How “Friends”' Matthew Perry made salty Chandler the“ ”show's sweetest character
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Chandler Bing was the king of snark, and Friends fans loved him for it. As portrayed by Matthew Perry — who died by an apparent drowning on Saturday at the age of 54 — Chandler Bing led with masterfully timed sarcasm. Sometimes it was at his own expense ("Oh, that makes me feel so warm in my hollow, tin chest"), but usually it was aimed at the foibles of his best friends.
Whether scolding Matt LeBlanc's slow-on-the-uptake Joey ("Get there faster!"), mocking David Schwimmer's twice-divorced Ross ("I mean, if you're not careful, you might not get married at all this year!"), or teasing Jennifer Aniston's Rachel about her flouncy pink bridesmaids dress ("I'm sorry, we don't have your sheep"), Chandler was a marksman with his withering wit — he never missed.
But acidic one-liners can only take a character so far, even when he's played by a comedian as talented as Perry. We're still talking about Chandler Bing today because Matthew Perry made him a wiseacre with a gentle (if broken) soul, a smart aleck whose skill with a quip was matched only by his capacity for fierce and loyal love. Never mind the sarcasm — sweet Chandler Bing was the best Chandler Bing.
Like so many Friends fans, when news of the actor's death broke on Saturday, I found myself scrolling through memories of my favorite Chandler moments. And the first one to pop into my head wasn't one of his snappy retorts or any biting banter, it was this:
Heartbroken over his breakup with Janice (Maggie Wheeler), Chandler cradles her high-heel shoe — and the album cover of Lionel Richie's self-titled debut — in his arms, singing his heart out to "Endless Love." He's soon joined by Phoebe, and their off-key duet is a poignant, funny coda to one of Chandler's most mature and moving storylines.
Earlier in the episode, "The One with the Giant Poking Device," Chandler urges Janice to go back to her husband, Gary. "I don't want to be the guy that breaks up a family," he says. "You know, when my parents split up, it was because of that guy… I hated that guy." It is only a further testament to Perry's range that he glides so easily from Chandler's somber and earnest speech to the broad physical comedy of hanging on to Janice's leg, begging her to stay as she tries to lurch her way out of the coffee shop. ("You can't leave! I have your shoe!")
The pinnacle of Chandler Bing's true nature — that of a hopeless, often-heartsick romantic — came in the fourth season, courtesy of Joey's new girlfriend Kathy (Paget Brewster). He fell for her almost instantly; not only was Kathy smart and beautiful, but she also spoke Chandler's snappy-banter language, and they both were big fans of Ernie Kovacs and as-seen-on-TV mops.
Warner Bros Paget Brewster and Matthew Perry in 'Friends'
Over a stellar, four-episode arc, Perry played Chandler's unrequited love with a poignancy that revealed the depth of his inner torment as he grappled with the pain of longing and the guilt of betrayal. In "The One with Joey's New Girlfriend," Chandler reluctantly agrees to join his roommate and Kathy for a drink. When Joey confronts him for his standoffish attitude toward Kathy, Chandler snaps: "I'm so fantastically, over-the-top, want to slit my own throat in love with her, that for every minute of every hour of every day, I can't believe my own damn bad luck that you met her first!" It's a brutal reveal, made even more agonizing by the fact that lovably dim Joey doesn't grasp the truth of the moment; he assumes Chandler is just being sarcastic, as per usual.
Remember how Chandler tracked down an early edition of The Velveteen Rabbit, one of Kathy's favorite books growing up, as a birthday present and then let a clueless Joey take the credit? "The bottom line is, I want her to have it," he lamented to Rachel. "Even if I don't get to be the one who gets to give it to her." The Friends' writers knew that in Perry's capable hands, Chandler Bing could be more than just a wisecrack machine — he was sensitive, emotionally complex guy who hid behind an arsenal of sardonic jokes.
Of course, the entire Kathy situation blew up just in time for a classic Friends Thanksgiving episode, "The One with Chandler in a Box."
Despite the absurdity of the set-up, Perry's performance in the second half of that episode — mostly just his voice, with a few expressive finger gestures thrown in — reinforced how high the stakes truly were. Chandler's yearning for Kathy was intense, but his fear of being the kind of guy who could hurt his best friend so acutely was all consuming. It is no spoiler to say that Chandler and Joey ultimately made up, wrapping each other in a hug that viewers could practically feel through the screen.
Warner Bros. Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry in 'Friends'
Could that be any sweeter? Perry could land a punchline like few others, and that gave the moments where he made our hearts ache all the more power. His character was the king of snark, but it was Matthew Perry's sweet spirit that earned Chandler our endless love.
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