Matthew Perry’s Best Moments From ‘Friends’
“I’ll Be There for You.” Not only is this the name of the iconic Friends theme song by the Rembrandts, it’s also a phrase that perfectly encapsulates the essence of the show, which is considered to be one of the best sitcoms of all time. Airing on NBC from 1994 to 2004, Friends, followed the lives of six young men and women living in the same apartment complex in Manhattan, New York — the fashionable Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), the eccentric Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), the perfectionist Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), the geeky Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), the charming Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), and the sarcastic Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry). For a decade, this friend group found themselves in comic situations, learning lessons about relationships, breakups, and each other along the way. They also captured audiences’ hearts worldwide, and continue to do so 20 years after the final episode aired in 2004. The hit series has maintained its relevancy thanks to DVD sales, streaming reigns on Netflix and Max, its hilarious and lovable characters, and of course, the perfect comedic timing of its cast.
One character who was always particularly beloved was Chandler Bing, the resident jokester of the group. Famously portrayed by the late Matthew Perry, Chandler was known for his sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humor, often serving as a defense mechanism that eventually led to real emotional growth. He also married Monica in Season 7, and the two became a fan-favorite couple of the series.
Perry unexpectedly died in October 2023, leaving family, fellow Friends cast members, and fans alike devastated. Perry also was known for authoring his 2022 candid memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing as well as his notable performances in The West Wing, 17 Again, and The Ron Clark Story. However, his portrayal of Chandler Bing was uniquely indelible.
To celebrate what would’ve been Matthew Perry’s 55th birthday today, let’s take a walk down memory lane and look back at 12 of Chandler’s funniest and most heartfelt moments in the Emmy-award-winning sitcom Friends. We couldn’t be anymore excited to revisit these all-timer moments from the show.
Friends, Available Now, Max
The One Where Chandler Moves to Yemen
Oh…my…God! In Season 4, Episode 15: “The One with All the Rugby,” Chandler is willing to do anything just to get away from his annoying (yet funny) ex-girlfriend Janice Hosenstein (Maggie Wheeler) even if that means moving to the Middle East. All of Chandler’s scenes with Janice are ridiculous, but the Yemen subplot is the wildest one. Perry really leans into the comedic absurdity of this scene by delivering the most memorable line to a random woman with the most defeated look on his face: “When we get to Yemen, can I stay with you?” For those of us watching at home, we can only hope that $2,100 plane ticket was worth it!
The One Where Chandler Is Stranded in the Bathroom
Season 2, Episode 13: “The One After the Super Bowl: Part 2” reminds us that revenge is a dish bestserved cold … and naked. When Chandler is on a date with his former childhood classmate Susie Moss (Julia Roberts), she persuades him to hook up with her in a restaurant bathroom stall only to trick him into taking off all his clothes and putting on her underwear. When she’s about to leave with his clothes, she tells him that she finally got her revenge on him for pulling up her skirt in front of the entire school in fourth grade. Chandler is in shock that Susie had held a grudge for 20 years and shouts, “I hope you realize you’re not getting these underpants back!” It’s just one of Chandler’s many classic one-liners.
The One Where Chandler Gets Stuck in an ATM Vestibule
It’s not every day you get trapped in a small space with a gorgeous model, but that very thing happened to Chandler in Season 1, Episode 7: “The One with the Blackout.” After a citywide power outage leaves Chandler stranded in an ATM vestibule, he realizes that he is alone with Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre. When she offers him gum, an anxious Chandler replies with one of his most popular lines: “Gum would be perfection.” His inner dialogue afterwards is hilariously relatable as he overthinks what he could’ve said instead that would’ve sounded less weird. Perry’s comedic elegance in this scene resonates with everyone since we’ve all experienced those moments when we immediately regretted something we said.
The One Where Chandler Gets Handcuffed
Chandler has unsurprisingly gotten himself into yet another sticky situation and this time…it involves handcuffs. And no, it’s not as kinky as it sounds. In Season 4, Episode 3: “The One with the Cuffs,” Chandler is dating Rachel’s boss, Joanna (Alison La Placa) and she decides to spend some quality time with Chandler in her office. She temporarily leaves, but not before handcuffing him to a chair. However, Rachel uses her key to get into Joanna’s office after she leaves to sneak a look at the Christmas bonuses and discovers Chandler there in his underwear and unbuttoned shirt. In a panic, she un-cuffs Chandler to free him only to re-cuff him to a cabinet so Joanna doesn’t find out she has a key to her office. The exaggerated facial expressions Perry makes in this scene to convey his frustration are top-tier.
The One Where Chandler Proposes to Monica
In the Season 6 finale, Episode 25: “The One with the Proposal: Part 2,” fans finally get to witness two best friends confessing their love for each other. This is easily one of Chandler’s sweetest moments of the series. When Monica surprises him with a proposal in her dim, candlelit apartment, she breaks down in tears as she tries to propose. When she can’t get the words out due to her overwhelming love for him, we see a rare vulnerable side to Chandler as he kindly takes over the proposal. With happy tears, he says, “The only thing that matters is that you…you make me happier…than I ever thought I could be.” He then asks Monica to marry him and she tearfully says yes! Afterwards, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey join them and they all embrace. It’s a touching moment that changed the trajectory of the show for the better.
