User reviews

Friends is the most overrated comedy in history. Barely any of the lines are funny - you just get sucked in by the laugh track. Ross is unbearably whiny. Chandler's dull wit and sarcasm get old real fast. All that combined with absurd story lines and poorly written supporting characters make for a dull show. Dragging it out to 10 seasons is painful. Try watching on youtube where people have taken the laugh track out and you will see that like The Big Bang Theory, this show is just unfunny.

I have a severe problem with this show, several actually. A simple list will suffice for now, I'll go into more depth later on: superficial characters, a laugh-track and boring humour.

If you don't wish to look at the rest of this review and are only reading it so you can feel superior (as if you see anything in this show I didn't) to a frequently irked teen from Canada I'll summarize: Friends sucks, not only because it is unfunny but because it destroyed the TV audiences for new, good shows (Arrested Development, Dexter etc.). Friends is as much to blame for reality TV, "Two And A Half Men" and "The King Of Queens" as the television executives. Now then, on with the review.

These characters have no soul, they are exactly the same in every way (outside of gender and hair colour). They react the same way in boring situations and are completely secure in their own bodies. Where is the conflict and the humour that comes with it? Why isn't Rachel storming out on Monica after Monica starts hanging out with Rachel's enemy? Why doesn't Joey contemplate suicide because nobody seems to take him seriously? Oh right, cause he's the dumb one and he's comfortable with that. This is the curse of having perfect characters: lasting conflict and (god forbid) personality becomes an impossibility.

The laugh-track is the one thing that should have died out right after it was born. Any show that has one is almost certainly the opposite of funny. How can I make such a broad generalization? When a show that claims to be "comedy" requires laughter from someone BESIDES THE AUDIENCE it must mean that the audience would not laugh without it. Laughtracks destroy humour by preventing quick comebacks. Humour becomes a construct rather than a free flowing entity (see The Office, Arrested Development).

This leads to my next point: the humour is boring. There is no way to make a perfect character anything more than slightly humorous (without a laugh-track apparently) simply because our everyday humour comes from recognition of our flaws. So what if Monica dated a 17 year old? She immediately recognizes that what she is doing isn't right and breaks up with him. There has to be some sort of conflict rather than an immediate solution. Maybe her mother finds out or one of her friends tries to get rid of him and ends up seducing him. That would be great, it would be like a custody battle! So now I've provided evidence for my position. Many of my friends love this show because they haven't heard of Curb Your Enthusiasm or Arrested Development, many of my friends hate this show because they recently started watching Curb Your Enthusiasm or Arrested Development.

I have watched very little of "Friends" in my life, but I have watched enough to spot huge flaws that make the show, in my opinion, completely unwatchable. If you've read this far, thank you, and I hope you at least start watching some of the shows I have mentioned.

We were force fed 238 episodes. Like Foie Gras Ducks, people scurried up to their TV sets for years to get tube-fed this insipid mush. I appealed to their better nature but was shouted down & will probably get many 'unhelpful comment' clicks here on IMDb.

Please try to clear your minds of all the hype & the awards this won & watch an episode from a fresh point of view. It's not funny apart from 1 maybe 2 laughs per episode, provided by Matt Perry. It has dated very badly too. All this mid 90s PC nannying makes me sick. Anyone who happens to drink alcohol is portrayed as an alcoholic. Anyone who smokes has to quit etc. "I'll be there for you", let's all be supportive, let's talk over our insignificant, Middle Class issues in a Coffee Shop. NO! Go down the pub & have a laugh. If I want a comforting, self-help video I'll go & buy one.

Wake up everybody. 'Friends' isn't funny, never was. It's like a cheap, fatty Burger. It seems good but deep down you know it's got no substance & is actually killing you from the inside.

I really don't understand. The cast REALLY can't act good (JA is one of the most overrated actresses ever), it's not clever at all, just stupid and full of forced and unfunny jokes that get shoved down our throats. It also has no story at all. It depends on characters being 'stupid' and 'idiotic' just for fun. Joey is one of the most horrible written characters ever (sadly the actor is super hot), Chandler is the only standout character on the show. The rest are pretty mediocre to really bad. It's also really silly and not realistic. The laugh track is literally played every second of the episodes and it's the most annoying thing ever. This show is the perfect example for brainwashing. There's no denial it has some good moments, but overall it really, really doesn't satisfy me. And Ross is trash.

This show has its moments when it would genuinely be funny; however 99% of the time I just wanted to hack my own arm off just so I can chuck it at them. The jokes are predictable and watching Chandler be sarcastic every 2 seconds gets boring after the 100th time. The situations they get themselves in is completely unrealistic, which is fine so long as the situation is funny; however the situations they get themselves into just makes them all look like a bunch of idiots in a nut house.

