David Schwimmer Movies
If one were to base one's judgment of David Schwimmer's talent on his low-key performance as the anxious, awkward but lovable paleontologist Ross on NBC's smash hit comedy Friends, one might never suspect that beneath the affable exterior lies a versatile, multi-talented actor and filmmaker.Tall, dark-haired, and lanky, Schwimmer was born in Queens, but later raised in Southern California, where he attended the famed Beverly Hills High School. He then enrolled in Chicago's Northwestern University, where he briefly considered pursuing his family's traditional profession and becoming a lawyer, but by that time, the acting bug had bitten him deeply and he was committed to it. Following graduation from Northwestern, Schwimmer gained enough stage experience in Chicago theater to co-found the Lookingglass Theatre Company with fellow actors. Schwimmer remains passionate about his involvement with the troupe and has starred in or directed many of their productions.
In 1989, he made the first of several attempts to break into Hollywood, when he was cast as a killer in the made-for-TV thriller A Deadly Silence. It was apparently an unpleasant experience and the young actor hastened back to the familiarity of Lookingglass. Still, the lure of Hollywood was great and Schwimmer returned to guest star and play recurring roles on several television series. One of his best-known early TV roles was that of Olivia D'Abo's hippie fiancé on The Wonder Years. On the gritty crime drama NYPD Blue, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of a lawyer who goes over the edge and becomes a vigilante. He had another bad television experience when he was cast opposite Henry Winkler in Fox's sitcom Monty. The series crashed before it got off the ground and Schwimmer swore he'd never do another comedy show. Up until 1994, he continued to play a wide variety of roles and to divide his time between stage and television.
Despite his earlier vow, Schwimmer reluctantly accepted the role of Ross in Friends, a role that the show's creators wrote especially for him. The series, about a group of good-looking, but rather aimless buddies in their twenties, was an immediate hit and Schwimmer's lovable nerd character made him a star and got him an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
With his newfound stardom came offers for feature film roles. Though he had actually begun appearing in films in 1990, he had, thus far, played only small roles. He made his debut as a star playing a virtual clone of Ross in the Pallbearer (1996). He played a dramatic role as one of the inventors of silicon breast implants in the made-for-television docudrama Breast Men (1997). Schwimmer signed a lucrative contract with Miramax that will not only star him in several pictures, but also allow him to direct. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Made for TV, A Deadly Silence was based on the book by New York Times reporter Dena Kleiman. It is the doleful story of Long Island teenager Cheryl Pierson (Heather Fairfield), who in February of 1986 orchestrated the murder of her electrician father James Pierson (Charles Haid). The film does not argue that Cheryl was innocent. It does, however, delve into the deep waters of "extenuating circumstances". With the utmost taste and discretion, A Deadly Silence reveals that, four at least five years, Cheryl had endured sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Over and above the basic story, the film explores the "deadly silence" of incest-a silence often maintained not only by the victim, but by friends and family members who don't want to cause "trouble". Mike Farrell, Richard Portnow, Jeff Corey and Sally Struther costar, while future Friends regular David Schwimmer essays an important minor role. A Deadly Silence premiered April 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Bryan Singer directed this Brandon Boyce adaptation of Stephen King's novella about teenager Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro), who discovers Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen) living in his California hometown. Fascinated with Dussender's wartime atrocities, Bowden blackmails the former death-camp commandant by promising to keep his identity a secret in exchange for Holocaust horror tales, or, as Todd puts it, "everything they're afraid to show us in school." Dussander complies, and as the weeks pass, their tense confrontations become increasingly malevolent. This is the third film to derive from King's 1982 book of four novellas, Different Season. The others are Stand By Me (1986, from "The Body") and The Shawshank Redemption (1994, from Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, leaving only one remaining unfilmed tale in the book ("The Breathing Method"). Signet felt King's "Apt Pupil" to be so intense and horrifying that editors asked him to leave it out of the 1983 paperback. A 1987 attempt to film "Apt Pupil" (with Rick Schroder and Nicol Williamson) ended when funding ran out. Shown at numerous 1998 film festivals (Venice, Toronto, Chicago, Sitges, Tokyo). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, (more)