The One Where Chandler and Phoebe Kiss
Season 5, Episode 14: “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” is one of the funniest episodes of Friends due to this scene. You’d be lying if you say you didn’t laugh out loud at least once as you watched just how ridiculously far the friends go just to get Chandler to tell everyone the truth about his new relationship with Monica. Joey is the first one to find out before Phoebe, Rachel, and lastly, Ross. Though Joey just wants the secret to get out so he can stop stressing over keeping it, Rachel and Phoebe scheme to get Phoebe to seduce Chandler to see if he will admit he’s with Monica or kiss Phoebe to hide it. This leads to Phoebe showing Chandler her bra and pretending to be turned on by his vest and Chandler pretending to be turned on by Phoebe’s “sexy” voice. They stall kissing each other for as long as possible until they have no choice but to do it. Kudrow and Perry both play up the awkwardness of the situation and bounce off of each other perfectly, making this scene comedic gold.
The One Where Chandler and Monica Get Married
Monica and Chandler tie the knot in Season 7, Episode 24: “The One with Monica & Chandler’s Wedding: Part 2.” “Mondler” stans get to see the highly anticipated wedding between the two in a shocking season finale. Not only does Chandler get cold feet, but it’s revealed that Rachel is pregnant (though we are originally led to believe it is Monica who is pregnant). Chandler quickly gets over his fear and he and Monica give their vows in front of their friends and family. Monica says she wondered if she would ever find her soul mate. But when she turned to Chandler for comfort at Ross’ wedding in Season 4, she had found everything she had been looking for with him. She calls him, “My prince, my soulmate, my friend.” Chandler then says he thought marriage would be the hardest thing he’d ever have to do, but once he saw Monica, it was simple. “You are the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with,” he says. Their wedding is, without a doubt, one of Chandler’s best and most sincere moments in the series. Need we say more?
The One With the Bubble Bath
In Season 8, Episode 13: “The One Where Chandler takes a Bath,” Monica draws Chandler a bubble bath to relax him despite the fact that he hates baths. She provides him with mood music (Enya’s “Only Time”), candles, salts, and a plastic navy ship so it can be a “boy bath” since Chandler has struggled with his masculinity in the past. What makes this scene so funny is that one by one, the six friends come in the bathroom to talk to each other about who likes who, babies, and more. Fun fact: this is the scene where Ross and Rachel reveal they’re having a baby girl! When they notice Chandler in the bath, they also joke about Chandler needing a bigger boat to cover a certain…member of his.
The One With the Box
Chandler makes the ultimate apologetic gesture when he purposely gets in a box in Season 4, Episode 8: “The One with Chandler in a Box.” After Chandler kisses Joey’s ex-girlfriend Kathy (Paget Brewster), he proves how sorry he is by trapping himself in a box. When Rachel asks what the point is, Chandler says that it proves how much he cares about his friendship with Joey, it gives him time to think about what he did, and it hurts. When Kathy comes over to break up with him out of respect for his friendship with Joey, he waves her goodbye with a single finger sticking out of a hole in the box. Joey sees this and forgives him by the end of the episode. You can always leave it to Chandler to do the most outlandish thing to prove a point.
The One With Monica's Boob Job
When it comes to Joey, simple things often spin out of control. Season 9, Episode 16: “The One with the Boob Job,” is no exception. When money is tight for Chandler and Monica, they both secretly approach Joey for a loan. Monica approaches Joey first and he gives her $2,000. However, when Chandler approaches Joey at another time, he reveals that he had given Monica $2,000 for a boob job to cover up the fact he gave it to her so she could pay rent. Chandler, in disbelief, has the most awkward yet indirect confrontation with Monica about how he likes her body just the way it is and doesn’t want her to get bigger. Monica, who mistakenly thinks he’s talking about her body changing due to pregnancy, says she is going to get bigger and he has to accept it. Chandler then says, “I may be able to get on board with the big boobs, but the giant ass and the big clown feet?!” The comedic acting of Cox and Perry in this scene always makes for a good laugh.
The One With the Floor Cheesecake
In Season 7, Episode 11: “The One with All the Cheesecakes,” Chandler and Rachel develop an unhealthy obsession for the delicious cheesecakes from Mama’s Little Bakery. What starts off as a one-time thing of stealing the cheesecake from their downstairs neighbor leads to Rachel and Chandler eating the stolen cheesecake off the floor in the hallway by the end of the episode. Of course, we can’t forget Joey catching them in the act and joining them, fork in hand. There aren’t too many Rachel and Chandler scenes, but it’s safe to say this one takes the (cheese) cake.
The One Where Chandler Gets the Last Line
The Friends series finale premiered 20 years ago on May 6, 2004 to an audience of 52.5 million people, according to an article by the Television Academy. It is now the fifth most-watched series finale in U.S. history as fans tuned in to say goodbye to the six friends they’ve grown to know and love over the past 10 years. In Season 10, Episode 17: “The Last One,” Monica and Chandler move on to the next phase of their lives with a new house and twins, Phoebe settles into married life with Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), Ross and Rachel finally decide they want to be together, and Joey pursues his acting career. As they all share a tearful final goodbye scene in Monica’s empty apartment, they decide to get coffee together one last time. As they leave, Chandler says the last line of the series in his classic deadpan tone: “Where?” The audience laughs since they know the friend group spent countless hours at their local coffee shop, Central Perk. Could that line be any more perfect for our sarcastic Chandler?
Happy birthday, Matty. Thanks for all the laughs
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services