Friends was a sitcom that took the 90’s by storm, and often contested as one of the very best right along with shows such as Seinfeld, Frasier, and Mad About You. But one of the main differences between Friends and all of those other shows was that while it was still a comedy, and a great one at that, none of the characters seemed as though they were really meant to be funny.
Other than Chandler’s sarcasm (which would have his friends despise him in real life if there were no laugh track to save him) or Joey and Phoebe’s dim-witticism/innocence, the characters were pretty straight shooters who just happened to say funny things. But while it may have indeed been a sitcom and some characters were funnier than others, some of the Central Perk 6 were clearly smarter than their coffee-house counterparts as well. Take a look at our list of the Friends’ main cast, ranked in order of intelligence.
Joey
“When the package is this pretty, nobody cares what’s inside.” Arguably the funniest character on the show (he did get his own spin-off) one thing Joey was never accused of being was smart. Playing the part of the show’s lady’s-man and quite often the dunce, it was clear from the very first episode that Joey’s intellect extended to picking up women, sniffing out sandwich shops, and not a whole lot else.
While lovable and always the source of a good laugh, Joey was never supposed to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier since his character was meant to counter-balance his overly sarcastic (and sometimes too-witty) roommate, Chandler. They were a constant, and hilarious, running staple of the show but arguing about how intellectual Joey really was would be a “moo” point.
Phoebe
Other than Joey, none of the Central Perk 6 could technically be classified as stupid, but unfortunately, Phoebe falls to number 5 on our list simply because of her lack of any formal education. While that may not be her fault, and a person who knows how to play the guitar and speak French certainly can’t be classified as stupid, it ultimately led to Phoebe’s quirky mindset and lack of any textbook knowledge quite often leaving her friends fumbling for answers.
It wasn’t without reason that Phoebe and Joey were considered the best duo among the entire Friends cast and it was mostly because they were both comfortable swimming in each other’s playful ignorance. She was a fan favorite, and we would never call her dumb, but Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock kind of speaks for itself.
Rachel
The lowest ranking member on our list to have received not only a high school diploma but also a college degree (possibly, we know she changed her major due to lack of parking so hopefully there were enough spots) is the fashion-forward Rachel Greene. Despite her intelligence improving throughout the series, Rachel quickly gained a reputation for being the spoiled one of the group, often taking the easy way out and refusing to learn a new task simply because it would be difficult for her.
A prime example was in season 8 when she was about to become a mother and rather than deal with the reality that a baby might be hard-work on her own, she vehemently tried to get her mother to come live with her so that she would take care of it for her. Regardless that she transformed herself from a literal gold-digger surviving on her father’s credit cards to a fashion executive at Ralph Lauren, we’re not quite sure how as Rachel’s intelligence never seemed to have quite the same meteoric rise as her career did.
Monica
We know she has a high-school degree, we know she went to Vassar College, and we know that she’s a qualified and trained chef - combine that with her controlling, manic personality and desperate need to always be the best, and you’ve got yourself the number three spot on our list. Monica may not have had the most intellectually taxing job in the world (it is just cooking, after all) but to run an entire kitchen in what is undoubtedly one of the largest food capitals of the world?
Yeah, you’ve gotta be pretty smart to do that. Even though her confrontations throughout the show were more often about winning than being smart, the end result was Monica often asserting her mental dominance over the other Friends members simply to prove that she could. She might not have bragged about it as much as her older brother, but Monica has certainly earned the right to call herself intelligent.
Chandler
Would you expect a man who works as a ’transponster’ to be any lower than number two on this list? “I know what time it is, but I’m looking at the WENUS and I’m not happy!” OK, while that may not be his official job title, anybody who does data reconfiguration and statistical factoring for other companies has to at least be able to understand what any of that means.
That’s sufficient enough to prove that Ms. Chanandler Bong is only second-to-one when it comes to the Central Perk 6. Not only that, but he’s known as the sarcastic, witty clown of the group and while it isn’t essentially proof, more often than not you have to be smart to be as quick and funny as Chandler is.
Ross
It’s hard to believe that a man who refers to himself as ‘The Ross-a-Tron’ is also considered the most intellectual person among the core Friends cast. Despite his last two scientific papers being “widely discredited,” Ross is the most intelligent ‘friend’ simply because he possesses a Ph.D.
The other cast members may use it as a source of comedy (just like everything else in the show) but there’s no denying that in order to write a scientific textbook and obtain a doctorate that you have to have a pretty decent sized brain rolling around your noggin. Even with his weird obsession with dinosaurs, Ross’ paleontology degree is enough to help him earn him the rank of most intellectual Friends member.
