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Jennifer Aniston recently spoke to Adam Sandler about the state of comedy and what counts as funny – and what doesn’t – for the debut of her new Netflix comedy Murder Mystery 2.
“Comedy has evolved, films have evolved,” the former Friends star told AFP.
“Now it’s a little bit tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really difficult for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, we make fun of life,” she said before she became concrete.
In years past, “You could joke and laugh at a fanatic — it was hysterical. And it was about teaching people how ridiculous people are,” Aniston said. “And now we can’t do that anymore.”
In fact, many people don’t even find it funny anymore, she says.
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find it offensive.
Friends has long been skewered for its all-white cast and fantasy scenario of six twenty-somethings who can afford apartments in Manhattan.
Show co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke last year about the lack of diversity both in front of and behind the camera and her role in it.
“After what happened with George Floyd, I began to wrestle with the fact that I had bought into systemic racism in a way I was never aware of,” Kauffman said. “That was really the moment I started investigating my participation. I knew then that I had to correct the course.”
As a result, she pledged, “I want to make sure on every production I do from now on that I’m consciously hiring people of color and actively nurturing young writers of color. I want to know that from now on I will act differently.”
For the show’s 25th anniversary, Out noted both its enduring appeal and reminded readers that “Friends is still very, very homophobic.”
Some examples:
The male characters “showed a clear uneasiness and contempt for LGBTQ+ people,” according to Out. In particular, the publication cited Chandler’s dislike of his transgender parent (played by Kathleen Turner) and an episode in which Ross “insists that his male nanny must be gay.”
Out notes that “almost always when LGBTQ+ people are raised by the show, it’s played for a laugh” — whether it’s the running gag that people think Chandler is gay, or a bit where Joey is an acting student, starring in which he is vying for a role, believing the character should be played “gay”.
The publication also notes a tendency for Friends to trade “gay panic for cheap laughs.” A quoted example: Joey and Ross freak out after accidentally falling asleep on the couch together. “What happened?” Ross yells before insisting, “We fell asleep — that’s all.”
Aniston said of the show’s blind spots, “There were things that were never intended, and other … Well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensibility like there is now.”
The actress then pleaded for more comedy, also in view of new sensitivities.
“Everyone needs fun! The world needs humor! We can’t take ourselves too seriously,” she said.