Friends has some of the most humorous characters in the history of American television sitcoms, but there’s no other person whose humor is more quotable or relatable than Joey. Matt LeBlanc beautifully played Joey Tribbiani, and bestowed this role with every facet that a true friend has; humor and emotions, smart but idiotic at times, and most importantly, having a good heart and care for Chandler, Ross, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe.
Perhaps Joey is among a few characters that depict how a mature personality and childish behavior co-exist. Ohh! This statement correlates with a scene, right? Well, in Season 2, Episode 2, where Joey’s date, Melanie, says, “There’s a little child inside this man (Joey).” Then Chandler jokes, “Yes, the doctors say if they remove it, he’ll die”. This sarcastic humor of Friends never fails to make its audience laugh, and it’s no surprise that Joey has a few lines that are most quoted today. Some of these quotes have even made their way into Friends‘ merchandise.
Friends
- Release Date
- September 22, 1994
- Seasons
- 10
- Studio
- Network
- NBC
10 “Joey doesn’t share food!”
Season 10, Episode 9 (2004)
Viewers might remember a plot, Joey saying, “I need to organize my thoughts”, and Chandler replies, “Thoughts? (laughs politely) Plural?” Well, Joey indeed has plural thoughts: women and food. And, he is confused about choosing one, not willing to give up on either. Joey’s love for food has made him a very resonant personality.
To put forth Joey’s passion for food, Joey tried to save the sandwich during a bullet fire (car backfiring). A more hilarious instance is when Phoebe sets Joey on a date with her friend Sarah. During their date, Sarah ordered a salad and water and reached out to Joey’s plate to take off some fries. Joey found this totally unsuitable and decided to dump her. More laughable, Joey did not even allow Emma to have a few leftover grapes, uttering the funny line about not sharing.
9 “It hurts my Joey’s apple.”
Season 7, Episode 14 (2001)
Lack of social awareness is the most defining characteristic of Joey, as he often chooses to do absurd things and utter nonsensical at times. Whether it is general knowledge, politics, or basic math, Joey is oblivious to the world around him. Joey tries to question every tenet of life, which titles those scenes chalked up to “Joey being Joey.”
In one of the funniest Friends episodes “The One Where They All Turn Thirty,” during Monica’s thirtieth birthday party, Chandler looks for whether everything is running in order and finds out that Joey has taken off his tie. Joey gives an excuse: “It hurts my Joey’s Apple.” As usual, Chandler comes in to explain to Joey that an Adam’s apple is not named after an individual. The scene couldn’t be more entertaining after Chandler’s explanation, and now Joey knows that his anatomy isn’t as unique as he thinks.
8 “Occupation? Dinosaur.”
Season 9, Episode 2 (2002)
Competitiveness and overreacting seem to be a family trait of Geller. Like Monica, Ross has also inherited these characteristics. In the hospital, Joey accidentally proposes to Rachel and offends Ross. To settle things, Joey tries apologizing in the coffee shop, and unintentionally, the scene turns out to be hilarious.
Joey asks Ross to hit him. However, Joey ducks the punch and Ross punches a pole and breaks his thumb. Both of these protagonists end up in a hospital, and Joey fills out the form on behalf of Ross. One of the best puns comes out when Joey fills the occupation category by saying, “Occupation, Dinosaur,” to which Ross replies, “Well, I’m a Paleo… (knowing Joey’s vocabulary, Ross didn’t complete the word), Dinosaur is fine… Drawing is not.”
7 “You can’t have S-E-X, in front of a B-A-B-I-E.”
Season 9, Episode 14 (2003)
Monica and Chandler’s relationship is one of the most profound ones, and so is the relationship between Ross and Rachel. Even though Joey once had a secret crush on Rachel and never had any serious relationships, he still knows about the complications that Ross has in his relationships. Therefore, he and Phoebe try to patch up Ross and Rachel by setting them both on a date. Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler decide to babysit Emma.
When Joey enters Monica’s apartment, he finds Emma in her baby rocker, and Monica and Chandler missing. Joey picks up Emma and heads to Monica’s bedroom, where he finds out the lovers are having sex, instead of nannying Emma. This situation leads to another hilarious quote, “You can’t have S-E-X, in front of a B-A-B-I-E.” The scene becomes more funny when Joey covers Emma’s ears before saying these lines.
6 “Unless you name your firstborn Joey.”
