Funny and real: a Chandler Bing character analysis

I know I already said that Monica was my favorite friend, but I lied. Chandler Bing is my favorite.  After all, what would a sitcom be if it didn’t have a realistic funny guy? 

All of the credit for Chandler Bing’s hilarious character goes to Matthew Perry, who does an outstanding job making Chandler the icon he is. Chandler is hands down the funniest friend because of Perry’s physical reactions to various events in “Friends.” 

One of my favorite parts about Chandler Bing is his history. Chandler has a lot of baggage from his childhood, especially around Thanksgiving (which he explains in a detailed flashback in “The one with all the Thanksgivings.”) His parents got divorced when he was just nine years old. Soon after, he developed two coping mechanisms: sarcastic humor and smoking. 

While the writers of “Friends” use Chandler’s old smoking habit as a gag, they also talk a little bit about addiction and show how friends can be instrumental in ending that addiction. Chandler stops smoking but has an occasional cigarette run-in — a very realistic illustration of how the battle of addiction never really ends.

But Chandler’s parents’ divorce left more scars than just addiction and a sense of humor. Not only is he “hopeless and awkward and desperate for love,” but Chandler is also terrified of commitment. In fact, if you looked up commitment issues in the dictionary, you would see a picture of Chandler Bing. These commitment issues come up a lot while Chandler and Monica start dating. Even with Monica, someone he’s known since college, Chandler is afraid and insecure about her leaving him for an ex-boyfriend. Fortunately, with a little communication and patience (on both of their parts), Chandler and Monica make it work and end up getting married. 

Which is why I think, out of all the friends, Chandler grows the most.

Think about it: he goes from being the mayor of Commitment Issue City to falling in love and marrying one of his best friends. Not only does he overcome his fear of rejection, but he is also able to maintain his strong relationship with Monica through career changes and infertility issues. 

In “The one with the birth mother,” Chandler and Monica get the opportunity to potentially adopt a baby, but due to a file mix up, the birth mother changes her mind. To convince “My wife’s an incredible woman. She is loving, devoted and caring … I love my wife more than anything in this world and it kills me that I can’t give her a baby. I really want a kid. And when that day finally comes I’ll learn how to be a good dad, but my wife, she’s already there. She’s a mother without a baby.” Chandler Bing gives everything he has to the people he loves, regardless of fear or anything else. He shows up when he really needs to. 

Chandler is a realistic guy. He screws up. He makes mistakes. But he is always apologetic and willing to learn from his mistakes. He constantly takes risks for the people he loves. Chandler supports Joey through his financial struggles, supports Ross and Rachel (individually) through their breakup, and maintains Monica through every high maintenance need she has. Chandler knows how to love each of his friends and meet their individual needs. 

*Graphic by James Clayton.

Emily White is a junior studying English and print journalism. She is currently serving as the senior writer for the Lifestyles section of the Statesman.

—emily.white@usu.edu