Julia plays the lead role in the Netflix film Leave the World Behind. Also important: the sitcom Friends. But the two don’t really go together and the reason is 28 years old
In Leave the World Behind, the world is coming to an end – or at least the part that is controlled by technology. The people in the movie are helpless without the internet and its accompanying phenomena – and at the same time its existence is their curse.
To make this message clear, director Sam Esmail incorporated a very present Friends reference into his Netflix film: Rose, the film daughter of Julia Roberts’ character, is obsessed with the 90s sitcom. She has watched all the episodes about the New York clique and when the internet goes down, all she needs is the finale. The movie pits the ideal Friends world against the tech apocalypse.
The problem: based on this premise, Rose must have come across a younger version of her mother while binging the episodes.
Julia Roberts stars in Friends and creates a Leave the World Behind paradox
Spoilers follow: Sam Esmail expanded the Friends metaphor, which already exists in the book, for his movie. Rose repeatedly emphasizes how important the fate of the characters is to her – even more important than that of her family. The sci-fi thriller even ends with the famous intro song from Friends, I’ll be there for you. So sitcom and movie are closely linked
Julia Roberts plays Amanda Sandford in Leave the World Behind, who is on vacation with her family in the New York area when chaos breaks out. And almost 28 years ago, the Hollywood superstar was a guest on Friends. To be more precise: on January 28, 1996, she appeared in the episode The One After the Superbowl (season 2, episode 13).
julia roberts in ‘friends’, 1996 pic.twitter.com/IKoU7UF8HA
– popculture (@notgwendalupe) December 15, 2023
This is Julia Roberts’ Friends role: Roberts played a childhood friend of Chandler (Matthew Perry) called Susie Moss. Chandler had embarrassed Susie during their school days and wants to apologize.
(Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts in Leave the World Behind)
What Julia Roberts’ Friends appearance means: Within the logic of the movie, Rose experienced her mother Amanda as actress Julia Roberts – if she noticed the striking resemblance. Either way, two movie realities collide and, strictly speaking, the two are mutually exclusive.
And now what? The paradox is irresolvable and therefore we have no choice but to do what the movie, Sam Esmail and Julia Roberts do: ignore it. The logic bend doesn’t interfere with the movie anyway, but remains a funny R