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for HBO, Band of Brothers is a ten-part miniseries based on the book Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose. The series dramatically re-creates the path of Easy Company, an elite paratrooper unit, from their basic training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia in 1942, to D-Day, to their critical involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, through their triumph at the close of the war. The unit was one of the best trained and most productive in American military history, but it also suffered immense casualties. The series is an ensemble piece, involving dozens of characters, and cast with relative unknowns. To the extent that there is a central character, it is Dick Winters (Damian Lewis), who went to Toccoa as a lieutenant and was promoted, over the course of the war, to battalion commander. Each episode includes brief excerpts from present-day interviews with some of the surviving members of the company. While the series is not a hagiography, Winters is depicted as a brave, resourceful, and humane leader. It's clear that the men revered him, and that he genuinely respected and cared about them. There are a few other members of the unit that make a strong impression. Sobel (David Schwimmer of Friends), their C.O. at Toccoa, is depicted as a petty tyrant whose men bond together in their hatred of him. Nixon (Ron Livingston of Office Space) is Winters' fellow officer and best friend, and an alcoholic. Carwood Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) is a decent, hard-working man, and a tremendous soldier who earns a battlefield commission for his exemplary leadership. Bill Guarnere (Frank John Hughes) fears nothing, and is known for his wise-guy attitude and hot temper. The series dramatizes the courage and fortitude of many others, but it's clear that Winters sets the tone for his men, and plays a pivotal role in the unit's success. The project involved several screenwriters, including Graham Yost (Speed) and E. Max Frye (Something Wild). Eight different directors were called upon for the ten installments, including Hanks, David Frankel (Miami Rhapsody), Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain), and Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams). Still, the tone and style of the series remains fairly consistent. While the story of Easy Company has been condensed and altered in some minor ways for dramatic purposes, and much of the dialogue was, by necessity, invented, the producers placed a strong emphasis on accurately depicting the conditions under which these men lived, fought, and died. Several survivors from the company consulted on the project, and an enormous amount of money was spent on sets, costumes, and special effects in order to re-create their experience. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, (more)
The comedy series loved all over the world. Now for the first time on video and DVD - the top episodes of the long-running series, as voted by fans and the series' creators.
1) Pilot
2) The One with Two Parts [Parts 1 and 2]
3) The One with All the Poker
4) The One Where Ross Finds Out
5) The One with the Prom Video
1) Pilot
2) The One with Two Parts [Parts 1 and 2]
3) The One with All the Poker
4) The One Where Ross Finds Out
5) The One with the Prom Video
Director Jean-Baptiste Andrea's wicked, jet-black comic thriller Big Nothing stars Friends mainstay David Schwimmer as Charlie Wood, a onetime American professor now married to a policewoman, Penelope (Natascha McElhone) and living in Oregon. As the story opens, Charlie takes a job as a telephone operator at an Information Technology call support center, but is promptly fired for making offensive comments to a customer. One of Charlie's shadier co-workers, Gus Dickinson (Simon Pegg) wheedles him into his plan to blackmail a priest, Rev. Smalls (Mitchell Mullen) by using "inside" information from the company that demonstrates the minister's obsession with internet porn. Thus begins an endless series of Mametian twists and turns involving double-cross, mistaken identity, forced drownings, poisonings, infidelities and cold-blooded mariticide, as the men attempt to collect on the money but run head-first into one outrageous conflict after another. Alice Eve, Mimi Rogers and Jon Polito co-star; Andrea and William Asher co-authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg, (more)
This docudrama recaps the history of silicone breast implants, beginning in 1962 when idealistic Houston medical resident Kevin Saunders (David Schwimmer) gets an idea after seeing how women pad their bras. After he shares his notion with cosmetic pro Dr. William Larson (Chris Cooper), the two create a prosthetic breast from Dow-Corning's silicone gel. Approaching women on the street fails to bring volunteers, but a classified newspaper ad does the trick. As breast sizes increase, so do the doctors' bank accounts. However, physical problems emerge, followed by lawsuits, and the high life soon turns sour and grim. Filmed in LA, and Texas (Galveston, Houston), this TV movie premiered December 13, 1997 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schwimmer, Chris Cooper, (more)
In this coming-of-age drama, three recent high school graduates from Detroit must make a difficult choice when they are offered a fortune to smuggle hashish from Canada into the US. As they are quickly going nowhere in their grimy suburban town, the three buddies are sorely tempted. Each of them undergoes a major change in their personal lives and they are left with the feeling of having nothing left to lose. Unfortunately, their lark across the border becomes deadly serious when they meet the dealer at an isolated farm and realize that he wants them to smuggle heroin, not hash. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick, (more)
