Phoebe's Choice...

'I like you both...and I don't know who to choose.'

Phoebe Buffay

Many FH readers know that I use sit-coms as a sleep aid.  One show I rarely use however is Friends.  I LOVED the NBC sit-com during it's original run. Friends ran through most of my University years, and I would record it on VHS and watch it on the weekends.  I also often went to a friends house, where a few of us would gather to binge a few episodes, before binging was really a thing.   

Maybe in part it's because of Matthew Perry's death, but I'm just not drawn to watching.   There's also been some 'high sight' criticism of the show's lack of diversity.  I certainly get that, and I also see some really bad, and overused homophobic jokes and tropes weaved within the humour.  Still, I cut most older shows some slack, although by the early 2000's, in the shows last few seasons, the writers should have known better.

The other day however, while flipping channels, I found myself on a episode.  The show, episode 23 from season 3, was titled The One With Ross's Thing.  The A story centered on a 'bump' Ross had on his butt, and the B story featured Phoebe and the two men she was dating.  I remember first watching the episode and falling in lust with the two actors playing Phoebe's dates.   I didn't know who either actor was at the time, but both became favorites over the next decade or two.

The story was rather cleverly written with Phoebe dealing with the age old question, beauty or sensitivity.    One of her boyfriends Vince is played by Matt Battaglia.  Vince is a hunky fireman who Phoebe assumes doesn't have a great deal to offer in the brains and sensitivity department.  She's also dating Jason, played by Robert Gant.  Jason is a sensitive artist, who Phoebe assumes does have a lot to offer under his artists smock.

Of course later, Phoebe discovers the fireman writes his thought in a journal, and loves to paint.  She uncovers her artist working with his shirt off, seeing he has the body of an Adonis.  Who will she choose?  Of course her choice isn't as dramatic as Sophie's, but it's a dilemma none the less.   Phoebe decides to choose them both, which of course doesn't end well.

Gant

I don't think I could choose either, from the characters, or the actors. Both went on to show their talents, and beefy butts on Queer As Folk, and both continued to work steadily throughout the 2000's.  If I HAD to, I'd probably choose Gant, but only after ensuring I had a a lot of sex with Battaglia first.  Some of you may remember I've previously featured Battaglia's nude scene resume in my  Actors & Skin series HERE:  Who would you choose, decisions, decisions! 

Thanks to Scene of Male Skin for the high quality clips from Queer As Folk

Battaglia