Do you remember Janice Litman-Goralnik nee Hosenstein, Chandler’s on-again-off-again girlfriend in Friends? If you don’t, allow me to remind you: she has a laugh like the rapid blaring of an air horn, but somehow even more annoying. Remember her now?
Believe it or not, I’m here to tell you she’s actually not that bad.
I know! It’s crazy. This is a woman who is extremely annoying, clingy, nasal and overall the human equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. She drives Chandler crazy when they are together and terrorizes the whole gang when they’re not. She has no concept of whether or not people want her around, she makes jokes that make the group uncomfortable — and I firmly believe that the reason Rachel’s labour lasted as long as it did is because her uterus refused to release Emma into an environment where Janice’s shrill voice could be heard.
And yet, I have a theory that this woman isn’t as bad as we all think she is. I think Janice is a genuine, kind woman who mistakes the group for her close friends — which is why she acts the way she does around them.
Think about it. Janice and Chandler date for a bit, he isn’t interested, they break up. But Chandler isn’t very direct. He doesn’t always tell her that he is not attracted to her. And whenever he is lonely he comes back to her. Then there’s the whole Chandler and Janice dating for real thing. Chandler genuinely has feelings for her and she is one of the women who helps him begin to get over his issues with women. They break up again because he wants her to give her marriage a try, but it is really hard for both of them.
When Chandler and Janice meet again, post-genuine breakup, Chandler doesn’t tell her that he has moved on — and instead lies and goes to Yemen. Watching him board the plane with that little old lady is hilarious, but if you look at it from Janice’s perspective, she gets no closure. She doesn’t know Chandler isn’t into her. She thinks he is the one who got away. Of course, she’s going to be happy to see him in later episodes.
Then she finds out Chandler and Monica are getting married. Yes, it’s rude of her to invite herself to the wedding and it is obvious to us that she is being super oblivious to the fact that she is not wanted. But, she thinks she is friends with the two of them and she and Chandler are former flames who are both in happy relationships and are happy for each other.
She comes to their apartment that night because she is having a horrible night and wants to be with her friends who she thinks know her and care about her. Is that so wrong? Then, of course, Monica tells her that Chandler is in love with her — so her delusions aren’t really that hard to believe.
See what I’m saying about Janice being misunderstood?
Great! I’m glad we’re on the same page. But I’m not done yet.
The next time we see Janice is when Ross and Rachel are having their baby. When Janice visits Rachel in the hospital after the delivery she explains how being a divorced mother has affected her and she tells Rachel how much she respects her for raising Emma by herself. The moment is very sweet and Janice gives Rachel some advice about being a single mother that Rachel seems to take to heart.
Then Ross makes a joke about her son’s nose and everyone seems to forget about Janice’s genuinely sweet moment. Everyone except me. Suck it, Ross.
(Because you deserve it, Ross. Don’t mock a newborn baby. It’s not cool.)
There’s another scene in a medical institute where Janice gives some really good advice. She runs into Chandler and Monica while they are at a fertility clinic and Janice spends a little time teasing him, but eventually, she opens up about her own problems with conception. She talks to Chandler about the upcoming process and reassures him when he begins to get anxious. Janice is more than Chandler’s crazy ex-girlfriend in this scene and acts like a true friend, offering Chandler comfort when he needs it.
When we see Janice for the last time, considering purchasing the house in the suburbs next to Chandler and Monica’s, we see how excited she is to find a place next to her close friends. Chandler and Monica have to work to convince her that Chandler is in love with her and wants to start things up again so that she doesn’t take the house. For a second Janice entertains the thought of the affair and, *gasp!*, she kisses Chandler on the mouth.
But think about it. Janice thinks of Chandler as the one who got away — the one love she never got closure from — and yet, when he tells her he wants to be with her she tells him no. She says that she loves her husband and she knows he loves Monica. She says goodbye to protect both their marriages. It’s an integrity move that gets overshadowed by Chandler’s response.
The moral of this article is that Janice is a woman who sees Chandler in a very different way than he sees her. She considers the gang to be her close friends and she considers Chandler to be the lost love of her life. She is very sweet, kind and under-appreciated in the show, it’s just buried under that horrible laugh.