The characters are even worse than the poor script they work from. It is very clear that David Schwimmer is the only one who has any talent, as the rest of the characters can't act and just look a bit weird, not their appearance, as it's clear that the only reason why the women got the parts is because of their appearance.

Also that audience drives me insane, as every time something significant happens they all scream endlessly. FOR GOD'S SAKE, IT'S ONLY A TV SHOW.

No really, I don't get it. Why people love 'Friends'? It's one of the most childish show I 've ever had the mischance to watch it (I lied here, I watch it because I wanted to - I want to see what others found funny). First of all, the annoying laughter in the background every time an actor says a line is just stupid and annoying(in every line?) and spoils everything, even if it were an actual clever line. That means they point out the 'funny part' so the viewer knows where is the joke and laugh like a programmed robot. It is moronic to laugh when someone hint the funny part, think about it.

Secondly, every character behave like a little child. I can't see any adult behavior here. Have you ever see a woman with a decent amount of IQ in her head, to try catch the flu because they told her that she sing better with a gruff voice? And not just that, the director loved that part and decided to repeat it scene after scene! Stupid exaggerated pointless jokes every two seconds by people who can't really act and make childish comments and grimaces all the time. Maybe people like it because its cool to memorize the 'funny' (I wince every time I write that word here) phrases. But if they repeat it few times in their head and actual think what they are saying, they could easily understand that's just plain moronic. But the laughter in the background make them laugh like idiots because they told to do so. I will never understand it. And i don't want to.

This show is very easy to grasp- I remember being 10/11 years old on a plane to England from Australia, and laughing at Joey acting (whilst acting) in a Hospital bed. I thought Friends, especially Joey, were SO funny.

at the age of 17 and beyond, now 23, Friends became increasingly predictable and dull whenever I see it, and its formulaic plot. All the characters are stereotypes, who in reality wouldn't get on at all- well, I don't buy Pheobe as a friend of the girls- why would someone so laid back prefer to hang with materialistic anxiety ridden work-obsessed, over other like minded "boho" people? Each episode falls ass backwards into the old jokes- and only dumb people, or children, will miss this (they are the audience for the show, just look at education statistics in the USA, and it will be explained why this show is so popular there)!

Pheobe singing on her guitar with stupid lyrics and a simple melody "littlestar, hello there, furry and kittens love your blonde hair" or something stupidly simple.

Ross and Rachel playing hard to get, whining.

Joey making an "italian joke" by talking about food, eating lots of food, saying "I'm an Italian so I eat lots of food." Cue the Laugh Track.

Chandler and Monica being anxious and acting more like Brother and Sister than lovers.

Jennifer Aniston wearing fake nipples under white jumpers- again and again. WHY would she be made to wear "see through tops" with those plastic nipples? Isn't that KIND of distracting and inappropriate? Even Seinfeld make jokes about women who do that! Same with sex and the city! Really, it was pathetic, and made me disrespect Aniston more for just being a bimbo- on TV, and off. She can't act, so they had to make you forget that fact.

Joey being a "Male Bimbo/Mimbo (Seinfeld word)" and doing a silly acting job.

This show is outdated, sentimental mix of soap opera and a sit com, as oppose to Seinfeld and curb your enthusiasm, which are strictly sitcoms, and had a No Hugging policy- they also didn't care about making the Seinfeld characters look "sexy", just funny! Where-as on Friends, the actresses would have hair dressers on call between takes to brush their hair perfectly before the cameras were allowed to role. While Pheobe and Monica were quite comedic, Jennifer Aniston, the vainest woman on the planet, cared more about being pretty than being funny.

If you want love stories and drama with comedy- watch sex and the city- its insightful and far more intelligent than friends (besides the product placement, its fantastic). If you want pure laughs that never date, characters to relate to, and a show that makes you feel happy about your life in a Ce La Vie fashion, watch Seinfeld.

Perhaps if you find shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Two and a half men" amusing you may want to add this dribble to your watch-list.

on the other hand

If "Arrested Development" and "Seinfeld" "30 Rock" and similar shows tickle your funny bone stay far away from friends. It is truly a thoughtless bore.

Unfortunately I was subjected to his show through a particularly hot girlfriend and I can honestly say that in the 100+ episodes I waded through I only laughed once. I can't remember the instance but it was something physical that Joey did. The girlfriend, although smitten with the show rarely laughed more than once an episode. I gather it was more of a fairy tale that she could escape into than the comedy that drew her in.

