The incomparable Matthew Perry is having a moment right now. With the actor ready to offer the world a deeper look into his life via his upcoming new memoir Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing, people can’t help but get nostalgic remembering the long running career of the beloved star.
Perry made a name for himself by displaying his signature, sarcastic wit on the set of Friends. It was one of the biggest shows of the ’90s and catapulted him into international fame. What came next was the addition of many movies and TV shows projects to his already glowing resume.
He’s done some good ones, and he’s done some bad ones over the years. Here are some of his most notable appearances, arranged from from worst to best.
10. Serving Sara
This 2002 stinker was supposed to be a romantic comedy, and it’s neither romantic nor a comedy. It’s about Perry as a process server who has to serve a rich British woman (Elizabeth Hurley) with papers for a divorce.
However, in a change of circumstances that makes absolutely no sense, the woman persuades him to serve her husband instead so she can get… money? That’s pretty much the plot. They go around to a bunch of different places to track him down, the mafia gets involved, there’s a bodyguard, and a lot of other stuff that only serves to make the absence of logic in the film more prominent
The movie has a staggering 4 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which honestly feels high given the nonsensical plot. The movie obviously bombed but it did end up making money through DVD sales and TV airings.
9. The Whole Ten Yards
The movie The Whole Nine Yards was a surprise hit for Perry when it came out in 2000. It featured Bruce Willis as a mobster, Amanda Peet starred as well, and Perry pulled off a pretty good performance. But the same thing can’t be about the movie’s sequel.
The first movie made over $100 million on a budget of around $41 million. The second movie failed to bring back even half of its budget’s gross via box office earnings. So, why did the film tank? There were a few reasons for this. For starters, the fact that a four-year gap separated the first and second movies did not do it any favors.
It’s not like people were breaking down the door for a sequel but it did feel like they missed the window here. For some weird reason, it was rated PG-13 when all the raunchy fun of the first movie earned an R rating, which brings us to the plot that was…well, simply terrible.
I could describe the plot but it’s so convoluted and pointless. There is a mob boss, some dentist (played by Perry), and a whole lot of a pointless storyline that goes nowhere. This gem also has a glorious 4 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was pretty much crucified by critics, who used words like “strained” and “unfunny” to describe it. It’s worse than going to the dentist. Perry would bounce back though.
8. Almost Heroes
This one is kind of a shame. It really had a lot of potential but failed to deliver. Directed by the master of the faux documentary movie Christopher Best, it features Perry alongside the legendary Chris Farley in his last role.
The movie came out in 1998, a year after Farley died, so it had a lot of goodwill right off the bat. But it wasn’t a good movie. Farley and Perry play two explorers who are hoping to beat Lewis & Clark to the Pacific Ocean. Hijinks ensue. There’s a pretty funny scene involving elderly natives but the laughs are few and far between.
Perry plays a rich aristocrat but not very well. It’s not that he didn’t try the role didn’t really suit him, and the script is pretty clunky. Farley does his best but even he can’t save this thing from going down in flames. It sits around 8 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a step up from the previous two stink balls.
7. The Kennedys After Camelot
This instantly forgettable show was a mini series on the Reelz network in 2017, so it’s fairly recent. It’s also fairly terrible. Katie Holmes stars as Jackie Onassis after her husband’s death, and Perry plays Ted Kennedy.
It’s hard to describe exactly what accent Perry is doing, but it’s not a good one. The show came and went without making a ripple.
I know it sounds like we’re being hard on Perry, but the man went on Kimmel and made fun of himself for the accent.
6. Fools Rush In
Okay, enough with the stinkers. Here’s where things get better. While it’s no Godfather, 1997’s Fools Rush In is a pretty good romcom. The writing is not bad, and the premise of the two different cultures coming together makes for some good comedy.
Salma Hayek and Perry are both in their prime, and they have a crackling chemistry. The supporting characters also do pretty good work. Again, this is no Citizen Kane, but it’s passable. The plot is clear and has highs and lows, and the big romantic moment at the end lands well.
The movie doubled its $20 million budget at the box office, and while some critics didn’t love it, audiences gave it a respectable 64% score. And some critics, like the legendary Roger Ebert, actually liked it, calling it a “sweet, entertaining retread of an ancient formula.”
5. Numb
This lesser known indie film made the rounds of the festival circuit and showed off Perry’s range. He’s not bumbling around or screaming. He plays a nuanced character going through a really difficult ordeal.
That ordeal? He has a personality disorder that makes him feel like he’s in a constant dream state and can’t feel anything. Perry plays a screenwriter who’s desperate to fix his condition so he can marry the girl of his dreams.
The movie never got a proper theatrical release, but it did pretty good on DVD. It also won an audience award at the Gen Art Film Festival.
4. Go On
Perry got a lot of chances at TV after Friends, and one of those chances was the show Go On. Perry plays a sports talk show host who needs to learn how to move on after his wife’s death, hence the title. NBC really gave this one a shot, but it just didn’t catch on.
It did show a more mature Perry who seemed to intentionally distance himself from the character he played on that other NBC show. It went a full season – 22 episodes. NBC put it after The Voice and showed a preview during the Olympics, but that still couldn’t save it.
Critics didn’t hate the show and praised Perry’s acting as well as the fun ensemble cast. For Perry fans, this is one to check out (if you can find it).
3. The Odd Couple
This remake was funny! It ran for three seasons which is pretty much a TV Perry record. The cast was great, with the exceptional Thomas Lennon playing Felix as the obsessive compulsive neat freak and Perry as the slob.
The original is obviously a classic, so no one’s expecting it to be at that level, but it has a breezy, lighthearted feel that makes it fun. Perry executive produced the series, and he had a pretty good chemistry with Lennon, as they were both featured in the movie 17 Again.
Here’s the thing about Perry. He doesn’t really do great with critics but his projects are mostly enjoyable, just like this one. As with most Perry projects, the audience enjoyed it a bit more than the critics did. Still a win.
2. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
This one started hot. It had a cavalcade of stars and one of the all time great television writers in Aaron Sorkin. It had a prime time slot, and Perry was the main star. It was a biting social commentary of the world of late night comedy.
Perry plays a writer who takes over for a Saturday Night Live type show. Unfortunately, it came out the same time as 30 Rock, a different show about the same sort of subject. While it beat out 30 Rock in the ratings, it was pretty expensive to produce, so NBC axed it.
It also lost some steam toward the end of the season. Perry, however, is great in this, and it’s maybe his best role since his heyday on Friends.
1. Friends
Chandler is, and always will be, Perry’s best role. This is the show that made him a bonafide superstar. His “could I be any more (insert thing here)” line was endlessly quotable. His chemistry with Joey is legendary. His romance with Monica was sweet and fun.
The show ran for ten seasons, and while he got a little fuzzy in some of them due to what we now know was a drug addiction, he still pulled out great performances regardless. If you didn’t live through it, it’s hard to describe just how popular and pervasive this show was.
It was everywhere, all the time. They were the biggest stars on the planet for a while. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing some sort of Friends related thing, either on TV, on a billboard, or in a magazine.
This is the show that allowed Perry to have one million chances at TV and movies. He will always be remembered as Chandler. And the accolades are well deserved.