4. Its a Comedy
Friends was comedy in its purest form, it was its bread and butter. Lets be honest, its was not high-class drama, and nor should it have ever been. It never took itself seriously and thats why we loved it. Quite simply it was a laugh! The only problem with this is how would it translate onto the big screen? Along with the filming issues Ive mentioned, one must question whether
Friends particular brand of humour could be adequately adapted. And if it could, would it still be
Friends, or something else entirely? Unfortunately some people seem to think that because shows such as
Sex and the City had successful reunions,
Friends would too. Keep in mind,
Sex and the City was a completely different genre of show. Yes, it used a lot of humour but, at its core it was a drama, a drama which was considerably more risqué, sarcastic and realistic.
Friends is kind of like the pre-watershed version of
Sex. In fact, the only thing they really have in common is that both shows are set in New York. Besides, as Ive mentioned earlier, a reunion really needs to pull out all the stops; both aesthetically and creatively. How could we have 90 120 minutes of laughs? Would it then just be an extended episode of the show, or would they have to suddenly make it drama? Of course
Friends has gotten more serious at times, but never for a sustained period of time and movies are built around discord and ultimate resolution. You could argue there are plenty of comedy films, but even still, it is a different kettle of fish to a television series. Mult-genre shows which frequently employ humour, such as
UglyBetty and
Glee, would be much more suited to the big screen, but
Friends?
Friends was always a comedy show, first and foremost, and tampering with its premise just for the sake of a comeback has the potential to ruin its legacy altogether.