All sitcoms are creepy without a laugh track! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for scenes in “Friends” that apparently had the audience cracking up — but take away the canned laughter, and it could play completely differently.
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00:00 "Somebody wants people to know you have a boyfriend."
00:02 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for scenes in Friends that
00:07 apparently had the audience cracking up, but take away the canned laughter,
00:11 and it could play completely differently.
00:14 "I'll always remember that summer because that's when I realized that we are related."
00:19 Number 10. Drop the Barbie.
00:24 Friends every so often shows its age as a show starting in the mid-90s.
00:28 As it turns out, in this episode, the only things of their time are the winter sport
00:32 Barbie from the same period, and Ross' idea of what kids should play with.
00:38 "What's my boy doing with the Barbie?"
00:39 "He picked it out at the toy store himself. He loves it. He carries it everywhere. It's
00:45 like a security blanket, but with ski boots and a kicky beret."
00:49 When Carol and Susan drop Ben off with his dad, Ross immediately spots Ben's beloved Barbie doll,
00:54 and proceeds to try to trick him into picking something else.
00:58 "How about a dino soldier?"
01:00 "Ross, you are so pathetic. Why can't your son just play with his doll?"
01:10 Characters left and right tell him to get over himself, but Ross cannot be convinced.
01:16 As far as he's concerned, toys are gendered,
01:18 and he won't rest until G.I. Joe is Ben's toy of choice.
01:22 "Real American hero, I'm G.I. Joe."
01:26 "Drop the Barbie, drop the Barbie."
01:28 He does happen to forget that he used to dress in his mom's clothes when he was little,
01:32 which should just show Ross that fostering a child's imagination is what's most important.
01:37 "The big hat, the pearls, the little pink handbag."
01:40 "Okay, you are totally making this up."
01:43 "How can you not remember? You made us call you B."
01:49 Number 9. Ross the Masseur
01:52 When Phoebe briefly goes to live with Ross, she brings her massage clients with her.
01:56 "Phoebe, you can't massage people in my apartment."
01:59 "What's the big deal? I did it at Monica and Chandler's."
02:02 "And they knew about it?"
02:03 Ross is not too happy about this. That is, until a gorgeous woman shows up at the door
02:11 asking about a massage. Ross tells her that he is a masseur,
02:14 only to discover that she isn't asking for herself.
02:17 "Can I help you with something?"
02:19 "Well, I don't know. Are you a masseur?"
02:22 "Yes, I am."
02:23 "Great. Dad?"
02:28 Everyone laughs when the woman introduces Ross to her much older dad.
02:32 But taking a step back, the situation is just gross. Ross, who has no qualifications to give
02:39 massages, lied to a woman in the hopes of getting her in a vulnerable position.
02:43 Not so funny anymore, is it?
02:45 "Dude, what are you massaging an old man for?"
02:47 "His daughter was hot."
02:51 "Gotcha."
02:52 8. Monica's younger boyfriend
02:55 Monica and Richard may have had a big age difference,
02:58 but it was Monica's earlier dalliance with a high school senior that made the cut here.
03:02 "How young is young Ethan? Young?"
03:04 "He's our age."
03:08 "When we were…"
03:14 "Okay, he's a senior in college."
03:16 The writer certainly gets some laughs out of it, but finding out what his real age is,
03:20 is just plain… icky, to use Monica's word when she finds out.
03:24 "Then what's the problem?"
03:25 "Ethan, it's, um… it's icky."
03:32 "Icky?"
03:35 Another uncomfortable relationship that was played for laughs on the show
03:38 was that of Phoebe's half-brother Frank Jr. and his former home ec teacher Alice.
03:43 While the 26-year age difference is one thing,
03:45 it's the uneven power dynamic and Frank barely being 18 that creeps us out.
03:51 "I was in her, uh, home ec class."
03:53 "And he was my best student."
03:54 "Yeah, she was my best teacher."
03:56 7. The non-annulment
03:59 "So, did everything go alright with the, uh, annulment?"
04:02 "Oh, yeah. No problems. It's all taken care of."
