A poignant shadow hangs over The Friends Experience but there is still comfort to be found

The Friends Experience landed in Dublin last week and quickly took on a new significance in the wake of Matthew Perry's death.

In the wake of Matthew Perry's passing, fans have been sharing an outpouring of love for Perry, Chandler and Friends. Picture: Warner Bros. Television

When I visited The Friends Experience last week, I had no idea the tragic news that would break in the coming days.

As a millennial, Friends has been a cultural touchstone for most of my life. It was a pop culture phenomenon and the first that I watched unfold in real-time.

When the first series arrived in Ireland, I was allowed to stay up past my bedtime to watch it with the rest of my family and the following day we were all talking about it in school.

We were obsessed and over the past almost two decades, it’s fair to say that little has changed.

Since Friends wrapped in 2004, I don’t think there has really been a time when I couldn’t flick through the channels and find a rerun airing somewhere. The Rachel, The Rembrandts, the great ‘break’ debate. It both is and was inescapable.

As such, it has always been there for me (apologies, I had to say it).

Promotional portrait of the cast circa 1996 when the show had become a worldwide smash hit. Picture: Warner Brothers Television/Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images

When I was procrastinating homework or college assignments, when I am sick or hungover, or when I just need background noise when I want to wind down, Friends is my go-to.

It is endlessly quotable, there is a Friends quote for almost every situation. Many of which have ingrained themselves in pop culture.

Can you say the word ‘pivot’ without hearing Ross shouting it over and over? It also gave us the term ‘friend zone’ – while I hate the term, it is a handy two-word (one word? hyphenate?) red flag that reveals a person who is only nice to the opposite sex when they think they will get something in return.

But I digress. The point is, when those six friends sat down in Central Perk for the first time, pop culture was never the same again.

For 10 seasons, we followed Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, and Ross as they navigated their 20s and grew into themselves in their 30s.

We know these characters, we love these characters, and we love the cast that brought them to life.

‘Welcome to the real world – it sucks’ 

Just days after I dove into the comfort cocoon that was The Friends Experience, I woke to the news that Matthew Perry had passed away.

It is always upsetting when a celebrity you were a fan of dies, especially when they were so prominent in your younger years. Not to mention, when the person dies much too young.

Chandler is the most common answer when you ask people who their favourite Friends character is.

It’s not hard to see why. While all of them had their moments, Chandler was consistently hilarious across the series.

A quick-witted, sarcastic man, Chandler could easily have been the worst Friend, but Perry imbued the character with a genuine warmth that made it impossible to dislike him as he ripped the piss out of his best pals.

Some of his most relatable lines include: “I make jokes when I’m uncomfortable”, “I say more dumb things before 9am than most people do all day” and “I’m a gym member. I try to go four times a week, but I’ve missed the last 1,200 times.” 

He was just like us. He was the everyman but the funniest everyman.

Michelle McGlynn and Stacy Grouden at The Friends Experience in Dublin. Picture: The Friends Experience

Chandler was also one half of the show’s best relationship – his friendship with best friend and roommate Joey.

Not only does the duo deliver some of the funniest and most memorable moments of the show, they are the heart of a show that is all about found family. They were brothers through thick and thin and Chandler's inability to stop kissing important women in Joey's life.

In the 90s, it was refreshing to see two men who weren’t shy about showing and voicing their affection for one another.

A clip that has been shared many times over the past few days is when Joey moves out of their shared apartment. Despite knowing they would still see each other every day, the pair are clearly upset.

After closing the door, Chandler turns and looks at an apartment that is now just his, and his brow furrows as he begins to wonder what life in the apartment will be like without his pal.

The door flings open and before Chandler can even turn around, Joey has thrown his arms around him in a bear hug. Their smiles say everything.

That one silent moment sums up their friendship. To this day, they are one of the all-time great on-screen friendships.

‘It was a happy place, filled with love and laughter’ 

Often when an actor or musician passes away it takes me some time to revisit their work because it feels too sad but when it came to Matthew Perry and Friends, I dove head-first into my comfort zone and have been binge-watching episodes and clips.

If, like me, you want to immerse yourself in nostalgia, then The Friends Experience might be just what you’re looking for.

There are endless photo ops to be had and walking on to the sets of the two apartments and Central Perk felt so odd but pleasantly familiar.

The entire experience is littered with references and little Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to enjoy. I was really impressed with the attention to detail, although I probably shouldn’t have expected anything less.

Friends fans are dedicated, to say the least, so god help anyone who got a quote or reference wrong in a place like this. It would be pure sacrilege.

The cast of Friends went on their own trip down memory lane, revisiting the sets that were their second homes for over a decade during a special reunion show in 2021.

As well as visiting the sets, you get to recreate some of the most iconic moments from the show – dance in front of the couch while singing I’ll Be There For You, lift the couch and see if you and your pals can PIVOT! Ride into Monica and Rachel’s apartment on the big white dog (sandwiches optional) or become the floating heads begging for some Thanksgiving food from Monica and her vein.

Along the journey, you can see signed scripts, read the one and only edition of Science Boy, meet the Holiday Armadillo, and see if you can get through Rachel’s letter to Ross without falling asleep – I mean, it is 18 pages, front and back.

All in all, The Friends Experience is a great afternoon out for die-hard fans and casual viewers alike.

Travel back to a simpler time when you believed that people could live in fabulous, spacious apartments in NYC while working mid-level jobs, that you too could spend your days and nights hanging out rather than actually doing those mid-level jobs, and that people in their 20s were fully-realised people who have their life together.

And then remember that for all its outlandish storylines, this show is a reminder that no matter how life goes, you will always have good friends — and Friends.

Top tips 

• The website estimates that it will take about an hour to make your way through the experience. I would allow more time because even though they stagger the entries, you will inevitably spend a good amount of time queuing at the various photo ops.
• In terms of tickets, the €20 for an adult pass is pretty good value but €17 for a child feels like a lot. There are other upgraded options ranging from €43-€85. Personally, I don’t think the extras justify that kind of cost but, hey, maybe you’re like Rachel and would pay €1,000 for an angry hairless cat. I’m not here to judge.