Ross gets a joke published in Playboy magazine, but Chandler claims he stole the joke from him. Rachel, Monica and Phoebe discuss who they would pick as a girlfriend from among the three of them and Monica gets angry when Phoebe picks Rachel. Joey's unpaid bills accumulate, so he gets a job at Central Perk.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Bi: Phoebe and Chandler immediately have a passionate response when asked which same-sex member of the group they'd rather date. (It's Rachel and Joey, respectively).
- Compressed Vice: Rachel's not exactly a pushover in the previous and following episodes.
- Continuity Nod: While explaining how he came up with the monkey doctor joke, Ross mentions how he once had a pet monkey back in season one.
- Extreme Doormat: Rachel's flaw of the episode.
- George Jetson Job Security: Gunther fires Joey for closing Central Perk to go to an audition. But as soon as Rachel complains to him about it, the lovelorn Gunther instantly hires Joey again.
- Here We Go Again!: At the end of the episode, the girls ask the guys which of them would be their boyfriend. Ross and Joey decline, while Chandler automatically says Joey, thus potentially transferring the girls' argument to them.
- I Read It for the Articles: Ross talks about the variety of articles Playboy has. Monica says that argument didn't work with their parents.
- I Resemble That Remark! / Immediate Self-Contradiction: Rachel is called a pushover to make up for Phoebe saying Monica is high maintenance. Rachel then spends much of the episode going along with what others say.
- Insult Backfire: After Phoebe calls Monica high-maintenance and Rachel a pushover, they respond by calling her flakey. Which she readily and happily admits.
- Never My Fault: Gunther fires Joey for leaving work to go to an audition; while he himself went to get his hair dyed. The minute Rachel calls him out on this, he immediately rehires Joey on the spot.
- New Job Episode: Joey gets a job as a waiter at Central Perk. He then loses his job when he closes shop to go to an audition, but Rachel convinces Gunther to rehire him.
- Not Helping Your Case: Monica's constant efforts to fight being described as high maintenance just prove the point.
- One True Love: Chandler feels their relationship works because Monica is so passionate about life, while he's the easy-going one that helps her feel better on those occasions when she's upset.Chandler: So, they can say that you're high maintenance, but it's okay because I like... maintaining you.
- Orphaned Punchline: We don't get to hear any part of the joke in question, just Ross trying to explain it to Joey. It apparently involves a monkey as a doctor and is sexist, according to Monica.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Monica gets tired of Chandler and Ross fighting over who wrote the joke and gives them both a withering speech about how the joke isn't funny, is offensive to women and monkeys, and how they should feel sorry about inflicting it on the world.
- Revenge Is a Dish Best Served: After learning that Joey is working at the coffee house, Rachel offers him some advice based on her years working there including serving "sneeze muffins" to rude customers. When Ross reminds Joey that he still hasn't been served his coffee Joey offers to make it up to him with a free muffin before sharing a wink with Rachel.
- Skewed Priorities: Gunther refuses to cover for Joey so he could go to his audition: because he's leaving to get his hair dyed. Rachel points out it's Gunther's own fault for briefly getting Joey fired because he left him in charge for an hour to go for a "personal errand" while Joey's only worked two days.
- Take Our Word for It: The audience never gets to hear the joke that Ross and Chandler are arguing about. All we know is that it involves a "Doctor Monkey" and that Monica considers it offensive to women, doctors and monkeys.Monica: Now let it go! The joke sucks!
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Monica is incensed about being called high maintenance and does everything possible to fight it. Ultimately, Chandler tells her she is high maintenance, but he sees it as her being passionate.
