<em>Friends</em> has endured for decades, becoming one of the most recognizable sitcoms ever made, and it’s easy to see why. The series about the lovable group of friends offered something for everyone. Whether your sense of humor is dry sarcasm, like Chandler (Matthew Perry), or more zany, like Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Friends will make you laugh, and that is the point. Admittedly, after so many years, certain aspects of the series are dated, but other parts are timeless. Friends had the rare ability to make even the smallest moment iconic, and the best example of that is the episode where Ross (David Schwimmer) buys a couch, which became one of the series’ most quotable moments.
Friends has no end of hilarious quotes, but perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable is Ross’ line as he yells, “Pivot,” with an inflection so distinctive that the single word is enough to bring the moment to mind. It’s not a complicated plot, but it stands out among Friends‘ ten seasons. For years, this scene has had audiences laughing out loud, but they weren’t the first, as even the show's actors struggled to keep a straight face long enough to capture the moment on film.
The ‘Friends’ Cast Couldn’t Handle the “Pivot” Scene
This quote comes from Season 5, Episode 16, “The One with the Cop,” and although the name reflects Phoebe’s storyline, as she takes advantage of the police badge she found, there is a lot more going on within the episode. Meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is in a vulnerable place as he realizes he wants a relationship like Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler’s, yet Ross’ storyline is more memorable. Newly divorced following his disastrous wedding to Emily (Helen Baxendale), Ross is furnishing his apartment. However, he refuses to pay the hefty delivery fee for his couch, so he needs help moving it up the stairs. Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) helps him to the building, and Chandler joins them to get it up the stairs, but they get stuck. The trio then proceeds to attempt to free the couch, prompting his yelled instructions that the audience cannot seem to forget.
While the scene is iconic in its own right, a clip of the filming process has caught people’s attention in the years since the episode’s release. This is a blooper that demonstrates the challenge this moment was to film, as the actors simply could not make it through. The video shows Schwimmer calling “Pivot” through his laughter, while his costars, Perry and Aniston, repeatedly break character as they cackle at Schwimmer’s line. In a 2008 interview with Conan O’Brien, Schwimmer confessed that filming this scene was “the hardest I’ve laughed in my life.” The moment certainly justifies the laughs; after all, the audience couldn’t resist. Ultimately, they made it through, redirecting their laughter into hilarity and delivering the scene that fans have come to love.
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No one told us life was going to be this way.
“Pivot” Is One of Ross’ Funniest Moments in ‘Friends’
ThroughoutFriends, the actors had to maintain their composure through a lot, but it makes sense that this is what would break them. Ross getting his friends to help him move a couch doesn’t seem like much, but this is one of the funniest moments on the show because Schwimmer turned a single word into a memorable cry and ultimately helped this one scene stand out among the rest of the series. All of the characters have their share of great lines, but Ross in particular has a considerable range that goes from the unforgettable “We were on a break,” to less well-known but hysterical options like when he freaks out while drunkenly hosting a disastrous evening and explains, “I’m sorry, it must be the pressure of entertaining.” However, few of Ross’ lines are as quotable as “Pivot.”
Admittedly, Schwimmer’s true strength lies in physical comedy, which is why his best episodes are less about quotes and more about the strange situations he gets himself into, like his leather pants not fitting or his experience with a spray tan. The couch storyline fits seamlessly among these but has an edge because it is actually relatable. Many parts of the story cross the line of believability but who hasn’t struggled to move a heavy piece of furniture at one point or another? The fact that it is so applicable sets this quote above the rest, making it that much more entertaining to watch Ross, Chandler, and Rachel trying to move the couch. It shouldn’t be a shock that the actors felt the same way.
The “Pivot” Stands Out in ‘Friends’
While the scene shows off Schwimmer’s comedic strength, he isn’t the only one responsible for making it what it is. The entire storyline demonstrates the talent of Friends’ writers who turned carrying a couch into an unforgettable episode for fans. In a 2019 interview with EW, co-creator David Crane revealed some doubt about this story saying,‘Can we do a story as simple as getting a couch up a flight of stairs?’ However, they accomplished it expertly creating an iconic TV moment in process. Decades later it stands as proof that you don’t need to overthink comedy because sometimes a single word is all it takes.
There is much that sets this scene apart but in that same interview Crane pointed out one detail fans might not realize, addressing space limitations in New York apartments. While it’s true that characters had unrealistically spacious places (especially considering their budgets), that is far from normal and has long been an area fans like to call out in jest. Yet in “The One with the Cop,” Friends played with a more truthful version of New York for once as Ross’ staircase cannot accommodate an average-sized couch. Crane jokes,
“That’s where we captured New York we actually lived in.” Perhaps it’s a strange dose of realism but it worked well for series either way.
Friends is streaming on HBO Max in U.S.
- Release Date
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1994 – 2004
- Showrunner
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Marta Kauffman
- Directors
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Kevin S. Bright,
Gary Halvorson,
Michael Lembeck,
James Burrows,
Gail Mancuso,
Peter Bonerz,
David Schwimmer,
Robby Benson,
Shelley Jensen,
Terry Hughes,
Dana De Vally Piazza,
Alan Myerson,
Pamela Fryman,
Steve Zuckerman,
Thomas Schlamme,
Roger Christiansen,
Sheldon Epps,
Arlene Sanford,
David Steinberg,
Joe Regalbuto,
Mary Kay Place,
Paul Lazarus,
Sam Simon,
Todd Holland
- Writers
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Jeff Astrof,
Mike Sikowitz,
Brian Boyle,
Patty Lin,
Bill Lawrence,
R. Lee Fleming Jr.
