler alert) one of my favourite co-stars Paul Rudd unfortunately didn’t make an appearance - but so many others did that I couldn’t possibly rank it any lower.
It will make you laugh, most likely cry and more importantly want to rewatch the entire series all over again.
So sit back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Friends: The Reunion available now on NowTV and Sky Cinema
Head over to our podcast 'talkabout' to hear conversations about the reunion, and a whole episode dedicated to the hit series'.