A sad sack has to come to term with his own demons after a long run of bad luck in this downbeat comedy drama from writer and director Matt Mulhern. Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) lives and works in Atlantic City, where he's a pit boss on the night shift at one of the city's resort hotels, and has a wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo), and two young daughters, Mary (Ramya Pratt) and Kate (Rachel Covey). Duane also has a drinking problem, and while Linda loves him very much, she's begin to wonder if he's still capable of living up to his responsibilities as a father. The final straw comes when Duane gets arrested for drunk driving while Kate is in the car with him; Linda files for divorce, and the court opts not to give Duane visitation rights. With Duane struggling to hold on to his family, he gets more bad news when he loses his job after he's caught giving money to an argumentative customer to shut him up. With only his friends from work to keep him company -- Anthony (Judah Friedlander), a maintenance man who wants to be a comedian, and Gina (Susan Lynch), a kind-hearted bartender -- Duane realizes he's come to a crossroads where he has to get his life back on track before he loses what little he still has left. Duane Hopwood also features supporting performances from Dick Cavett and Jerry Grayson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schwimmer, Janeane Garofalo, (more)
The first season of Friends could easily have been retitled "Getting to Know You," as all the soon-to-be-familiar characters, and their equally soon-to-be familiar interrelationships, were swiftly and economically established. In the opening episode, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) abandons her "Mr. Potato Head" spouse at the altar and moves in with her former high-school friend Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) in Monica's spacious New York loft apartment. Not long afterward, we meet Monica's brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), who is down in the dumps because his ex-wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), has not only declared herself a lesbian, but will soon be giving birth to his son (named Ben), whom she and her partner intend to raise without any of Ross' help. Also, we are treated to the first of aspiring actor Joey Tribbiani's (Matt LeBlanc) dead-end "big breaks" when he is hired as Al Pacino's stand-in. Finally, airhead Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) is given the opportunity to perform her treacly folk songs at the gang's favorite hangout, the Central Perk coffeehouse -- only to have her debut spoiled by a citywide power blackout. In other developments, Ross "adopts" a monkey named Marcel; Joey briefly falls for Phoebe's bitchy twin sister, Ursula (also played by Lisa Kudrow); and Joey's roommate, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), betrays a confidence by informing Rachel that Ross has a crush on her. A solid hit from the moment it left the starting gate, Friends wound up its freshman season as the eighth highest-rated program on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
Friends inaugurates its second season as Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) digests the news that Ross (David Schwimmer) has a crush on her -- only to spot Ross with his new girlfriend, Julie (Lauren Tom). Forced to choose between the two women in his life, Ross goes with Rachel, and not long afterward the couple consummate their romance -- smack dab in the museum where Ross works. Meanwhile, Ross' lesbian ex-wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), who has recently given birth to son Ben, "marries" her female lover, (Jessica Hecht). In other affairs of the heart, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) is reunited with her husband, Duncan (Steve Zahn), a gay Canadian who'd wed her to get a green card (needless to say, the marriage is quickly dispensed with); and Ross' sister, Monica (Courteney Cox), begins dating an old family friend, Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck). In a similar medical vein, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) thinks he's finally got his big showbiz break when he is cast as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives; alas, just as he has gotten used to his affluent new lifestyle, "Dr. Ramoray" is abruptly killed off. Joey also moves out of his apartment, whereupon his roommate, Chandler (Matthew Perry), takes in a new tenant, a truly bizarre character named Eddie (Adam Goldberg), who when Joey moves back in, steadfastly refuses to go away. Friends wrapped up its sophomore season as the third highest-rated program on American TV, outflanked only by ER and Seinfeld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
