I consider myself just about the biggest Friends fan out there. I watched the series in real time growing up; bought all of the DVDs and pored over the commentaries; and — thanks to my Max subscription — that familiar laugh track and the dialogue I can recite from memory are often the last things I hear before I fall asleep. Where I’ve fallen short, however, is keeping up with the Friends cast’s other movies and TV shows. Despite being years late to the party, I finally watched Lisa Kudrow in The Comeback, and now I’ll never be able to look at the actress the same way again.
The Comeback was canceled after one season on HBO in 2005, only to be revived by the cable network nine years later for Season 2. Lisa Kudrow executive produces and stars in the satirical look at the TV industry in this brilliant, meta and cringe-inducing mockumentary that has forever changed my perception of her. Let me explain why.
Portraying A Has-Been Sitcom Star So Soon After Friends Was A Gutsy Move
Even 20 years after Friends ended, it’s clear Lisa Kudrow will never shake the persona of Phoebe Buffay. However, that role was even fresher on people’s minds when The Comeback premiered on HBO on June 4, 2005 — just 13 months after “The Last One” aired on NBC. To jump into the role of Valerie Cherish, the seemingly desperate former sitcom star documenting her return to TV, so soon seems like such a ballsy move.
Many actors looking to move on from a big role will often take on something completely different so as not to pigeonhole themselves — just look at Jennifer Aniston doing movies like The Good Girl and Friends with Money. Lisa Kudrow went in the opposite direction and jumped right into playing a sitcom actress. Not only that, but one trying to reclaim the fame she'd found earlier in their career. How meta is that?
Of course Lisa Kudrow didn't have to "reclaim" anything in 2005; however, it's important to remember that she was 41 years old coming out of Friends, and likely not up for the same kinds of roles as 10 years earlier. Enter Valerie Cherish, who faces that exact situation on Room and Bored, the fictional sitcom that is the impetus for her comeback. After starring on a show called I’m It, Valerie's new series feels like a downgrade, surrounding her with young singles (including actors played by Malin Akerman and Kellan Lutz), and relegating her to the role of the tracksuit-wearing Aunt Sassy.
It was impossible for me to look at Valerie Cherish and not compare her situation to Lisa Kudrow’s. Did she and her Friends co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — see the end of Friends as having the freedom to do whatever they wanted next? Or was Kudrow saying in The Comeback that she worried her best was behind her?
The Comeback Proves That Friends Just Scratched The Surface Of Lisa Kudrow’s Talents
Friends may be one of the best sitcoms of all time, but after watching The Comeback, I think Phoebe Buffay only scratched the surface of what Lisa Kudrow was capable of as an actress. Friends did allow her to tap into a different character when Ursula would appear, but in the HBO comedy Kudrow was, in effect, portraying at least four subtly-but-distinctively different characters — the perky version of Valerie she affected for the reality cameras, Room and Bored’s Aunt Sassy, Seeing Red’s Mallory Church (a fictionalized version of Valerie), and the real Valerie Cherish, when her guard was down and not playing to the cameras.
The last of these was the most enjoyable, possibly because of how excruciatingly rare it was for Valerie to let the cracks show, or to tell her husband Mark (Damian Young) or director Paulie G. (Lance Barber) how she really felt. I think The Comeback proved that just like Valerie Cherish was always underestimated as an actress, Lisa Kudrow is so much more than Phoebe Buffay.
Valerie’s Struggle To Be Real On Her Reality Show Is Equal Parts Grating And Brilliant
Valerie Cherish needs to be one of the roles that defines Lisa Kudrow’s career for how complex a character she created. However, that does not mean The Comeback was always an enjoyable watch. If you thought Phoebe’s kookiness on Friends could get old, wait until all the times you hear Valerie enter a room with an overly cheery, “Hello hello hello!,” or refer to Malin Akerman’s Juna as “Baby Girl,” or shoehorn her catchphrase, “I don’t need to see that!” into a random situation. This series is on par with Curb Your Enthusiasm for knowing how to make its audience uncomfortable.
It’s all about Valerie’s complete unwillingness and/or inability to let her guard down in front of her documentary crew’s cameras. Anytime she or “Marky Mark” says anything remotely negative or even real, she gives her producer Jane (Laura Silverman) the “time-out” sign to signal that they can’t use that footage. She laughs at her own jokes, eyeing the camera as if she’s anticipating us laughing with her at home. She justifies and overexplains everything she thinks might be misconstrued or that could paint her in a bad light. It’s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.
I can’t believe it took me this long to watch The Comeback, and I completely get why it’s considered a cult classic. As a Friends fan, I definitely recommend this comedy to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. As awkward as it can get, the series really highlights Lisa Kudrow’s talent in a different way than we saw on Friends.
She’s surrounded by a great cast (shout out to the late Robert Michael Morris as her hairdresser Mickey), and it’s amazing to see how her character grows and changes from the beginning of Season 1 to the end of Season 2. Honestly, the finale literally gave me chills and has forever changed the way I see Kudrow as an actress.
Both seasons of The Comeback can be streamed on Max, one of the best streaming services to subscribe to.
