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The One Where Monica And Richard Are Friends

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"The One Where Monica And Richard Are Friends" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on January 30, 1997. In it, Monica and Richard try to be friends with benefits, but both can't handle their feelings, while Joey reads Little Women and Rachel reads The Shining and Phoebe becomes uncomfortable with how her new boyfriend dresses.

Plot[]

What Monica doesn't expect to find at the video store is ex-boyfriend Richard Burke, now without his mustache. The two have a pleasant conversation and then go grab a bite. He then asks her to help him cook a lasagna, which she does. The two know that there is sexual tension between them, but don't act upon it - until Richard starts calling Monica on her phone from behind her apartment door. The two re-unite - casually, it seems - but Monica starts taking a liking to Richard as a boyfriend again, having a more of a romantic relationship together.

Chandler looking at "little Robert"

Chandler looking at "little Robert"

Joey agrees to read Rachel's "classic" Little Women while Rachel agrees to read Joey's more modern The Shining, which he finds scary enough to keep it in the freezer when he's reading it. Joey finds Little Women a great read, but out of excitement about The Shining, spoils the end of Rachel's book when he reveals the ending to it. Rachel gets her revenge by spoiling Joey's book's ending, but seeing how sad the spoilers make Joey, makes up a happier ending at Chandler's urging. However, Joey nears the ending of Little Women, and is about to burst into tears, when Rachel suggests to put the book in the freezer.

Ross and Chandler meet Phoebe's new date, Robert, who seems to be pretty nice except for one thing - he keeps "coming out of his shorts". Chandler points this out to Ross, then to Joey. The three of them tells it to Phoebe, who's shocked by it. Rachel happens to get a glimpse of it as well. No one knows how to solve this problem, but Gunther does it for them when he prompts Robert to "put the mouse back in the house".

Although she doesn't want him to cancel on his blind date, Monica sets herself up in Richard's apartment like she did last time - waiting for him on a bed of roses with a rose bud between her teeth. When he shows up with the blind date he was supposed to be with on a different night, she panics. He sees her before letting his blind date in and finds a way of getting rid of the other woman. When he talks about things to Monica, she realizes that she's not fine with the fling thing, and proposes to Richard to get together again. He reminds her that by getting back together, they would be where they were before they broke up, so the two agree for their own sake not to keep seeing each other anymore, not without sleeping together for one last time.

Cast and Crew[]

Main Cast[]

Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller

Supporting Cast[]

Tom Selleck - Dr. Richard Burke
James Michael Tyler - Gunther
Markus Flanagan - Robert
Gina Hecht - Richard's Date
Steven Harad - Clerk
Robert Aguilar Jr. - Video Store Customer

Crew[]

Directed By:
Robby Benson

Written By:
Michael Borkow

Quotes[]

[Monica is returning a video.]
Clerk: Six dollars, please.
Monica: Six? I just had it for one night. It's three.
Clerk: Eight o'clock is the cut-off and — aww, it's 8:02.
Monica: You know, in a weird way, you have too much power.

Rachel: [looking at her watch] Oh my God, I gotta go to work!
Ross: Oh, sweetie, when do you think you’re going to get off tonight?
Rachel: Oh, I don’t know, honey. It's gonna be really late.
Ross: Oh, come on. Not again.
Rachel: I know. I'm sorry. Look, I'll make a deal with you, all right? OK?
Ross: Hmm.
Rachel: For every night that you're asleep before I get home from work...
Ross: Yeah.
Rachel: I will wake you up in a way that's proved very popular in the past.
Ross: Now, if you need to stay late, I want to be supportive of that.

Chandler: [a bit stunned by what he just saw] Robert's coming out.
Ross: What? What do you mean, what? Is he gay?
Chandler: No. He... He's coming out of his shorts.
Ross: What?
Chandler: The man is showing brain.

Joey: These Little Women... Wow!
Chandler: You're liking it, huh?
Joey: Oh, yeah. Amy just burned Jo's manuscript. I don't see how he could ever forgive her.
Ross: Uhm... Jo's a girl, it's short for Josephine.
Joey: But Jo's got a crush on Laurie. Oh, you mean, it's like a girl-girl thing? 'Cause that is the one thing missing from The Shining.
Chandler: No, actually, Laurie's a boy.
Joey: No wonder Rachel had to read this so many times.

Joey: [Robert's goods are on display as he reaches for a quarter in his sock. Chandler is pushing against Joey to keep away from the sight] What are you doing? Get back over on your side of the- [sees Robert's show.] Helloooo!

Monica: So, we can be friends who sleep together.
Richard: Absolutely, this will just be something we do, like racquetball.

Rachel: [upset because Joey's just ruined the end of The Shining for her, she ruins Little Women for him] All right... Okay. Laurie proposes to Jo and she says no even though she's still in love with him. And then he ends up marrying Amy.
Joey: Hey! Mine was by accident! All right. The boiler explodes and destroys the hotel and kills the dad.
Rachel: Eh. Beth dies.
Joey: [completely horrified] Beth... Beth dies?
Rachel: Um-hmm.
Joey: [to Chandler] Is that true? If I keep reading, is Beth gonna die?
Chandler: No, Beth doesn't die. She doesn't die, does she, Rachel?
Rachel: What?
Ross: Joey is asking if you've just ruined the first book he's ever loved that didn't star Jack Nicholson.