04:05 "Ross, thank you."
04:06 There's a big difference between not telling someone you don't like their shirt
04:10 after they just spent a boatload of money on it, and not telling the person that you married
04:14 after having some drinks in Las Vegas that you got an annulment when you didn't.
04:18 "You didn't get the annulment?"
04:20 "I know."
04:20 "Ross!"
04:23 "Well, I tried, but when I got to my lawyer's office, all I could hear was,
04:26 'Three divorces! Three divorces!'"
04:29 However, that's exactly what Ross does in the sixth season of Friends,
04:33 following his marriage to Rachel at the end of the previous season.
04:36 Ross also ups the creepy factor tenfold in the way he tells Phoebe about what he's done,
04:41 with a secretive tone and wry smile as he asks her not to tell Rachel.
04:45 "I didn't get the annulment."
04:46 "What?"
04:50 "We're still married. Don't tell Rachel. See you later."
04:55 6. Fat-shaming Monica
04:58 Friends has some absolutely hysterical moments we still quote.
05:01 Some storylines were a low blow even then.
05:04 Case in point, how often people fat-shamed poor Monica.
05:08 "You didn't just sit on my Kit Kats, did you?"
05:09 "No, there was a little dip in the market and I lost 13 million dollars."
05:16 "But the Kit Kats are alright."
05:18 Anytime we get a glimpse into the past, we wonder how she ended up well-adjusted.
05:22 Alas, one of Friends' most iconic episodes, the one with the prom video,
05:27 contains some really upsetting jabs at a young Monica's weight.
05:30 "Some girl ate Monica."
05:34 "Now shut up, the camera adds 10 pounds."
05:36 "Uh, so how many cameras are actually on you?"
05:39 Her parents and brother are culprits of it on a few occasions,
05:43 but some of the worst ones involve her eventual husband, Chandler.
05:47 Monica overhears Chandler fat-shaming her,
05:50 which sets her on her weight loss journey.
05:52 "Dude, don't do that to me."
05:54 "Oh no, it's cool, you can stay here, my parents won't mind."
05:56 "No, it's not that, I just don't want to be stuck here all night
05:58 with your fat sister."
05:59 "Hey."
06:00 Even in The One That Could Have Been,
06:02 the whole idea that Monica and Chandler still would have ended up together
06:05 even if Monica hadn't lost weight,
06:07 is supposed to be romantic, is messed up.
06:09 Number 5.
06:11 What Paolo Does to Phoebe
06:13 This scene from the first season of Friends sounds more like it came from a dramatic movie.
06:17 "You know Paolo?"
06:18 "I'm familiar with his work, yeah."
06:20 "He made a move on me."
06:23 "Whoa, store will be open tomorrow."
06:25 "More coffee over here, please."
06:27 However, with the backing of canned laughter and the way the scene is written,
06:30 the ominous subject matter is slightly glossed over.
06:33 "What happened?"
06:34 "Well, he came in for a massage, and everything was fine until…"
06:38 While Phoebe gives a massage to Paolo,
06:43 he grabs her and exposes himself, all without her consent.
06:47 As Phoebe recounts the assault to the other Friends,
06:50 they react with shock.
06:51 The scene is accompanied by a laugh track and played as more or less
06:55 classic sitcom shenanigans, when it really seems much more disturbing.
06:59 "Guys, guys? Oh, yeah, you have to tell her. Feminist issue, that's what I want."
07:04 "She is gonna hate me."
07:08 "Yeah, well…"
07:09 Number 4.
07:10 Ross' Insecurity
07:11 To paraphrase Shakespeare's character of Iago, jealousy is a green-eyed monster.
07:16 When it came to Ross and Rachel,
07:18 the events of the third season brought out that beast in Ross.
07:21 "It's, uh, it's from Ross. It's a love bug."
07:23 "Wow, somebody wants people to know you have a boyfriend."
07:28 Rachel makes a new work friend named Mark,
07:31 so Ross takes to sending gifts, flowers, and even a barbershop quartet to her work.
07:36 "And you know who will be there to support you? Your one and only boyfriend."
