12 Funniest ‘Friends’ Episodes Ever
Published on August 13, 2015.Friends had us laughing through all 10 of its seasons, which is what solidified it as one of the 90s (and early 2000s) funniest series. All six of the main stars could hold their own when it came to comedy and as an ensemble it was television magic. Choosing which episodes are the best of the bunch is nearly impossible, but definitely a fun task to take on. Here are 12 of Friends’ funniest episodes.
12. The One Where Ross Got High (Season 6, Episode 9)
The writers of Friends did some of their best work when it came to the show’s Thanksgiving episodes and the cast and crew matched them word for word. “The One Where Ross Got High” included the Gellar parents and Monica’s admission that she hasn’t told them that she’s in a relationship with Chandler and that she’s living with him. When he asks why, it turns out the older Gellar’s don’t like him, thinking he’s a bad influence on Ross stemming from a pot-related incident way back when the boys were in college. The tattle-tale telling of past lies – along with Rachel’s epically horrible dessert (Joey: “I mean, what’s not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!”) – makes this an episode full of laugh-spurring moments.
11. The One With Chandler in a Box (Season 4, Episode 8)
An earlier Thanksgiving episode also makes the list for Funniest Friends Episodes. When Chandler kisses Joey’s girlfriend, he tries to earn his best-friend’s forgiveness by spending a silent sentence in a wooden box. As awkward as it ends up being, it’s nothing compared to Monica’s dinner date, who just happens to be the son of her ex-boyfriend Richard. They kiss and it’s weird, but the episode is hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuE1jST-hbM
10. The One With Ross’ Sandwich (Season 5, Episode 9)
“You-you-you-you threw my sandwich away. *MY* sandwich? MY SANDWICH?” Earning himself the nickname “Mental Gellar,” Ross has a hard time dealing with his boss eating then throwing away the majority of a special sandwich made for him by Monica. With everything else in his life leading him to the spaz-out and this being the final straw, Ross ends up on tranquilizers and eating cotton-candy in a dandy drug-induced haze while audiences got a laugh and his random rage.
9. The One With All the Cheesecakes (Season 7, Episode 11)
When a cheesecake is accidentally delivered to Rachel’s door, she and Chandler do the only reasonable thing. Make sure it gets to the rightful owner? No way! They eat it of course. When a second one shows up, they do their best to do the right thing, but they end up unable to resist the yummy lure and go so far as to eat the treat right off the floor when it falls. Ew? But, really, it’s cheesecake, so totally understandable.
8. The One with the Routine (Season 6, Episode 10)
It’s a dream-come-true for Monica and Ross when Joey’s roommate gets them invited to the taping of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and the brother and sister duo are determined to make their music-fuelled mark by catching the producer’s attention with their long-ago choreographed Routine. They perform a dance that is ultimately epic and goes down in Friends seriously-silly-awesomely-funny history.
7. The One with the Free Porn (Season 4, Episode 17)
Free porn may not be such a novelty these days with an internet’s worth of nudity at one’s fingertips, but back in the ’90’s it wasn’t so easy to access such viewing free of charge. When Joey and Chandler realize they’ve somehow tapped into a porn channel on their TV, they’re not only titillated but also determined to never turn the set off or even turn the channel for fear of losing their nudie-viewing pleasure. In the end, their world is tinged by porn-themed plots and gives the audience some snickers, giggles, and chuckles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQcDvaAhY18
6. The One With All the Resolutions (Season 5, Episode 11)
When New Year’s rolls around for the gang, they each make a resolution to change their ways. Joey wants to learn to play guitar; Monica will take more pictures; Phoebe intends to pilot a jet (um, ok); Rachel vows to gossip less; and Chandler’s resolution is to stop being so saucy. Their attempts bring about lots of funny moments, but in the end, it’s Ross in his leather pants – or out of them when he can’t get them back up and uses anything and everything to try to get them back on (“It’s forming some sort of paste!”) – that takes top laughs in this episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oatPOQdeNI
5. The One with Ross’ Teeth (Season 6, Episode 8)
Sprucing oneself up to get ready for a date is totally normal. What’s not normal is teeth so white that they’re practically blinding. Ross does his best to distract his date from his gleaming chompers and keep her from seeing his insanely pearly whites after an overzealous whitening attempt, but in the end her black-light brings his teeth into glow-in-the-dark view and his creepy smile leaves fans of the show with incredibly amused grins of their own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_zlAnZ-gXY
4. The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks (Season 5, Episode 8)
One more Turkey Day episode makes the list with the ultimate flashback fiasco. The friends remember (and try to top each other with) their worst Thanksgivings of the past. Chandler thinks he has the end-all-be-all of reasons to hate the holiday because of the year he was told of his parents’ divorce over the stuffing and potatoes, but the group each pitch in their own sob story. With the flashbacks offering laugh after laugh, it’s the Miami Vice-dressed Chandler losing a toe that tops the list of past Thanksgiving (super funny) mishaps.
3. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (Season 5, Episode 14)
When Rachel and Phoebe find out about Monica and Chandler, the game is on. Phoebe and Rachel are determined to out their friends and Chandler and Monica are just as determined to thwart that plan. Poor Joey just wants everything out in the open, but that’s not going to happen in this hilarious episode. The friends go back and forth, upping each other and battling out in the head spinning a truth-or-dare type situation. “They don’t know that we know they know we know.”
2. The One with the Videotape (Season 8, Episode 4)
When the group find out that Rachel and Ross are expecting a baby together, thoughts turn to the night of conception, especially when Ross accidentally blurts out that the encounter was caught on tape. In an effort to determine who came on to who, the friends watch the tape – just the beginning of course, not the down-and-dirty parts – and it’s just as funny as one would imagine.
1. The One Where Phoebe Runs (Season 6, Episode 7)
The winner of the top spot, the coveted holy-geez-I-almost-peed-my-pants-it’s-so-funny award, goes to Phoebe Buffay and her unforgettable, remarkable, spastic running style. When she finally explains why she moves the way she does, it’s completely endearing, completely hilarious, and completely Phoebe. “I run like I did when I was a kid because that’s the only way it’s fun. You know? I’m mean, didn’t you even run so fast you thought your legs were gonna fall off, you know, like when you were running towards the swings or running away from Satan?”