Laughter and tears.
For an hour and forty minutes, fans of the series "Friends" can find since this Thursday morning on the platform Salto their favorite stars in a program entitled "Friends: The Reunion", very aptly renamed "The one we expect. all ”in the manner of the original episodes.
It will be scheduled later on TF1.
The show was originally intended to be the headliner for the launch of the HBO Max platform last year across the Atlantic.
But due to the health crisis, the shooting has continued to be postponed, increasing the impatience of aficionados.
The event therefore took a long time to prepare behind the scenes and the comedians would have received about 2.5 million dollars (2 million euros) each to participate, according to "Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter", after having refused a first offer at 1 million.
According to the wave of comments that invaded social networks as soon as it went online this Thursday, May 27, spectators were not disappointed.
Jennifer Aniston overwhelmed by emotion
On the screen, the actors begin by rediscovering 17 years after the sets of the comedy shot from 1994 to 2004, reconstituted in the original studio.
David Schwimmer (Ross), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel, the first to cry, overcome with emotion), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Courteney Cox (Monica) and finally Matthew Perry (Chandler) fall into the arms of each other and the tone is set.
Those who have shared the lives of millions of homes around the world still show a beautiful chemistry, chambering with each other like their characters in the series.
VIDEO.
"Friends" Special Episode: Fans Expect "Big Show"
Between viewing cult scenes, some of which are replayed by the six actors, interviews conducted in public by British host James Corden and sharing unpublished anecdotes, every minute is a candy of nostalgia.
A sequence will especially delight lovers of the Ross-Rachel couple, since the two actors David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston admit to having really fallen for each other from the first season, without anything concrete happening between them. .
The creators and producers of the series, Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin Bright also share their memories of the cast of the actors, the evolution of the plots, in particular the Monica-Chandler couple born thanks to the enthusiasm of the public, as well as at the end of the series.
A nice duo of Lady Gaga with Lisa Kudrow
To increase the buzz even more in the days preceding this upload, HBO Max had published a surprising guest list where actors who have appeared over the seasons (Reese Witherspoon, Tom Selleck, Maggie Wheeler, James Michael Tyler) rubbed shoulders with other more unusual personalities: David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Cara Delevingne, the Korean group BTS, Kit Harington from "Game of Thrones" ...
In the end, they really don't add much, except when Lady Gaga appears for a nice duet with Lisa Kudrow covering Phoebe's iconic song "You stink of the cat".
Among the external interventions, the most moving sequence is in fact a video montage where anonymous people from all over the world express how “Friends” has played an important role in their lives.
The essential remains obviously the hard core of the series, these six actors marked by the years that have passed, but whose charisma has not budged.
They imagine in turn what has become of their characters but recall that no sequel is on the agenda.
It is also very good like that.
At a time when the remakes and sequels of old series are legion, "Friends" does not take the risk of spoiling what remains a monument in the history of television.
Its history simply continues to be written through the new generations who discover fiction today thanks to platforms and reruns on multiple channels.
The 236 episodes of “Friends” have thus been viewed more than 100 billion times around the world.
Mind-blowing.
EDITOR'S RATING: 4/5
"Friends: the Reunion"
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American program produced by Ben Winston (2021) with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer… (1h40)