Having admitted that she regrets the depiction of Chandler's transgender parent on Friends, series co-creator Marta Kauffman proved that the legendary series isn't infallible. This being said, Friends has remained undeniably popular for nearly thirty years and this is due in large part to its endearing cast of characters.
Arguably the biggest fan favorite among these loveable characters is Joey Tribbiani. While it's easy to reduce him to a fool who only provides comic relief, the truth is that Joey's hilarious antics provide deeper insight into who he really is. Ultimately, Joey isn't always clever, but he's certainly far from being the one-note character that he's often thought to be.
The One With The Joey’s Apple
In the seventh season of Friends, Rachel’s thirtieth birthday prompts the rest of the gang to reminisce about what it was like for them to turn thirty. Chandler recalls Monica’s thirtieth party when Joey didn’t like wearing a bow tie because it hurt his "Joey’s apple". Annoyed, Chandler tells him that an Adam’s apple isn’t named after each individual man.
Joey’s simplicity is one of the key elements of his character. Friends fans quickly learned that whenever he had something to say, it was often born out of confusion, misunderstanding, or outright cluelessness. The idea of believing that an Adam’s apple is named after each individual man and the innocence behind this is both endearing and hilarious.
The One Where Joey Doesn’t Share Food
Joey’s dating history is a lengthy one, as he was always popular with women. But when it comes to food, his appetite knows no bounds. There are few things he’ll rank higher than eating, and when he reveals that he stopped seeing a woman because she took fries from his plate, he backs up his decision by shouting “Joey doesn’t share food!”
This meme makes it perfectly clear that Joey isn’t interested in anyone enjoying his food with him. As humorous of a trait as it is, however, it remains somewhat at odds with the rest of his personality. Joey isn’t a selfish person usually but his insistence on never sharing food works because it’s childish and Joey is nothing if not childish.
The One With The Electric Drill
The fifth episode of Friends’ third season sees Joey attempting to build a home entertainment center. When the drill he’s using breaks through the wall, narrowly missing Chandler, Joey calmly apologizes and asks if he “got” Chandler with the drill. Chandler’s aggravated response makes perfect sense, “It’s an electric drill, you get me, you kill me.”
Joey never comes off as a malicious or insensitive character. When he apologizes to Chandler and asks if he got him, he’s not simply blowing off Chandler’s unease with fake concern, he genuinely wants to know if his friend is okay. The fact that he’s wielding a potentially lethal power tool never quite registers, but Joey’s kind and easy-going demeanor is undeniable.
The One With Not Wanting To Die
After Joey loses his health insurance and suffers from a hernia, he’s at a complete loss for what to do next. Phoebe is already convinced that she’s going to die that week, so her solution is that they could die together, something Joey’s not at all in favor of.
The childlike way that Joey responds to the equally childish option of dying together and coming back as ghosts speak volumes about his character. The suggestion seems like an immediate death sentence to him, and although it’s highly unlikely that he’s going to die from a hernia, he responds to the prospect with a degree of naivety that only Joey can offer.
The One With The Hugs
Obviously, the characters in Friends are very close, both in the show and in real life. As roommates for so long, Joey and Chandler established a special relationship that was one of the highlights of Friends. Though Chandler was never a very emotional character, Joey definitely was and his concern and care for his friends remain touching.
As simple as this meme is, it gets straight to the heart of Joey. It’s genuinely difficult for fans to come up with a negative aspect of Joey’s character, mainly because the degree of kindness and loyalty he showed his friends was endearing. This special relationship seems to have also existed beyond the Joey character, into Matt LeBlanc’s real life.
The One With All Of Chandler’s Clothes
While it’s true that Joey wasn’t a vindictive or cruel character, there was the odd time when his frustrations got the better of him. Living with Chandler wasn’t always easy and when a disagreement between the two intensified, Joey ended up putting on all of Chandler’s clothes, and not wearing any underwear.
It seems that in the rare moments when Joey isn’t being the most considerate friend, he’s able to come up with some genuinely clever strategies for revenge. For those who feel that Joey isn’t very bright, this meme shows a cleverness that was guaranteed to get under Chandler’s skin. It’s an effective mixture of humor and simplicity, just like Joey.
The One With The Moo Point
When Joey tries to give Rachel some dating advice in the seventh season of Friends, he tells her that if her crush on her assistant isn’t reciprocal, then deciding when to ask him out is all just a "moo point". Obviously, the phrase is “moot point”, but in Joey’s world, it’s moo, and otherwise meaningless, like a cow’s opinion.
Once again Friends fans see Joey extending what he feels is an educated opinion. His version of the phrase is certainly a funny misunderstanding, but as is often the case with Joey, there’s actually a little bit of sense behind it. One of Joey’s key strengths as a Friends character is his ability to find humorous truths in everyday life, and this meme aptly sums that up.
The One With How Joey’s Doin’
Arguably the most popular catchphrase of the entire Friends series was Joey’s “How you doin’?” Used whenever he was trying to meet women or come off as charming, there are numerous instances where Joey checks to see how one woman or another is "doin’". But just as the meme suggests, no one ever asked how Joey was "doin’".
While it’s not exactly accurate to say that “How you doin’?” was legitimately used to check in on everyone’s status equally, the meme provides a different sort of insight. Joey is a genuinely kind character and although perhaps a bit shallow in his dating life, he was always loyal to his friends. In fact, of all the Friends, Joey just might be the most loyal.
The One With Feelings
When Joey realizes he has feelings for Rachel in the eighth season, he decides that it’s best if he confesses to both Ross and Rachel. Ultimately he downplays his love for Rachel by saying that these are just feelings and that they’ll go away. It’s one of the character’s most heartbreaking moments.
This meme might do a better job of summing up Joey than all the others combined. Aside from comic relief or providing some deceptively clever insight, what really makes up Joey’s character is that he’s the glue that holds the Friends together. Completely loyal and dependable, Joey puts his friends first, even if it challenges his own desires.