I haven’t written a “Friends” walkthrough I’m months but I’m feeling nostalgic tonight so I thought I’d write one. Let me check what episode I’m up to. I’m on Season Seven Episode Seventeen “The One With the Cheap Wedding Dress.” That means I’ve watched ten episodes since I last wrote one of these. I don’t write one for every episode I watch. Just when I’m in the mood.
The episode originally aired on March 15, 2001. Let me check my calendar and see what I was doing that day. Looks like I was working at Marvel Comics that day doing the production work on some of their covers. I was commuting to Manhattan so I also bought a ten trip bus ticket for $105 on that day. There is a note that on the following Saturday I was doing some character design stuff. I wonder what characters I was designing? They were obviously for my own work but I have no idea what characters they were. Plus I bought some old Iron Man (issues 97-100) and Hulk (Issue 200) comics off of eBay that week.
Let’s start the show. It starts out in Central Perk and it looks like Monica and Chandler are planning their wedding and are choosing appetizers and a band. Chandler wants the “Swing Kings” to play the wedding. I think we get Joey’s “Peanut Butter Fingers” joke here. Ahh… there it is. I always liked that joke. Joey really sells it. Here comes the theme song.
The scene changes and now we have Chandler and Ross outside on the street checking out the new woman moving into the neighborhood. It’s a woman named Kristen who Ross takes a liking to so he and Chandler chat her up. Ross hits her with some awkward sewage history. Good stuff. Chandler is a terrible wingman but she accepts Ross’s offer to take her to dinner.
New scene and the three women are shopping for Monica’s dress. It’s the whole try on wedding dresses as you drink champagne thing that I’ve only ever seen (or even heard of) on TV and the movies. Monica finds the dress she wants but then makes the mistake of telling a stranger (Megan, another bride to be) that she is going to get the same one at a huge discount sale in a couple of days. You know that won’t end well.
Back to a street scene and Joey stumbles on the same woman (Kristen) moving in. Joey is a bit more charming. Of course he asks her out too and gets a dinner date for the night after Ross’s. A quick but amusing scene setting ups the Ross and Joey conflict..
Now we cut to a couple of days later at the big wedding dress sale at Kleinman’s. It’s a mob scene. There are women everywhere lined up to get in the store. Monica is psyching Rachel and Phoebe up to help her find the dress. She’s even got whistles for them! She finds the dress but guess who else grabs it at the same time. Of course it’s the woman she told about the sale. Some whistle humor ensues as Rachel can’t take the bargain shoppers. Then Monica pins the other woman and wins the dress! Victory!
Meanwhile back in Central Perk Ross and Chandler are discussing Ross’s date from the other night. It went well enough that there will be a second date. Ross leaves and Joey shows up. Chandler figures out they are dating the same woman and is gleeful. Ross walks back in and Chandler sets them up in funny fashion to know the truth. The joy Chandler takes in this is great.
We get a scene cut but we’re still in the coffee shop but now Joey and Ross are on the couch next to each other trying to figure things out. They will each go out on one more date with her and let her decide. Some funny stuff here.
Back at Monica’s apartment all three women are admiring the wedding dress as the phone rings. It’s Megan on the phone who lets Monica know that Megan booked the Swings Kings on the day of Monica and Chandler’s wedding. If Monica gives her the wedding dress she can have the Swing Kings. Monica is in a bind and Rachel makes some solid whistle jokes.
Night falls and as Ross gets ready for his date Joey stops by. A little competitive jockeying by the boys. Ahh.. This is also where the face cream “T-Zone” jokes are from. That’s a memorable part of the series for me.
Now back to the apartment as Chandler gets home and Monica has to break the Swing Kings news to him. But first the three women are trying to talk him out of the band. He wins Monica over with sentimentality but the problem isn’t solved just yet as we cut to a NYC skyline shot.
Ross is out on his date with Kristen but guess who shows up. It’s Joey to sabotage him. Of course they get competitive trying to embarrass each other. Some good stuff here but Kristen had enough and disappears on them. Since these are the extended edition DVD copies that I watch Joey actually says, “Does a bear shit in the woods?” at one point. I had forgotten that. That line didn’t make it onto the air.
Chandler walks into his apartment and greets Monica but she won’t come out of their room because she’s wearing the wedding dress. He promises not to like it so she can return it. Of course he loves it but she’s booked the Swing Kings so off the dress goes. After he’s banged her in it of course!
Here come the credits and the episode ends with Monica walking in as all three guys who are watching TV on the couch. Then we get that memorable turnaround shot of all three of them with grey face cream on their noses and foreheads. Their T-zones. This shot gets shown all the time on highlight reels of the show.
Now I’m going to check what was cut out of this episode for syndication. Looks like nothing was cut out. Except of course for the “Shit” line. I guess there was no extra stuff to put into the extended episode.
Now let’s see what I rated this one back a decade ago when I rated them all. As of right now I’d give it a four out of five stars. It was an extra funny episode. I only gave it three stars back then. That means I thought it was an average episode. Maybe it was because I was feeling extra nostalgic today but it really did earn that fourth star from me. Good stuff.