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A review by rebelstorm
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.25
3.25/5
Quality of writing: 3
Pace: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of reading: 4
Is this the best written memoir I've read? No. Does it have some well written parts? Yes. Have I changed my opinion of Matthew Perry? Oh God yes.
I've seen a couple episodes of Friends here and there. I'm not the biggest fan of the show, more a casual viewer. So I have not kept up with the actors and their shenanigans. Perry has a really colorful past and I do believe he is the only person that can tell his story. But this book needs some editing. Perry loves to repeat himself and paint himself as a really unlikable character. I was expecting more behind the scenes - more Friends, The Whole Nine Yards, 17 Again... I do understand that he was high a lot and probably can't remember some parts of his life, but I do wish he balanced the book out a bit.
I was put off by his comments about Keanu Reeves. As far as I know, they have not worked together. I know Perry has apologized about the comments, but it still feels kind of... off.
Quality of writing: 3
Pace: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of reading: 4
Is this the best written memoir I've read? No. Does it have some well written parts? Yes. Have I changed my opinion of Matthew Perry? Oh God yes.
I've seen a couple episodes of Friends here and there. I'm not the biggest fan of the show, more a casual viewer. So I have not kept up with the actors and their shenanigans. Perry has a really colorful past and I do believe he is the only person that can tell his story. But this book needs some editing. Perry loves to repeat himself and paint himself as a really unlikable character. I was expecting more behind the scenes - more Friends, The Whole Nine Yards, 17 Again... I do understand that he was high a lot and probably can't remember some parts of his life, but I do wish he balanced the book out a bit.
I was put off by his comments about Keanu Reeves. As far as I know, they have not worked together. I know Perry has apologized about the comments, but it still feels kind of... off.
"It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?"
Overall - it is a decent memoir but I do wish it was polished a bit more. And I don't mean "take out all the addiction talk", I mean - get an editor and remove some repetitiveness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use