The ‘90s was a very prominent decade for Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow. Ricci made a splash in the movie scene, and Kudrow starred in one of the best sitcoms of all time, Friends. After co-starring in 1998’s The Opposite of Sex, the former child star tells the story of awkwardly telling the sitcom actress she was a fan of her show.
The Opposite of Sex was a dark rom-com that premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Christina Ricci played a pregnant manipulative 16-year-old who seduced her half-brother’s boyfriend and made him believe he impregnated her. Lisa Kudrow played the friend of the half-brother who grows suspicious of the teenager’s actions. While Ricci spoke of career highlights during her recent ET video interview, I became obsessed with the story of when she tried to tell Kudrow what a Friends fan she was, which took an awkward turn:
I loved working with Lisa. I was such a huge Friends fan. But, when I told her that, she thought — I have such a sort of deadpan delivery that she thought I was making fun of her. And I was, 'No, no, no.' And [director] Don [Roos] had to be like, 'Oh, no, no, no. She really loves Friends. She's not being sarcastic.'
Aww, I can understand how that’s one of those human moments you wish you could rewind and redo. It’s true that sometimes, our tone doesn’t always match how passionate we feel about something. Maybe Christina Ricci was in such shock working with a sitcom queen that it could have been nerves. But we all know that the Yellowjackets actress is a “huge” Friends fan like anyone else of the decade.
It’s easy to be a fan of one of the most rewatchable shows of NBC. Each character of Friends brings something original and exciting to the sitcom. You’ve got the independent woman evolution of Rachel, Joey’s goofiness, Monica’s obsessive nature, Chandler’s sarcasm, and Ross’s awkward charm. But, of course, we can’t leave out Phoebe, who brought memorable offbeat lines and her quirky music. If you can believe it, Phoebe and Chandler weren’t originally going to have big roles on the show. The series creators couldn’t ignore the natural charisma the two stars brought out in their memorable characters, and they were way too good for occasional appearances.
Even though it’s been more than twenty years since Friends ended, it doesn’t mean that fans have stopped calling Lisa Kudrow “Phoebe,” including Sandra Bullock once at a party. Considering what a feel-good show Friends is, the importance hit Kudrow in a post-9/11 fan moment when someone driving in the car next to her would mouth “thank you.” The Easy A actress realized there were mental health benefits to leaving the world’s problems behind for a bit and turning on your favorite comedy series. If you can touch the hearts of fans with your work, that’s true success you can forever hold onto.
Christina Ricci’s fan experience with Lisa Kudrow may have been an awkward one, but it’s a story I love to hear because it’s an experience that can surely happen to any fan. When you’re face-to-face with someone who appears on your TV screen every week, it must be easy to feel starstruck working with them and having issues expressing your admiration. Hopefully Kudrow knows now that The Addams Family actress is a genuine Friends fan. You can watch all ten seasons of the beloved sitcom with your Max subscription.
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