In 2023, Matthew Perry was taken from his family and the world far too soon.
The prolific actor and star of NBC's iconic 1994-2005 sitcom "Friends" was found dead in his Los Angeles home on Oct 28, 2023, from "the acute effects of ketamine" among other factors. He was only 54. His assistant, two doctors and others werecharged and convicted in relation to his death.
His death shocked his fans around the world, his famous friends and co-stars. It was as if all of us had lost a close friend, someone who had graced our living rooms for a decade, someone we knew intimately, even if none of us really knew Perry at all.
Now just three years after his tragic passing, Netflix is releasing "The One About Matthew Perry" (now streaming), a three-part documentary
series about the "Friends" writer, producer and performer, with a focus on his long struggles with drug and alcohol addiction.
Voices in the documentary include his sister Mia Perry Bowick, his longtime friends David Pressman and Roger Castillo and Hollywood executives, writers and directors associated with his long career. It is as intimate and revelatory as his2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing."It is brutally sad and raw. It is poignant and respectful. And that's something of a shock.
There is something of a cottage industry on streaming in true crime and tragedy documentaries that are probing, exploitative and clichéd. Thereare memes about them on social media, especially the Netflix variety. One or two seem to appear on streamers every week, ready to horrify audiences with a particular crime or death. Perry's death, that of a world-famous celebrity in unfortunately grim circumstances, seemed like it couldn't be chronicled in anything but poor taste.
Somehow, though, "The One About" is not that seedy, cringey genre of documentary. Due in large part to the participation of his sister Perry Bowick, the series comes off not as a rehash of scandal but a course correction of legacy. All the headlines for the past few years about Perry have been about the court cases surrounding the circumstances of his death. "The One About" manages to move the story back to his life.
The series focuses mostly on Perry's career in Hollywood, starting with his early days as a teenager hungry for work, to the series and film work he did in the 2010s before a near-death experience in 2018 kept him from acting in his final years.
There is much discussion of his battle with addiction, yes, but also his seriousness as an artist, his advocacy work for others struggling with his disease and the love and generosity he had for the people in his life.
Each person interviewed who was close with Perry is still going through the stages of grief, and sometimes it feels as though we are voyeurs watching a therapy session as his sister or former girlfriends cry and splutter with real grief. But, at least from the footage included in the doc, it feels as though the experience is cathartic and healing for the people involved. They get a chance to show the "Matty" they knew and loved. They get to have the final word, not an autopsy report.
Fans of "Friends" might be disappointed that Perry's famous cast mates Matt Le Blanc, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow do not make an appearance, nor the show's creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane. But those infinitely famous faces might have been a distraction from the simplicity and familiarity of the documentary. "The One About" is meant to show Perry as a man, not a superstar. There was no need for other superstars to draw the spotlight.
For some fans and loved ones of Perry, it might still be too soon. Notably Perry Bowick is the only family member to make an appearance in the documentary. Netflix will still promote and profit off the documentary. People who are far outside Perry's inner circle will hear about his most vulnerable moments. Grief may become entertainment.
But as the documentary shows, Perry could not escape his fame once it took over his life. His death became part of our culture without his consent. Those who cared for him are taking some of his legacy back. And there is nobility in that.
May we all remember what truly mattered about Matthew Perry's life after this.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Isn't it too soon for the Matthew Perry documentary? Maybe not