As Friends enters its third season, the series' romantic intrigues intensify. Monica (Courteney Cox) breaks up with Dr. Richard Burke (played during season two by Tom Selleck); Chandler (Matthew Perry) gets serious with his new girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), but she can't bear to part with her former husband; and the relationship between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) abruptly ends. And so it goes right up to the final episode of the season, in which, during a day at the beach, Ross and Rachel realize that they're still in love, Chandler begins mulling over the option of dating Monica, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) learns a shocking fact about her long-lost parents. Evidently, the viewers of America couldn't get enough of these plot entanglements; Friends closed out its third season as the fourth highest-rated program on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
Resolving the cliffhanging finale of season three, the fourth season of Friends opens with Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) learning the true identity of her biological mother (played by Teri Garr). Elsewhere, Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) have a major falling out when both roommates fall in love with the same girl; Phoebe's half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), asks her to be the surrogate mother to his children; and, trying to uphold their new "just friends, lovers no more" relationship, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) agree to start dating other people. Rachel's choice, albeit temporary, is Joshua (played by actress Aniston's real-life boyfriend at the time, Tate Donovan), whom she meets in her capacity as a department-store buyer, while Ross begins squiring a dour Englishwoman named Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale). Ultimately, Ross and Emily decide to get married, clearing the stage for the season's riotous two-part finale, set in England. As the wedding ceremony approaches, Chandler and Monica (Courteney Cox) stop beating around the bush about their mutual attraction and end up sleeping together; and while taking the marriage vows in church, Ross lets slip that he's still obsessed with Rachel! Friends continued to reap healthy profits and ratings throughout its fourth season, closing out the year as America's fourth most-watched program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
Season five of Friends opens just a few moments after the wedding of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Emily (Helen Baxendale), in which Ross all but sealed the doom for the union by invoking the name of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) during the exchange of vows. It is also a scant few hours after Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) have slept together for the first time. The latter couple tries to keep their romance a secret, but by mid-season everyone knows the truth. In later plot developments, the newly divorced Ross briefly moves in with Chandler and Joey; and surrogate mother Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) gives birth to triplets. In the now-famous season-five finale, Joey heads to Las Vegas for a juicy film role, and is eventually joined by the rest of his friends. Caught up in the glamour and glitter of Sin City, Monica and Chandler briefly consider a quickie Vegas marriage...only to find out that two of the other "friends" have beaten them to it! Friends wrapped up its fifth season on the air as the second most popular network program in America -- not to mention its post-Seinfeld status as the country's top-rated sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
As Friends enters its sixth season, Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) are husband and wife -- the end result of a drunken spree in Las Vegas. It doesn't take long for the couple to realize that their impulsive marriage was a mistake, however, and soon they're divorced. This whole unfortunate episode has caused Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) to put their own tentative wedding plans in cold storage, though they do move in together upon returning to New York. In later romantic developments, Rachel panics when it looks as though Ross is going to hit it off with her sister Jill (Reese Witherspoon), and is no less concerned when Ross begins getting serious with another girl -- one of his students -- named Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden); meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) has a brief fling with a lass by the name of Janine (Elle MacPherson). In the season finale, Chandler reconsiders marrying Monica, and is about to pop the question when her old flame Richard (Tom Selleck) shows up declaring his own love for her. Were it not for ER and the thrice-weekly Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Friends would have been the number one network program in America, instead of merely number four; still, the series remained the nation's most popular sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
