Ahead of Friends’ 25th anniversary this month, the website Buzzfeed has published a new viral article arguing that the much-loved show was, in fact, “terrible”.
“Friends, a show about white people being thin and having the pointiest nipples in the continental Americas – and a show that I, at one time, watched and enjoyed – is absolute garbage,” the writer Scaachi Koul quipped.
Koul is not alone in feeling this; the show’s new life on Netflix has spawned reams of content dedicated to judging its phenomenon status (including, I apologise, this column).
Friends is prime for valid criticism over how poorly the show has aged, from stripper jokes to a whitewashed New York City. It is frankly bizarre that Monica’s entire backstory was that she used to be fat. Ross should probably have been given a restraining order for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s house.
But complaining about the show’s quality, rather than its politics, seems to miss the point. I love Friends. I watched every episode as it aired, and have rewatched many since. I will undoubtedly do so again. It is also – by any objective, technical standard – not that great. And that’s entirely OK.
Friends’ success has never relied on it being the best of its genre. It’s a classic in part because it doesn’t worry about such things; it offers simplicity, a perfect formula of effortless wellbeing.
That’s why all the think pieces questioning whether Friends is as good as Seinfeld are misdirected; the suggestion being that “proving” Friends is inferior is somehow a hot burn. Expecting Chandler Bing to hold up to one of the wittiest comedies of all time is like asking my pyjamas to get the same reception as a Dior dress. One is fluffy comfort and the other world-class, but when I’m 20 minutes into a KFC family bucket, nothing beats my elastic waistband.
Friends’ fans are the noble champions against high art: that on the right day, watching Dirty Dancing can be just as valuable as Citizen Kane. Enjoy the endless re-runs without shame. The One where Friends is Analysed to Death is not an episode any of us need to see.
