Matthew Perry's Sister Recounts 'Harrowing' Funeral and Emotional 'Friends' Reunion

Matthew Perry's sister, Mia Perry Bowick, has shared intimate and emotional details about the actor's private funeral in the new Netflix documentary "The One About Matthew Perry." The film includes Bowick's recollection of a moment during the service where she felt her brother's presence and began to laugh, describing the scene as "harrowing."

"He showed up right behind my right shoulder and goes, ‘How f–ked up is this?'" Bowick recounts in the documentary. "And I started laughing so hard. I was like, ‘Oh my god — there he is!' Making me laugh at the most horrible moment, and also incredibly inappropriate for me to start laughing … But I just started cracking up. And I was like, ‘Yeah man, this is pretty f–ked up.'"

Mary Robertson, the director of the documentary, told Page Six that Bowick's account was "wrenching and harrowing" but also true to Perry's spirit. "I think that is true to Matthew’s lived experience, true to Mathews’s legacy, and true to our experience as humans," Robertson stated, adding that laughter at funerals is a common human experience and doesn't diminish grief.

A Reunion at the Memorial

Bowick also described the emotional moment when the main cast of "Friends" – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc – arrived at the funeral. She recalled Aniston being the first to approach her with a hug, followed by the rest of the cast.

"I hadn’t seen them in easily 20 years. [Jennifer] Aniston was the first one of them to come up to me and give me a huge hug. But, they all did," Bowick said.

She further recounted how the "Friends" stars walked up to Perry's casket "holding hands and stood around him, crying."

Documentary Details and Reactions

Despite the emotional subject matter, none of the "Friends" actors or Perry's other family members, including his stepfather Keith Morrison, participated in the documentary. Robertson mentioned that while they did reach out to the "Friends" cast, they ultimately decided not to participate.

"I know the ‘Friends’ actors love Matthew, and grieve Matthew. We did ask them if they would participate, and they decided not to," Robertson told Page Six. She added that she understands and respects their decision, as "everyone grieves in their own way."

A source previously indicated that Aniston, in particular, might be hesitant to participate in such a public recounting of events, preferring not to "relive it and have it be so public."

The documentary "The One About Matthew Perry" covers Perry's rise to fame, his time on "Friends," his personal relationships, his struggles with addiction, and his death at age 54.

Perry died in October 2023. The official cause of death was determined to be the "acute effects of ketamine," with the manner ruled an accidental drowning.