Generation Friends

Even though I wasn’t alive when Friends premiered, I consider myself something of a Friends junkie. I’ve seen them all, I routinely quote from my favorite episodes, and yes, I’m a Monica mixed with Rachel who wishes she was Chandler. So when I saw this book on NetGalley, billing itself as a history of the show that made a generation, I knew I had to read it. And to be honest, I read I”ll Be There For You back in October, so I already knew a LOT Of the backstory of Friends.

So, because I knew a lot of the background, I didn’t appreciate as much the in depth info on casting and writing that this book provided. It’s a great insight, if it’s your first time reading about the oral history of Friends. But, there’s a lot of that here, and the author clearly had some great access. If you like Hollywood shop talk, you’ll love this. Honestly, a little too much focus on the backend for me, someone who primarily loved the CHARACTERS. But, compared to the other book i read on Friends, I appreciated the way this book talked about the highlights of the plot, how it came about, how the fans felt. There are SIX chapters devoted to “The Ballad of Ross and Rachel” and I felt that, haha, even if Monica and Chandler got screwed. But I digress, because that’s a really personal opinion of mine haha.

Anyway, if you like Friends, have seen it all, and want to spend more time with it, this book’ll scratch that itch. It’s got Hollywood shop talk, back room dealings, along with thoughts about how fashion and culture were changed by Friends. There’s nothing groundbreaking, but I didn’t mind reading it.