We all know Joey Tribbiani as the dumb, lovable, utterly charming character from the '90s sitcom “Friends.” We all can totally relate to Joey. He’s the member of the friend group that’s kind of stupid but has the biggest heart (except when it comes to women he goes on dates with, then he’s just kind of sucks). But nevertheless, I would pick Joey to be my best friend. He might be the ultimate best friend. In fact, here’s a few ways that Joey Tribbiani is a better friend than you will ever be.
Exhibit A: He ate Rachel’s trifle, even though it was a interesting mixture of ladyfingers, jam, whipped cream, cooked beef, peas and don’t forget the custard. Joey didn’t care; food is food. And Rachel was his best friend, so he just had to eat it so she wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of her friends.
Exhibit B: Joey bought Chandler a very shiny, very girly friendship bracelet to thank him for all that he’s done for him, including paying for acting classes, paying the bills for their apartment... and pretty much paying for everything. Joey got him this golden gaudy bracelet as a symbol of their friendship. Don’t get me wrong, I would never wear the bracelet, but hey, Joey just wanted to show some love.
Exhibit C: He gave up meat so pregnant Phoebe (a vegetarian) could eat meat without killing any more animals. Joey’s logic: if he doesn’t eat meat until the babies are born but Phoebe starts to eat meat, there won’t be any more animals killed during that time. Granted, he broke the promise in London, but he did the best the Joey could do.
Exhibit D: He tried to like Janice even though he freaking hated her. Janice, Chandler’s girlfriend at the time, may be one of the most annoying characters on television I have ever seen. Her laugh was so nasally and loud and every time she said “Oh my God” I debated throwing my laptop out of a second floor window of Schroeder Hall. But, Joey, being the best friend ever, at least attempted to like her, and that takes some serious commitment to a friend.
Exhibit E: Joey bought all of the old, brown Christmas trees to save them from the chipper so Phoebe wouldn’t be sad about the death of the trees. I have to say, this is one of my favorites. Christmas trees are not cheap and being a pretty terrible actor, Joey probably spent all of his money on these trees, but it didn’t matter, because it was for his friend.
In all honesty, I could go on and on about how good of a friend Joey was. But for now, I will simply encourage you to be Joey. Joey's good people.
