Joey’s 8 Funniest Running Gags On Friends, Ranked

Joey’s love of food, protectiveness of his penguin Hugsy, and his iconic catchphrase “How you doin’?” are all among Friends funniest running gags.
Some of the best running gags in Friends come from Matt LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani. Chandler (Matthew Perry) is known for his sarcastic observations and Monica (Courtney Cox) for her obsessive cleaning habits. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has her quirky music, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) returns gifts, and Ross (David Schwimmer) gets married all the time. However, Joey’s personal brand of humor comes from his relentless enthusiasm, misunderstanding basic things, and being the most genuine person on the show.

Joey’s running gags include making fun of his friends, especially Chandler and Ross, but his relationships with the women are just as hilariously heartfelt. His thoughts about everything from his acting career to dating to sandwiches have been making viewers laugh out loud for decades. Every time Joey cracks a joke, the audience gets a sense of his optimistic world view.
8
Joey Doesn’t Understand Something
Joey sometimes misunderstands what the other Friends mean to say.
Joey is featured as the “dumb friend,” who often becomes lost during a conversation. A whole episode is dedicated to this, when an encyclopedia sales representative comes to his apartment. Joey buys only the “V” volume, then tries to demonstrate his knowledge of volcanoes and the Vietnam War. Joey’s denseness isn’t his best running gag because it is inherently written to make fun of him, but it is occasionally funny when he misinterprets something and gives a completely serious response. Joey mistaking an annulment for a kind of surgery only makes the fact that Ross got married again funnier.
7
Saying He Was Dr. Drake Ramoray.
Joey often reminds people of his turn on Days of Our Lives.
Joey gets his first claim to fame in Friends season 2 when he won the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray in Days of Our Lives – and he never lets anyone forget it. Several times when he is trying to win a new role or impress someone, Joey reminds or informs them that he “was Dr. Drake Ramoray.” It has the effect of him appearing arrogant because he thinks he is entitled to new roles and special treatment, but it can be amusing to watch someone completely dismiss his statement.
6
Impersonating Chandler And The Other Friends
Joey’s instances of pretending to be Chandler are especially memorable.
Joey’s impersonations of Chandler are hysterical, from “Could I *be* wearing any more clothes?” to dress up as Chandler for Halloween. Chandler makes fun of his friends more than anyone and can’t complain too much. Joey also does some funny impressions of his other friends. He imitates Ross when the guys are speculating about Mark being interested in Rachel, and gives an exaggerated performance as Monica when Phoebe and Rachel are competing to be maid of honor. Joey’s impersonations are far and few, but they are always a highlight.
5
Joey Getting Wide Eyes When He Finds Out About Something
Joey gets his “shocked face” for some of Friends’ biggest reveals.
Much funnier than Joey not understanding something is when he does understand something. LeBlanc perfected Joey’s look of shock when he made a startling discovery. Monica and Phoebe understand right away that Ross claiming the red sweater means that he is the father of Rachel’s baby, but Joey pieces it together a moment later and dons this hilarious look. This expression also completes one of Joey’s overall funniest scenes: when he realized that Chandler and Monica spent the weekend together.
4
Joey’s Acting Career
Joey’s career has its ups and downs, but his attitude about it is always comedic.
Joey’s film and TV career is, to say the least, inconsistent in quality. The group commenting on Joey’s worst roles is a different type of running gag because Joey’s reaction is prone to change. Sometimes Joey humbly accepts the criticism and makes fun of himself along with the others. Other times he is so excited about the part that the others must pretend the movie or show was decent. Yet no matter how the quality of his roles and his reactions vary, Joey never gives up on being an actor.
3
His Love For Hugsy
Joey loves his adorable stuffed penguin.

Joey is the nicest member of the group. One of the things that contributes to his sweet and funny characterization is his adoration of Hugsy, a penguin stuffed animal wearing ski gear. When Joey first mentions “Hugsy, [his] bedtime penguin pal” in “The One Where Everybody Finds Out,” it seems like a completely random comment played for laughs. However, Hugsy quickly became a beloved recurring joke. Joey is so attached to Hugsy that he is devastated when Emma takes a liking to him and buys her a replacement (which she doesn’t like).
2
Joey Doesn’t Share Food (And Generally Loves Food)
Joey astounds the Friends with how much he can eat.
Joey is also known for his love of food. His refusal to share food ends a date, and the group knows never to get in his way when he is eating. There are several smaller running gags stemming from Joey’s love for food, including his preference for sandwiches and his ability to eat large meals. The group also knows that they only need to sandwiches mention to cheer Joey up. Friends gets some funny moments out of this, such as when Rachel gets Dina a sandwich to give to Joey when she told him she is pregnant.

Additionally, Joey eating way too much results in some of his funniest episodes. For example, in “The One with the Rumor,” he tells Monica that she must cook a turkey for Thanksgiving because he will eat the whole thing. With some help from Phoebe’s maternity pants, he accomplished this.
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“How You Doin’?”
Joey’s repeated pick-up line is a fan-favorite joke.
None of Joey’s running gags are more iconic than his go-to pick-up line, “How you doin’?” Joey is also the ladies’ man of the group and explains his catchphrase to Phoebe and Rachel when Rachel is trying to ask out Joshua. The line comes back around at unexpected times for extra humor, such as when Joey starts to flirt with Rachel’s sister Jill and Rachel stops him. No other type of recurring joke is better than a repeated line, which is why “How you doin’?” is Joey’s funniest running gag in Friends.