The twentysomething characters of Friends have all officially entered their thirties as the series itself enters its seventh season. Likewise "official," at long last, is the engagement of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), with Joey (Matt LeBlanc) agreeing to serve as best man at the wedding, and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) accepting the invitation to be maids of honor. In fact, there's good news all around during season seven: Ross begins to bond with his son, Ben (Cole Sprouse), whose mother, Carol (Jane Sibbett), had divorced Ross when she came out as a lesbian; and struggling actor Joey returns to the role of "Dr. Drake Ramoray" on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives. Originally killed off by the writers, Dr. Ramoray is revealed to have been in a coma, and when he awakes, the brain of a woman has been transplanted into his skull -- but what the heck, a job is a job! Predictably, the season ends with the big wedding, and with a few "minor" complications, notably Chandler's disappearance the night before the ceremony, and Rachel and Phoebe's discovery that one of the women in the cast is pregnant -- but who? While Friends remained the top-rated sitcom in America, in the overall numbers it ranked in fifth place, following the reality series Survivor, the medical drama ER, and the twice-weekly game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
As expected, the eighth season of Friends picked up exactly where season seven left off -- that is, a few minutes after the wedding of Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox), with Joey (in a WWI uniform for his role in an upcoming movie) serving as best man. Also as expected, the mystery surrounding the pregnancy of one of the female Friends regulars is solved, with Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) turning out to be the one in the family way. It would take a few additional episodes, though, for Ross (David Schwimmer) to step forward as the father of Rachel's child. This plot development, however, did not lead to another wedding. Though Ross and Rachel were about to become parents, they did not see the need to become husband and wife, and in fact, both of them dated other people throughout the rest of the season, with Bonnie Somerville becoming a quasi-regular in the role of Ross' steady date Mona. In the course of season eight, Joey found himself falling in love with the pregnant Rachel, an affection culminating in a proposal at the tail end of the season -- just after Rachel had delivered a healthy baby girl, named Emma. Whether or not this would lead to a lasting relationship between Joey and Rachel was something that would have to be resolved during the next season. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) had quite an eventful romantic life of her own, briefly pairing with guest stars Sean Penn (uncharacteristically cast as a nice guy) and Alec Baldwin (more characteristically cast as a well-meaning doofus whose overbearing enthusiasm drove everybody crazy). In keeping with this "celebrity guest" kick, Brad Pitt, husband of series regular Jennifer Aniston, showed up in one episode as one of Monica's high-school acquaintances. Though Pitt received no onscreen billing, his appearance was lavishly publicized throughout the civilized world, and was even deemed worthy of that loftiest of honors -- a TV Guide cover. Two Emmy awards were presented to Friends during its eighth season: the show itself received a statuette, as did Jennifer Aniston for Outstanding Lead Actress. Despite the formidable competition of CBS' Survivor, Friends remained the top-rated program on network television, posting a 15.0 in the Nielsens. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
With season eight of Friends concluding on a lively note as Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) gave birth to Ross' baby, season nine gets off to an equally lively start as Joey (Matt LeBlanc) "accidentally" proposes to Rachel, and Rachel "accidentally" accepts. This leaves Ross (David Schwimmer) out of the picture, and he puts up a brave front about it, while the rest of the "friends" (except Joey, of course) try to bring Ross and Rachel back together. Elsewhere, former Married...With Children co-star Christina Applegate shows up in the role of Rachel's sister Amy; and as newlyweds Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) try to adjust to Chandler's new job, which will require him to commute back and forth between New York and Tulsa, word comes that the couple may never be able to have any children. The season ends with a jaunt to Barbados, a confession, and the long-awaited, long-delayed "Joey and Rachel kiss." Although its status as America's top-rated series was upset by the emergence of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Friends remained the country's most-watched network sitcom during its penultimate year on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
With the official announcement that the tenth season of Friends would be its last, the series' fans loyally rallied around each episode, ensuring that the program would go out in a blaze of ratings glory. There was also little doubt that the many romantic intrigues that had evolved during previous seasons would finally be resolved -- happily or otherwise. Season ten begins with Ross (David Schwimmer), the father of Rachel's child, being upset over the burgeoning relationship between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) -- who, truth to tell, also feel awkward and uncomfortable about the situation. Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), having learned that they cannot have children, find a mother-to-be named Erica (Anna Faris) from whom to adopt a child; they also decide to move out of Manhattan and into a "real" home in Westchester. As for the eternally unlucky-in-love Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), she is on the brink of a happily-ever-after denouement with her marriage to a nice fellow named Mike (Paul Rudd). The series' now-famous climactic episodes find Rachel deciding to give up both Joey and Ross by moving to Paris, and Joey preparing to go to L.A. in pursuit of movie work (thereby establishing the premise of Matt LeBlanc's new spin-off series, Joey); and Erica gives birth to twins, named Erica (after herself) and Jack (after Chandler's dad). As the last scene of the last episode approaches its final fadeout, it looks as though Ross will be left all alone...but there's still one more surprise in store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