Gunther: Hey, buddy, this is a family place. Put the mouse back in the house.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • The guy at the video store counter in this episode has appeared as an extra in other episodes:
  • Starting with this episode, Tom Selleck is credited as just "Richard" instead of "Dr. Richard Burke".
  • The song that plays when Monica and Richard make out would later be played more twice, in scenes related to Monica. A little part is used in "The One After Ross Says Rachel" (S5E1) when she made out with Chandler in her apartment, and in "The One Where Paul's The Man" (S6E22) when it is revealed that Chandler is going to ask her to marry him.
  • Some of the movie posters that can be seen in the video store are: The Nutty Professor, A Time To Kill, Dragonheart, Tin Cup, Joe's Apartment. Some of the Disney video cassettes that can be seen on the shelf include Aladdin, Peter Pan, Pocahontas, Dumbo, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
  • One of the video boxes seen in the video store is Beauty And The Beast (1991), in which the Beast is voiced by Robby Benson, who also directed this episode.
  • When Monica is talking to the clerk behind the counter in the video store, a movie poster for the film One On One (1977) starring Robby Benson can be seen hanging on the wall behind the counter. Benson directed this particular episode.
  • Tom Selleck appears in this episode without his trademark mustache. He had to shave it off during filming of the 1997 comedy movie, In & Out. This movie is alluded to when the gang discovers Ursula, Phoebe's sister, is using her sister's name in porn movies. "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry".
  • In the UK and on Netflix, the episode is called "The One Where Monica And Richard Are Just Friends".
  • Joey was in fact not spoiling the book. When Joey is making coded references to the book "The Shining" he references the movie version rather than the book- for example "Remember when the kid sees those two blanks in the hallway?" and  "All blank and no blank makes blank a blank blank" meaning "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"- these are not written in the book, only in the movie. Ross refers to Jack Nicholson who was the star of The Shining.
  • Joey reads Little Women while Rachel reads The Shining. The 1994 film version of Little Women starred Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon who appear later in the series.
  • Elliot Gould, who plays Jack Geller, starred in the three-part TV adaptation of The Shining (1997).
  • This is Richard's only physical appearance in season 3. Previously in "The One Where No One's Ready", only his voice is heard on Monica's answering machine. Moreover, this episode is the only one to have Richard's name on the titles.
  • Despite sharing the same surname, Gina Hecht is not related to Jessica Hecht who plays Susan Bunch.
  • Gina Hecht starred in the fourth and final season of Mork and Mindy with Robin Williams who makes a cameo appearance at the start of "The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion".
  • Although not mentioned by name, Rachel's boss Joanna is alluded to when she says "my boss was there and she really liked my ideas".
  • While the books Rachel and Joey are reading are a part of the storyline, Ross is seen reading a book in Central Perk. The book Ross is reading is Race: How Blacks & Whites Think & Feel About the American Obsession by Studs Terkel.
  • This episode was used as "L is for Little Women" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).

Goofs[]

  • When Monica and Richard are squishing tomatoes and she starts dabbing his shirt with club soda, Monica's bedroom door goes from open to shut between two shots.
    • In the exact same scene a boom mic is briefly visible for about a second in the top left corner of the screen.
  • When Monica goes into her room to find Richard waiting for her, you can clearly see the set where the balcony is supposed to be.
  • When Richard returns home with his blind date, Monica quickly blows out all but one of the candles. However a few shots later all of the candles have been blown out.
  • When Joey is pushing Chandler back toward Robert while he is digging for a quarter, his mouth is not moving when he is saying "Get back over on your side of the.."
  • While Rachel and Joey are discussing their respective books in the coffeehouse, Rachel's book goes from closed to open again and back again between shots.
  • When Joey is reading Little Women, it looks like he's about halfway through the book. In the next scene, it looks like he's only read the first few pages.
  • Just before Monica enters her bedroom to find Richard waiting on her bed, the large window at the back of the apartment has its blinds halfway closed. But when the angle switches to inside her bedroom, the blinds on the window are suddenly all the way down.
  • Monica declines Richard's offer to grab a meal, stating that it was too soon. Richard jokes that it wasn't, as he had lunch at eleven. However, earlier in the video shop, Monica was fined for returning her video at "8:02".
  • When Phoebe gives Robert the stretchy pants, she is holding her jacket on her arms in front of her. Without showing her put it dow,n it disappears, then comes back in between camera views.
  • Joey mentions that the main character Josephine "Jo" March from the book Little Women has a crush on her best friend Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence. Quite famously, Jo does not have a crush on Laurie; Laurie has a crush on Jo. When he declares himself, she does not return his feelings, and the broken-hearted Laurie runs away to Europe and eventually develops feelings for Jo's sister Amy.
  • When Richard decides to surprise Monica, Rachel would have been able to let him in. However, it seems unlikely that Monica would still have a key to Richard's apartment when she reciprocates, so it's a bit of a mystery how she got in without him knowing.
  • At the Central Perk, while Robert is making a phone call, it's clear that the coffee cups Phoebe's holding are empty even when she just got them.
  • When Chandler and Ross are standing at the coffee counter discussing Robert "showing brain" - he can be seen in the background, shorts clearly covering everything.
  • It makes no sense that Joey would get confused by the gender of the characters from Little Women, since despite his low intelligence, he would have read the pronouns referring to either Laurie or Jo.

External links[]


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Preceded by
"The One With All The Jealousy" 		Series Three Episodes Followed by
"The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner"
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