Popular rarely means good. See McDonalds.

With a few exceptions, I've long ago given up commercial TV. With a collection of more than 500 DVDs and access to Netflix Instant View, I'm not dependent of the networks for entertainment, although I have some TV shows in my collection.

"Friends" is among the reasons that I've abandoned commercial TV. The show goes nowhere and it lacks the tact and daring of HBOs "Curb Your Ehthusiam, " which NBC progenitor "Seinfeld" explored to great success.

Words such as "brilliant" and "awesome" have been used to describe mediocre "Friends." The program's main draw comes from male viewers who want to look at the attractive female stars, and they tune in each week to whet their sexual fantasies.

Female viewers use the female actors as to serve as models. They want to look like Courtney Cox and the others and keep up with clothing and hair trends. What takes place between is jejune filler.

I hope that foreign audiences who watch "Friends" do not assume that all American twenty-somethings live that way.

This is a show for GenX-ers who are still clinging to their fond memories of the white-bread Brady Bunch. I tried, really tried, to like these characters and get past the predictably-timed 'laughs.'

And now, Friends reruns are sandwiched between episodes of the brilliant Seinfeld on TBS, but it's just another show - like Mad About You - to work at avoiding while trying not to miss Seinfeld.

A tenth year. What a waste.

This sitcom is terrible. There were a lot of comedies much much better than this. To name a few the office, how I met your mother.... and I am not saying they don't have their downsides either. But this one would passed as a horrible headache and cancelled if it was made in recent times. The jokes and the situations the plot is based on are immature / childish and unrealistic respectively. And esp the characters like Phoebe would have passed as mentally disabled in real life.

Look I loved friends before when I was younger. You hear the laugh track so you in turn go heheheha. I thought it was one of the most hilarious and fun loving shows I've watched.

It had been a while since I've watched friends and had kind of forgotten the plot I decided to rewatch it. Imma be honest and say that the show is hella overrated. The laugh tracks being overused, like ten in just one conversation between the two characters. Realising that if you remove the laugh track, the comedy doesn't really hit. It's feels so empty and void less. I dislike the character Rachel now progressing through the series. Ross is actually a psychopath.

Look I know that friends is one of this spoof comedy sit cons you can sit back and relax. But for me, it's just a chore to watch and get through every single laugh track in each episode. The show is not funny.

It's important to know that I don't typically write reviews, but after seeing how high this show was rated I had too.

I have watched the entire series and quite honestly I don't know how this series is so highly ranked. To me the shows writing is mediocre perhaps even less than mediocre and the acting is some of the worst I have seen. Of course, there are a few exceptions being Lisa Kudrow and a couple of secondary characters but the rest of the cast is by far some of the worst actors/actresses I have ever seen.

Now for the so called comedy... this is just not funny. By the way sitcom stands for situational comedy therefore there it should be funny. The jokes are basic and lacking in mental stimuli. The laughing in the background makes me wonder if these people were drugged or perhaps the show did not travel well through the time. I suppose I'll never know.

Maybe I am the odd one out but it seems this show is far overrated and just liked by a bunch of people who want to follow the bandwagon.

Let me tell you if you are thinking about watching this find something else. There are far better sitcoms out there so don't fall into the bandwagon trap!

When ever I saw friends on TV I would shiver in lame.

The show looked so bland and boring. They were generic characters doing generic things. Unlike Seinfeld. Seinfeld was like a cool, fun, awesome, no limits show.

You can come home after a long day pop a beer open and just chill to Seinfeld. Friends on the other hand one look and it turns you into lame sludge.

I used to love this show when I was a kid, and I would watch every episode religiously and discuss it the next day with me mates in school, I even asked for a box set for Christmas so I could watch my fave episodes more. Then I never really botherd after the Ross and Emily wedding. After that it just got boring and seemed to drag on and on.

For about a year after that wedding all it seemed to be was Monica and Chandler trying to hide that they were together, and after that Rachel and Ross deciding if they loved each other. Even now it has ended, it's still shown all the time on e4 and my mum puts it on, so I've seen every episode hundreds of times.

I really think that this show was dragged on for far too long. It should've ended a couple of series before it did.