- 2002
To practice his dating technique, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) takes Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) to dinner -- but this little game of "let's pretend" might turn into something real. Elsewhere, Ross (David Schwimmer) is given a chance to take over for the ailing teacher of a college honors class -- if only he can get to the classroom on time. And a Ms. Pacman arcade game, presented by Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) as a wedding present for Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), becomes a source of embarrassment when Ross' son, Ben (Cole Sprouse), wants to play. ~ All Movie Guide
- 2000
Still harboring what she thinks is a harmless crush on her personal assistant Tag (Eddie Cahill), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) writes a capricious work evaluation for him -- which ends up being delivered to the human relations department. In other developments, the friends make Phoebe's dream come true by buying her a bike, unaware that Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) wouldn't know how to ride the vehicle to save her life. And Monica (Courteney Cox) learns how to make candy...but not how to make new friends. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Cahill, Cole Sprouse, (more)
- 2002
Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) plans for her elaborate birthday dinner hit a snag at the get-go when Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), who have been forcibly separated in most of the previous episodes, have a major squabble over his newly revived smoking habit. Meanwhile, Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) accidentally place an impenetrable locked door between themselves and baby Emma. The only one who arrives at Central Park in time for Pheeb's birthday bash is Joey (Matt LeBlanc) -- and his patience is dangerously close to running out at any time. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Pickles, Monique Edwards, (more)
- 2000
Now an executive at her place of business, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) exercises the prerogative of hiring an assistant. Unfortunately for Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel's new employee turns out to be a stud-muffin named Tag (Eddie Cahill). In other developments, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) has barely adjusted to the cancellation of his new series when he is called back to play his ostensibly deceased character on Days of Our Lives, and Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) learn the hard way that honesty is not always the best policy. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Cahill, Michael Kagan, (more)
- 2000
Ross (David Schwimmer) is honored to learn that his thesis has been put in the NYU library. But his happiness is soured when he finds out that the section in which the thesis is squirreled away has been adopted as a student "passion pit." Elsewhere, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) hadn't intended for his recent one-night stand to be chosen as the girl for him by Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow); and Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) are put on the spot when the troublesome Janice (Maggie Wheeler) is accidentally invited to their upcoming wedding. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristin Davis, Maggie Wheeler, (more)
- 2004
Anna Faris makes her first series appearance as Erica, the Ohio woman whose baby Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) hope to adopt. Alas, the first meeting between Erica and the Bings turns into a not-so-comic comedy of errors when she mistakes the couple for a doctor and a minister. Meanwhile, back in New York, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) gets her shopping bags confused when she selects an outfit for Ross (David Schwimmer); and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is bothered by his latest date's table etiquette -- or lack of same. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Annie Parisse, (more)
- 2001
Friends co-star David Schwimmer (Ross) directed this episode, in which the father of Rachel's baby is finally identified -- or is he? Crucial to the plotline is a red sweater, left behind by the "mystery man." Joey (Matt LeBlanc) shows the sweater to Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), who, convinced that the mystery is solved, arranges an "accidental" meeting between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and the sweater's owner. Meanwhile, Joey goes off on the wrong track when he thinks that it is Phoebe who is pregnant; an anxious Monica (Courteney Cox) considers breaking her promise to Chandler (Matthew Perry) about waiting to open their wedding presents; and Chandler and Ross try to cover up the fact that they've lost all the wedding pictures. ~ All Movie Guide