07:42 "It's nice to have a boyfriend."
07:44 "Your loyal, loving boyfriend, Ross."
07:47 "Ross!"
07:47 Rachel accuses him, rightly, of trying to "mark his territory."
07:51 A little insecurity might be normal,
07:53 but to have such a possessive attitude towards your partner is not something to laugh off.
07:58 Also, after they've broken up, Ross tells Rachel he can picture her naked whenever he wants.
08:03 It might be true, but that doesn't make it less creepy.
08:06 "I don't want you thinking of me like that anymore."
08:09 "Uh, sorry, nothing you can do about it. It's one of my, uh, rights as the ex-boyfriend, huh?"
08:14 "Oh, oh yeah."
08:15 "Hey, cut it out!"
08:18 Number 3.
08:20 Awkward Cousin Time
08:21 Critics have called this moment on Friends everything from embarrassing to weird to
08:25 one of the worst things Ross ever did.
08:27 "She's your cousin. She's your cousin.
08:31 If she knew what was going on in your head, she'd think you were sick."
08:37 We're talking about the time Ross tried to kiss his cousin.
08:41 Not only was it way more disturbing than funny,
08:44 it was made even more so with his joking excuse that he hadn't been intimate
08:48 with anyone for a while.
08:49 "There is nothing you can say to make this worse, so just say something!"
08:55 "I-I-I haven't had sex in a very long time."
09:00 Speaking of uncomfortable family moments,
09:04 it's hard not to forget the time it was revealed that Monica's first real kiss
09:08 was actually with her brother Ross.
09:10 He was in a dark room and they both thought they were with someone
09:13 they weren't related to, but still.
09:15 "You were my first kiss with Rachel?"
09:17 "You were my first kiss ever?"
09:24 "What did I marry into?"
09:26 Number 2. Ross's lack of flirting skills.
09:30 Ross Geller can do a lot of things, but he really can't flirt.
09:34 "My friend Ross, he uh, he just gets really nervous when he's flirting."
09:40 "Oh my god, that was flirting?"
09:43 "I know, I know."
09:45 We learn that in the fifth season when he tries to talk to
09:48 an attractive pizza delivery person.
09:50 It turns out that talking about eight-year-old boys and the smell of gas
09:53 isn't a great way to get someone interested in you.
09:56 "You said you thought that your hair looked like an eight-year-old boy's,
09:59 and I'm, I'm just saying I like it. The hair."
10:03 "Thanks."
10:07 While it's not really inappropriate or offensive,
10:11 this moment is just totally cringey and awkward.
10:14 It's kind of hard to watch.
10:16 It would probably be even worse if there was no laugh track to ease our pain.
10:20 "The gas is odorless, but they add the smell so you know when there's a leak."
10:26 "Well, okay."
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10:48 Number 1. Ross and Unagi
10:51 It wasn't the first time Friends would make light of what could be a serious situation,
10:55 but the one with Unagi takes it to a new level.
10:58 "All I'm saying is, it's one thing being prepared for an attack against like each other,
11:03 whole 'nother story being prepared for an attack. I don't know, like, surprise!"
11:06 Ross's desire to teach Phoebe and Rachel a lesson by attacking them is written to be funny,
11:13 and to an extent it is. His over-the-top seriousness about the principle of Unagi,
11:18 and the back-and-forth surprise ambushes get lots of good laughs.
11:22 "Now I'm curious, at what point during those girlish screams would you have begun to
11:28 kick my ass?"
11:29 However, without a laugh track, it probably wouldn't make us crack up.
11:33 We'd be more likely to react like how the self-defense instructor does when Ross goes
11:38 to him for tips on how to better attack his friends.
11:41 "Um, hey, a couple of questions though. Um, you know about that, that last move where that
11:47 woman tripped you and then pinned you to the floor? What, what, what would you do next?"
11:51 Which Friends scene would definitely get fewer chuckles without a laugh track?
11:55 Leave us a non-creepy comment below.
11:57 "Say things like that, it makes me wanna rip that sweater vest right off."
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12:13 [Music]