The most bad tv show I ever saw it's not funny and very bad acting

It was unfortunately my first completed comedy tv series honestly i enjoyed it earlier because i thought that nothing can be better than this one. but then i watched other shows which are way too funny, had some good edgy jokes, realistic situational comedy, and real life relatable characters which changed my mind. there were no background laugh tracks after every joke to make audience realise that this is the joke now laugh on it in those shows unlike friends. now i can say that friends is totally crap where nearly 95% of its jokes are unfunny and it is mindless comedy.which is good for people with low intellect if you criticize indian tv series on how bad they are on thier story line and character development then you should have guts to say that friends is the show which is totally mindless comedy with unrealistic situations. where will you find a friend in real life who will pay all your expenses and debts everytime and give you place to live in his own house for that one friend who is dumb,unemployed,who is desperate for sex everytime and allowed a thief to rob all of his belongings because of his stupidity. and yes the other BETTER SHOW i was talking about is the office

I usually don't like to be mean about shows or movies, I'm pretty much ok with the idea that everybody likes different stuff, live and let live. However, when I feel that there has been serious misjustice done in the world of comedy/humor, I can't stay silent. The very reputation of the words "funny", "comedy", "humor", and "hilarious" has been irreparably damaged by shows like this. There are many shows, presently and in the past, that have done this, but they were usually very easily identified and correctly put in their place in the ol' 'sub-par' category. However, after seeing the rating this show has received, I felt it was my duty to dispel the ridiculous rating of 8.9 (as of 2/17/19) and one should not be deceived by such numbers.

Ok, 'Friends': This is a show for people with a bland, generic, tame, underdeveloped and/or a non-existent sense of humor who want to feel like they're normal people that have a good sense of humor. But alas, it may be genetic, or it may be environmental, but there is simply a large segment of the population that are incapable of distinguising what is genuinely funny. It's not their fault. They can't change. It's too late. But we don't want to make them sad, or feel left out, so that's the reason shows like this one are created.

This show labels itself a sitcom, but it seems that it couldn't make up its mind on whether to be a sitcom, a dramedy, or a soap opera for teenagers/early 20-somethings. But I understand why it has this identity crisis. If you're catering to the audience I described in the previous paragraph, you know that, because of their underdeveloped sense of humor, they would not be able to keep their attention on the show if it was more strictly comedy/humor-driven with maybe a drop of drama/sentimentality here and there (think along the lines of 'The King of Queens'), so big batches of non-comedy time needed to be dumped into to 'Friends'. The range of humor these people get is so limited that the show couldn't expect to fill more than 10 minutes of comedy, and they had to keep them tuned in for the whole 22 minutes of airtime, so this is where the terrible (or "amazing" to Friends fans) filler came in.

If you think all that sounds appealing, or you know you're in the demographic of being humor-deficient, then by all means, watch 'Friends', you will love and enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with that, that's what it's there for, people like youself. But to those reading this that like to laugh at things that are actually funny, and enjoy the many facets and types of comedy in the world, I urge you not to watch this show, as chunks of your sense of humor may wither and die if subjected to 'Friends' in any amount.

FYI: I don't like to rate things 1 star, because it kinda makes me feel sad. So I had to come up with reasons to give this tv show 2 starts. The reasons I came up with are, as follows: 1.) Courteney Cox gets a lot of cool points in my book because she was in Bruce Springsteen's video for 'Dancing In The Dark'. And she's hot. 2.) Lisa Kudrow was in an episode of a truly funny show ('Cheers') and she had black hair in it and she was sexy with black hair. Ok, 2 stars justified now. Goodbye.

Honestly, Friends is highly overrated. Most of the series feels like a collection of short Instagram clips, and all the genuinely funny moments are already available in those clips. There's very little substance beyond these moments, and the jokes quickly become repetitive. Watching the whole season adds almost nothing new compared to just scrolling through the highlights online. I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for anything fresh or genuinely entertaining beyond recycled humor.

It is funny but it is impossible to believe that people laugh at everything that comes out of the actors mouth on the show. LOL!

Lot of laugh tracks. I am sure if they show it to people without the laugh tracks then they will not find it as much funny as it is portrayed to be.

I'm not saying that it's the worst show ever and it's horrible. But if you want to watch a comedy there are so many better options. I found the storyline repetitive and the characters never really change or grow. It's one of those shows that's so trendy and that's why you watch it.

I didn't watch the television series "Friends" way back when because I was busy raising my three children (1987, 1991, 1992) so watching television was preserved for special occasions with programming worth watching.

Now that I'm a widow, retired, I have an android box, and sadly the death of Matthew Perry, I have been able to watch "Friends" from the very first episode.

I was hoping for so much more! I'm 60 years old so perhaps my age has slanted my perspective. It is slapstick silly humour.

I'm sorry for the loss of Matthew Perry to his family and friends and of all of the scenes he was the most humourous.

Is the actress Jayne Atkinson related to Jennifer Anniston? They could be Mother and Daughter.