Season 9, Episode 14 (2003)
Following the above scene of Emma’s babysitting, yet another funny moment unfolds. After having sex, Mr. and Mrs. Bing find Emma missing. As Joey had already seen both having sex, he confronts Monica and Chandler. The love birds request not to say this to Ross and Rachel. On hearing them implore, Joey agrees, but with an “Unless,” to which Chandler replies, “Unless what?” This is where the Friends fanbase hears the most peculiar demand from Joey Tribbiani.
Joey asks Chandler to name their firstborn child Joey. He admits that he may never get married or have kids, and he wants his family name to carry on. Chandler replies, “your family name is Tribbiani,” hearing this, Joey gets confused for a moment, laughs politely and says, “nice try,” and walks off.
5 “The line is dot to you.”
Season 4, Episode 7 (1997)
There’s no doubt that Joey is full of a pure heart and innocence, and would never think of cheating on his friends. So, obviously, in return, he asks the same from others and gets too offended when betrayed by his closest – Chandler. Well, Chandler did it unintentionally. In the Joey and Chandler episode “The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line,” Chandler confesses that his and Kathy’s bond got stronger, and they kissed earlier.
Chandler admits, “I have crossed the line.” Joey replies in an angry yet humorous manner, “Cross the line? You’re so far past the line that you can’t even see the line!” The plot turns more comical when Joey adds, “The line is a dot to you.” This moment depicts how unknowingly comical Joey can be, even in tough times.
4 “It’s a moo point.”
Season 7, Episode 8 (2000)
Although Joey may not sound mature in most situations, he has his own ways of conveying advice in a distinct style. Even though his words seem off-court, the advice has always been logical. One such remarkable piece of advice circulated when Rachel had a hard time figuring out whether the guy liked her back. Joey tells her, “Rach, the big question is, does he like you? If he doesn’t like you, then this is all just a moo point!”. Rachel asks, “What? A “moo” point?” to which Joey illustrates, “Yeah, it’s a moo point. It’s like a cow’s opinion, you know. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo!”.
Joey’s poor spelling ability and mismanaged way of looking at the world have made him more humorous. Viewers may have initially thought of the “moo point” as the “moot point.” However, it’s Joey’s witty way of expressing moo (the sound that a cow makes) and a lighthearted way of defining something irrelevant.
3 “Fridge broke, I had to eat everything.”
Season 6, Episode 19 (2000)
As Joey’s acting career is riddled with ups and downs, viewers see Joey struggling for money. This situation became more alarming when Chandler decided to move in with Monica. At this unfortunate time, Joey’s fridge breaks and, unexpectedly, Joey goes to eat everything in the fridge before it expires.
When Chandler enters the room and sees Joey with several cans and wrappers, Joey admits, “Well, the fridge broke, so I had to eat everything.” This is another classic example that expresses Joey’s love for food, and not letting it waste. It’s also just a funny reminder that he’s not exactly the smartest character in Friends.
2 “You hide my clothes, I’m wearing everything you own.”
Season 3, Episode 2 (1996)
Joey and Chandler truly exhibit the absurd things the best friends do. These two indeed show the waste of energy in nonsensical competition. In the episode, “The One Where No One’s Ready,” Ross enters the room and sees no one ready for the party. Ross asks Chandler to get ready first, and later to Joey. Joey finds out that his underwear is missing and Chandler has hidden it. Joey enters the bedroom, looking for underwear, and Chandler grins, “What underwear?” In retaliation, Joey determines to do Chandler the exact opposite of hiding underwear.
Joey storms out of the bedroom, and returns wearing all of Chandler’s clothes. On coming, Joey says, “You hide my underwear, I’m wearing everything you own.” This undoubtedly is one of the funniest scenes in Friends. It’s made even funnier when Chandler makes a witty face and says, “That is so not the opposite of hiding someone’s underwear.” Isn’t it the best revenge in the entire series?
1 “How you doin’?”
Multiple Seasons and Episodes
Out of all the quotes Joey has said, “How you doin’?” is the most famous one and has become synonymous with the character. Joey has his stunning looks, ravishing charm, and his own techniques for flirting, but “How you doin’?” is the most iconic catchphrase and a pickup line of Joey’s. It even flattened Monica Geller with Joey’s perfect timing. Barring a few instances like Janine Lecroix, “How you doin’?” has triumphed each time.
The first instance of using this line comes in Season 4, Episode 13: “The One With Rachel’s Crush,” where Joey introduces his moves. Sure, it is a simple line, but the way Joey said it turned iconic. With ample confidence, an eye-crinkling grin, and a sense of intimacy with eyebrows raised, a simple phrase instantly became an overnight sensation.
