The One About Matthew Perry review – the star of one of TV’s biggest ever shows gets a loving tribute
This intimate, warm, thoughtful three-parter about the Friends actor speaks to his friends, family and ex-girlfriends – and their adoration for him is overwhelming “God, you can do whatever you want to me, just please make me famous.” So prayed Matthew Perry when he was a young unknown actor auditioning in LA, enjoying the partying and the friendships but struggling to find work. Many have offered up such a fervent…
Key points
- A three-part documentary, The One About Matthew Perry, charts the actor's rise and fall.
- It features interviews with his half-sister Mia, best friends Roger Castillo and David Pressman, and ex-girlfriends.
- Perry died in 2023 at age 54 after relapsing into drug addiction.
A new three-part documentary, The One About Matthew Perry, offers an intimate and warm tribute to the Friends actor, who died in 2023 at the age of 54 after relapsing into drug addiction. The three-hour film charts his rise to fame and his struggles with addiction, featuring interviews with family, friends and former girlfriends.
The documentary includes his half-sister Mia and best friends since his early days in LA, Roger Castillo and David Pressman. They speak about Perry with love and despair at the addictions he could not beat, according to the review.
Family and friends speak
Mia, born when Matthew was 16, talks about 'Matty' and the good and bad times with warmth and grief. His friends give fond, eloquent accounts that focus on the good things but do not skip over his failings. A handful of ex-girlfriends also contribute, without mud-slinging.
The review notes that the interviewees provide a portrait of the man entire. Their adoration for him is described as overwhelming.
God, you can do whatever you want to me, just please make me famous.
— Matthew Perry
Career and addiction
Perry was cast in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon after director William Richert saw him making friends laugh in a restaurant. In 1993, he auditioned for Friends Like Us, later Friends, already knowing the lines because peers had asked for help. The documentary gives the show its due but does not let it overwhelm the subject.
The film covers his addictions to booze, pills and ketamine, and the many efforts to get sober. Mia notes their father supported his son through everything and would have contributed to the film but is now too ill.
