The guest star of the beloved friends didn’t think they deserved an appearance

One of the fun parts about a long-running sitcom about people who date in their 20s is that the show has the perfect opportunity to star in stunts on a regular basis. It could be “How I Met Your Mother.” Casually throw Britney Spears in for an episode or two Without messing with the format, just as “Seinfeld” could have Keith Hernandez stop by to date Elaine in an episode. Of course, not every celebrity guest star is as big as Spears, but even a minor star can still help attract more viewers.

An example of this is the Season 3 “Friends” episode “The One with Frank Jr.” In which Isabella Rossellini stops by the gang’s café while playing herself. The central joke here is that Ross (David Schwimmer) has Rossellini on his list of celebrities he’s allowed to sleep with without his girlfriend Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) being upset about it. However, Ross decided to omit Rossellini from the list, believing that the Italian actress was less likely to be in the neighborhood than an actress like Winona Ryder. Sure enough, the moment Ross bumps into Rossellini, the actress appears, leaving Ross frustrated by the bad timing.

Fortunately for him, Rachel thinks he has no chance with the movie star, so Ross still gets his shot at his photo shoot, but things go wrong. The whole scene was great for Rossellini fans, but the actress herself was a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. In a The last interview While promoting her new film, “Conclave,” she explained why she wasn’t sure the joke would work with American viewers:

“I was surprised because at that time — maybe even today, but maybe to a lesser extent at that time — there weren’t a lot of recognized foreign actors in America. So I was very surprised that Friends invited me, not just as an actor.” Guest, but as a star they know me and know my name… I said, “Am I that well-known that I can play someone well-known?” So that was really cool and a pleasure to work with.”

Although one teenage critic from The Burlington Free Press was A strangely whimsical take on the storyOn the whole, Friends fans seem to be happy with the story. “Isabella Rossellini’s debut is one of the series’ best,” The Daily Beast wrote. Latest ranking From every episode. Meanwhile, The Independent rated “The One with Frank Jr.” As in the show Ninth best episode never. If you search the subreddit titled “Friends,” you’ll find no shortage of love for the scene in which Ross tries to flirt with the star.

I think that’s why the whole scene works, even for viewers who don’t know it Rossellini’s brilliant performances in films like “Blue Velvet”, is that viewers don’t actually need to know anything about it to understand it. All they need to know is that she’s a famous actress who’s widely agreed to be attractive, all of which Ross and Chandler cover up before she appears on screen.

Likewise, the scene in which Ross makes out with Rossellini is funny for the same reason that any scene in which Ross gets awkward with an attractive woman is funny to watch; Her celebrity status adds to his humiliation. The sequence strikes a good balance between giving Rossellini fans enough material to show that the show has done their research, while also making sure that casual viewers (and future viewers) can appreciate it’s all right.

In the end, Rossellini had nothing to worry about. Despite all the scenes He should It’s better to be familiar with her work, and the “Friends” writers were smart enough not to make that a requirement. “The Episode with Frank Jr.” is a great episode of One of the best comedy series everRossellini was the best part of it.