The One About Matthew Perry Review: A Heartfelt Tribute That Barely Scratches the Surface

I imagine Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry will be the first installment in a six-part docuseries franchise, as my morbidly curious mind wanders to the streaming giant’s potential plans to chronicle all six principal cast members of Friends. Of course, the first installment of the potential macabre franchise premieres today and focuses on Matthew Perry in the cultural comedy touchstone that continues to stand the test of time.

Mr. Perry played Chandler Bing, the lovable but highly neurotic, wisecracking statistical analyst and data reconfiguration expert (or, as Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel would say, a “transponster!”), a role that made him a superstar. The One About Matthew Perry chronicles his life, from growing up in a broken home and struggling to make it in Hollywood to his eventual battles with drug and alcohol abuse as a means of numbing the pain.

What is Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry about?

If only the new Netflix docuseries offered more than what we already knew. Then again, perhaps the real question is whether there was anything left to tell. After all, Matthew Perry found fame and, eventually, infamy, living under the relentless spotlight that followed one of the funniest men on the world’s most popular sitcom. But did the spotlight and our insatiable appetite for his struggles push him to the edge, or was he already walking that fine line, with the rest of us providing the final nudge?

Please don’t get me wrong; a younger generation is discovering Friends through reruns and streaming and may be unfamiliar with Perry’s immense popularity or the tragic story behind his fame. For those viewers, the docuseries is well-made, informative, and worth watching for its insight into the actor’s life. However, a more discerning eye will notice that much of the series, particularly the first two episodes, “Part I” and “Part II,” seems to rely heavily on a single Perry interview to support its narrative.

That’s because much of the docuseries is structured around Mr. Perry’s own words, drawn primarily from a single interview with his former co-star from The Whole Nine Yards, Kevin Pollak. I know this because I was a huge fan of the comedian and actor’s YouTube series, Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, which launched in 2009 and was ahead of its time. Yet the docuseries never mentions the show; instead, it ties nearly every significant moment in Perry’s life back to an answer from that single interview.

Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry Review

I bring this up because the original interview deserves credit, but its repeated use also reveals how shallow the filmmakers’ waters were. Still, the footage draws a compelling connection between Perry’s struggles with substance abuse and his eventual opioid addiction, tracing the latter to an injury sustained while filming Fools Rush In. The incident stemmed from Perry’s ambition to channel a modern-day Dick Van Dyke, performing a bit of physical comedy on a jet ski that ultimately left him injured.

Perhaps the most glaring omission is the Friends cast. Were they never approached, or was compensation an issue when asked to reflect on their late friend and co-star, Matthew Perry? The Friends cast reportedly got paid $2.5 million each to take part in HBO Max’s The One Where They Get Back Together. So what stopped them from being interviewed about it? Perhaps they didn’t want to talk about how Perry’s substance abuse affected them, to shield their former castmate. Still, their lack of participation is glaring.

Is Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry worth watching

In the end, The One with Matthew Perry does enough to make audiences care, particularly through interviews with close family members and longtime friends from his youth. Yet the docuseries never digs deep enough to reveal anything audiences haven’t already seen or heard. And while many of us have mourned Mr. Perry’s passing since his fatal ketamine overdose in 2023, the sad irony is that, after spending so much time revisiting his life, we come away knowing little more about the man than we did before.

While a heartfelt and occasionally moving tribute to the beloved star, the docuseries’ biggest missed opportunity is failing to make this the defintive Mathew Perry memoir. Still, it fails to explore whether the very thing that made him so beloved also contributed to the pressures that ultimately consumed him. While offering a mild recommendation, despite the emotional impact, the docuseries barely scratches the surface, offering little insight into the pain behind the laughter.

You can watch the new docuseries The One About Matthew Perry exclusively on Netflix starting October 27th!

The One About Matthew Perry Review: A Heartfelt Tribute That Barely Scratches the Surface