Friends: The Reunion

HBO Max | Release Date: May 27, 2021

7.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

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TruecriticMattMay 30, 2021

The reunion was absolutely painful to watch and not in a good way. In the biggest friends fan in the world simple. But what a disappointment. It was always going to be too hard for the cast but the only ones making any genuine effort wasThe reunion was absolutely painful to watch and not in a good way. In the biggest friends fan in the world simple. But what a disappointment. It was always going to be too hard for the cast but the only ones making any genuine effort was David and Matt the rest other than shed a few tears were as flat as the whole reunion. Friends has a bit to do with anyone and has always thought a smile one way or the other for viewers around the world. We know this. Why then do we need to see Lady GaGa, David Beckham, Justin Bieber and half of Africa. Oh yes I know now, because of promotion. Spoiler warning - well actually not a spoiler warning - this completely didn’t work. Are we trying to appeal to Beckham and Bieber fans as opposed to what we wanted to be watching? Yes. Did the whole thing look and sound desperate? Yes. Did the host annoy us asking school gossip questions? Yes. There was a quiz the cast took part in plus going over a few lines they seemingly hadn’t forgotten. That was all. Jennifer clearly has forgot how to act, Matthew Perry for obvious reasons hardly took part, the time we got with the six friends together was limited and you got the sense that once the makers had done with the celeb promoting the couldnt wait nor could half the cast to escape. All in all a bitterly disappointing overrated mess. The audience certainly realised this also. The opening scene looked promising right up until James the host announced the friends on stage to take a rehearsed stance. Erm, flat as pancake much? Shut up James we don’t want to hear from you. Justin your lame sit down little boy. Erm lady G I don’t think Lisa Kudrow enjoyed sitting near you, Matthew Perry book your ideas up, Jennifer and Courtney spent their time trying to smooch with eachother, the cast admitted to not watching friends much except from Joey and David who took part, seemingly all cast forgot important iconic characters names. The cameos for the former cast like Tom selleck and co were quick and painful and well as for Bright Kufman whatever they might as well remake the cheap housewives of Orange County and get it with - talk about illogical. Oh inexcusable, pathetic I think that sums it up. Well done Ross and Joey got actually giving us what we wanted the rest shame on you for that. Friends will always be in our hearts regardless as to whether Lisa and Jen etc abruptly responded no that’s it this is the last time. Erm thanks for the harsh reminder.… Expand

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SoulWarfareMay 28, 2021

I love Friends when I was younger and was rooting for a reunion episode. Well, they finally did it but instead of a time skip episode, we instead got a reunion of the actors reminiscing about their time on Friends. I was very disappointed byI love Friends when I was younger and was rooting for a reunion episode. Well, they finally did it but instead of a time skip episode, we instead got a reunion of the actors reminiscing about their time on Friends. I was very disappointed by that as I really wanted to see where the characters I loved were up to. Nonetheless, I was still interested to watch it just because we haven't seen the actors together in a long time as well. So was it a happy reunion or unneeded? Firstly, I enjoyed watching the actors returning to the set and meeting each other again. Seeing them interact again, you could still see that they all still retain the chemistry between each other. It was interesting and fun to watch them just talk about their time on Friends such as their first meeting, their favourite moments and things that happened due to their fame. They also do some re-enactments of some great moments from the show and this was nice to watch as we see them easily bring these characters back to life again. I also really loved seeing them react to some clips from Friends as it was intriguing to know what they thought of it. It was also quite a blast to see them react to the bloopers as well, although I wish they included some more bloopers as well. They also reacted to that time Matt LeBlanc broke his shoulder on one episode which was just such a great moment. They also do a quiz show with the cast to see their knowledge on Friends which was hilarious. There are also some very interesting interviews from the creators of Friends about how the show came into being and why these actors were casted.

However, my biggest issue with this special has got to be the atrocious editing. It constantly switches from actors reminiscing to talk show to documentary to quiz repeatedly. It's clunky and very messy. It's very jarring and annoying as it never seems to stay focus on one thing for long enough. It baffles me why it had to be a 100-minute special when they could've done episodes that focus on different things. They could have one episode of Friends cast reminiscing, one episode about how Friends was made and another episode being a quiz with the cast etc. The choice of having it all crammed together is a terrible choice and it doesn't work.

There is a talk show segment with James Corden and I hated it. James Corden feels too hyperactive and obnoxious with his talk show segment taking too long or just being too awkward for my liking. I actually wouldn't have minded if they got rid of his segment entirely. There are some moments where it shows how Friends impacted non-celebrity people which was just too cringy and distracting. Some celebrities come in as well such as David Beckham and Kit Harrington where they talk about their favourite episode. However, I could give no care whatsoever to it and wanted them to go back to the Friends themselves. There is also a very weird segment that appears randomly with Lisa Kudrow singing "Smelly Cat" again which was great but then gets ruined by Lady Gaga and a random choir which was pointless additions. Lisa says it herself "I think the song was better when I sang it alone".

Overall, when they let the Friends cast do their thing and the focus is just on them, it's great. When it keeps derailing to something else, it's bad. If you're a huge Friends fan then you definitely need to watch this. However, if you're just someone who knows about Friends and might like documentaries or something, then I can guarantee that there is not much worth watching this as you won't gain much. It might not be the reunion I wanted but there was some enjoyment to be had for sure.… Expand

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