Joey Tribbiani had many Friends, many of which fans are still quoting and referencing today. Most of the time Joey was the butt of many jokes from the rest of the gang, but when it came down to it, Joey was caring and thoughtful towards his many girlfriends.
Comedy on television is mostly subjective so it can be hard to definitively decide which moments were funnier than others. However, there are those rare occasions where a character's actions have been both over and underrated. Let's take a look at 5 of Joey's underappreciated moments and 5 where there was maybe more emphasis on them than was needed.
Overrated: Identical Hand Twin
In season 5 episode 24, 'The One In Vegas: Part 2', Joey finds a Vegas hotel-casino employee who has the exact same hands who he dubs "his identical hand twin."
He even came up with the theme song for their show which by the sounds of it, would drive viewers away even more than the concept of the show in the first place.
Underrated: When He Proposed To A Pregnant Phoebe
In season 8 episode 2, 'The One With The Red Sweater', there is a mystery surrounding who among the girls is pregnant and who the father is. When Phoebe tells Joey that it is her, Joey proposes because he doesn't want her to raise a baby alone.
The emphasis of the joke is on the ridiculousness of the proposal but, in actual fact, Joey willing to marry one of his best friends so he can help raise her child is a massive undertaking Joey is not given enough credit for.
Overrated: Protecting His Sandwich From Gunfire
In season 5 episode 20, 'The One With The Ride Along', Joey, Ross, and Chandler go for a ride-along with Phoebe's new boyfriend Gary.
When they hear gunfire, Joey seemingly jumps over to save Ross but he was actually saving his sandwich. Of all the iconic Joey moments on screen, this one could definitely be ranked one of the lower-rated plotlines, yet it is the focus of a whole episode.
Underrated: When He Gave Up Meat For Phoebe
In season 4 episode 16, 'The One With The Fake Party', a pregnant Phoebe is craving meat so Joey tries to cook her steak to help her enjoy it. When she feels bad about eating the steak Joey offers to give up meat to balance it out.
Fans have been shown many times that Joey doesn't mess around when it comes to food so giving up meat for Phoebe is a massive character point for him!
Overrated: His Identical Twin Carl
In season 6 episode 17, 'The One With Unagi', Joey hires Carl to be his identical twin for a medical research project that will get him $2000.
This seemed like a fairly random plotline to add to the show and it didn't even pan out the way Joey had hoped. The researchers immediately realized they weren't identical twins and he didn't get the money.
Underrated: When He Was Accused of Making An Adult Movie
In season 5 episode 9, 'The One With Ross's Sandwich', Monica and Chandler continue to try to hide their relationship from their friends except for joey who catches on. Joey brings a date home to find a camera set up by Monica & Chandler who were going to film themselves sleeping together and has to cover for them to Rachel by telling her that he was going to make the adult movie on the first date.
Finding out that your friend makes low budget adult films can certainly make you see them in a new light. This could have ended very badly for Joey and he may have lost his friends forever.
Overrated: How You Doin?
Joey's iconic catchphrase will, no doubt, guarantee a date for the Italian-American friend but could be argued is one of the slightly over-used phrases on the show.
All the women Joey used it on never seemed to stick around for very long so was the catchphrase actually a success? It very much depends on what Joey's end goals were...
Underrated: When He Let Chandler Date Kathy
One of the biggest fall-out's in Friends history was when Joey and Chandler both wanted to date Kathy in season 4. When Chandler kisses her he shows Joey how sorry he is by sitting in a closed box for hours.
Eventually, Joey forgives Chandler when he sees how much he and Kathy like each other and lets him chase after her. Thinking about this in a deeper light, dating friend's ex-girlfriends is usually off the list but even when Joey still potentially has feelings for Kathy, he lets his best friend date her, which is never an easy feat.
Overrated: When He Got His Own Show
The spin-off show Joey starring Matt Le Blanc aired in 2004 and ended in 2006 with only two seasons. It centered around Joey moving to Hollywood to further pursue his acting career.
Don't take this the wrong way, fans loved the character in Friends but the ratings for Joey speak for themselves. The ratings declined as the show went on.
Underrated: When he gave Monica and Chandler $2000 EACH
In season 9 episode 16, 'The One With The B**b Job', Monica and Chandler are having some financial trouble and each asks Joey for $2000 each to cover their rent and some bills. When Chandler finds out Monica borrowed money Joey lies and says she borrowed it for some cosmetic surgery.
Joey gave away $4000 to his friends, just like that! He is a soap opera star but still, a very underrated gesture. Imagine being in Joey's position and giving away that much money when the majority of the show has highlighted the friend's financial troubles.