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Well, I'll get the junk out of the way first. Joey's storyline can best be described as Not As Bad As Hand Twin. It was predictable and dull. I have no other comment, except that he does his best work with Chandler and now may never get to do that again.
As one may guess, I enjoyed the Ross/Rachel story the most. I was all set to cheer smugly when Ross, tired of being teased about Elizabeth's age, came up with a reasonably good quip about Rachel being interested in fossils. (Yes! They are acknowledging that she's doing the same thing he is! Yes!) But for some reason, the friends all thought her comment "that just reminds us that you are interested in fossils." As if that were an embarrassing thing. I just do not understand this show's aggressive determination to ridicule any intellectual endeavor more difficult than Mad Libs.
The few comments I've read here are right; Bruce Willis was great. His conceit brought us a few great scenes; not only his own prancing around, but his comuppance, when Ross' quick thinking and sharp ears turned the tables on Paul. Ross won on his wits, and for all the stuffing himself in and out of cabinets and stripping to his underwear, this has to go down as a good episode for Ross. While he was geeky (which I don't mind) he didn't do anything disturbing and he did win his very difficult battle ultimately on his own. Rachel was at her *very* best as she tried to figure out how to hide him and get him out. This was a solid subplot all around. Three great performances lifted material that really is kind of cliched and worthy of Three's Company. But it was funny and it didn't make my stomach hurt, and I'm afraid that's my criteria for a good episode these days.
And oh, while we are ragging on overweight or scrawny physiques, let's accentuate the positive for a minute. DID ANYBODY SEE THE MUSCLES ON DAVID'S ARMS????????!!!! Good golly miss Molly, when did he go and get THOSE?????? Now, if he's supposed to be this intellectually dull geek with limited appeal, how come he looks like an athlete????!!!
OK, let me regain my composure here...
And for that other little development. Why on earth haven't the Chandler and Monica hordes swarmed this board by now? Guys, this is the best storyline for your lovebirds in months! Where are you? Why do *I* have to do this for you??? (Hi, Activia, you did your part.)
It was written just as a story from writers who like the characters should write it:
Monica got a whim. She put her name down as a lark, so the writers avoided demonizing her. Her Shriek and Bully quotient was so far down she seemed like Monica of the old days, and I didn't cringe when she came on screen. Chandler's reactions were actually funny, but he forgave her quickly. And the revelation where he told Phoebe he thought the museum was beautiful was very nicely played out. I don't think much of Monica or Courteney these days, but Chandler really is quite charming, and a few little extra pounds be damned. I'm afraid their engagment is going to get either very dull or too sugary very quickly, but for now, the balance is quite nice.