I'll Be There For You--The One about Friends

September 1, 2018
Lifestyle journalist Miller (Big Girl: How I Gave up Dieting and Got a Life, 2016) goes behind the scenes of Friends.In the same rough semantic domain as Seinfeld and the now-forgotten HBO comedy Dream On, Friends had all the virtues and some of the vices of its era--which, the author reminds us, is a quarter-century ago now. It was resolutely white, determinedly nondiverse, and marked by all the gay jokes and sexist tropes of the era, though over its long run it began to change. Miller notes, for example, that Friends featured the first lesbian wedding, though it shied away from anything particularly overt and certainly anything political. Rather blandly, the author explains, "the general consensus was that TV in that time was not a sophisticated or inclusive landscape, and in some ways Friends was better than its peers"--i.e., something was better than nothing. One reason for the success of Friends, Miller capably shows, was the absolute rightness of its cast, some of whom--David Schwimmer in particular--were reluctant, others shrewd in asserting the wisdom of allowing them to make notes and pull together as a true ensemble. (On that note, Courtney Cox emerges as a real hero.) Said one Rolling Stone writer who covered the show, "I've never seen a cast...stick together to the degree they did." Given the post-Friends fortunes of those cast members, it would seem that lightning had been captured in a bottle. Miller is good at the small moments, less so about threading the show into the general culture. And for those clamoring for a reunion, as every other show of the time seems to be rebooting? Let cast member Lisa Kudrow tell it: "That was about people in their twenties, thirties. The show isn't about people in their forties, fifties. And if we have the same problems, that's just sad."Nostalgic and affectionate, with plenty of dish; just the thing for fans of the show.

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October 1, 2018

Miller (Big Girl) offers a loving, insightful, and entertaining tour through the ten-season run of the TV sitcom Friends. Beginning with showrunners David Crane and Marta Kauffman pitching a show about six Gen Xers operating as a found family in New York City, the book follows the casting and writing of the program, which ran from 1994 to 2004 on NBC and still enjoys popularity in syndication. Highlights include the cast's determination to work as an ensemble and the importance of filming before a studio audience--with writers retooling jokes on the spot to elicit greater laughs. Miller also revisits the will-they-or-won't-they drama on-screen (Ross and Rachel) and off-screen (publicized contract negotiations that threatened the renewal of Friends). Finally, the author doesn't shy away from more modern criticisms of the series' homophobia, lack of inclusivity, and jokes that rely on body- or slut-shaming. VERDICT Miller successfully revisits a classic television show, demonstrating its larger place in pop culture. A must-read for fans of Must See TV.--Terry Bosky, Madison, WI

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2018
This detailed, affectionate look at the history of 1990s megahit Friends traces the show from its beginnings, as a buzzed-about pilot in 1994, to one of the defining cultural touchstones for an entire generation. The focus is narrow, to the book's benefit; Miller (Big Girl, 2016) is not concerned with the personal lives of Friends' famous stars, except in cases where real-life events directly affect the show itself (as in the case of Lisa Kudrow's pregnancy leading to the arc in which Phoebe has twins), and this focus keeps the book slim and readable. In addition to an examination of the show's development and mind-boggling popularity, this is also an analysis of common critiques of Friends: for its whiteness, homophobia, and fatphobia. Although Miller's perspective is clearly biased in the show's favor, she does not ignore its more problematic elements, even if her conclusions are not likely to satisfy Friends' critics. Hand this to fans of the show and to readers who enjoy pop-culture histories, who will tear through this smart, nostalgic read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)