Phoebe's little brother Frank arrives with news that he's getting married to his former Home Ec teacher. Horrified, Phoebe tries to find a way to put a stop to it. Meanwhile, Monica finally gives in and accepts a date with a regular customer at the diner named Pete. She later discovers that he's incredibly rich but she's still not attracted to him. Finally, Rachel gives Chandler a hypnosis tape to listen to while he sleeps in order to help him quit smoking. Unfortunately, the tape turns out to be specifically for women and it messes with his behavior.
Tropes
- Age-Gap Romance: Frank, who is 18, is dating his 40-something year old teacher.
- Bedtime Brainwashing: At the end, Joey records over Chandler's tape.Joey: Joey's your best friend, and you want to buy him hundreds of dollars' worth of pants.
- Breather Episode: After 3 episodes of the Ross-Rachel drama, this one serves as a much-needed lighthearted episode.
- Creator Cameo: Series co-creator Marta Kauffman provided the voice of the titular hypnosis tape.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: When Pete takes Monica to "a little Italian place" to eat, the next shot is of the Coliseum, revealing that he took her all the way to Rome.
- Flat "What": Frank when Phoebe reveals she's the reason that Alice broke up with him.
- Hypno Fool: When Ross dismisses hypnotism, Rachel brings up the time he was in a hypnotist's act in Atlantic City and was made to play "Wipeout" on his butt cheeks.
- Lighter and Softer: The episode takes a much-needed break from the Ross/Rachel drama of the prior three episodes and is, thus, much more lighthearted and fun.
- Modesty Towel: Parodied when Chandler, under the effects of the tape, comes out of the shower wearing a towel all the way up to his armpits the way a woman would, along with having another wrapped over his head.
- Nice to the Waitress: Pete first reveals he's rich by giving Monica a large check as a tip.Monica: Seriously, what the hell is this?
Pete: I never know how much to tip.
Monica: You're supposed to double the tax, not double the tax of Romania. - Noodle Incident: While lamenting losing Alice, Frank says he was finally happy after such traumatic incidents as his dad leaving, getting arrested for stealing birds, and his punctured lung.
- The Power of Love: Phoebe got Ross and Joey to try to talk Frank out of marrying Alice. Frank's talk of true love not only causes Ross and Joey to support the relationship, but they end up as ringbearer and best man, respectively.Joey: I couldn't help it. Their love is so pure.
- Ridiculous Exchange Rates: When Pete takes Monica to Italy for their first date she insists on paying for the meal. She drops some notes on the bill and he advises her to add "another thousand" lire because so far she's paid "about 60 cents". The lire was a rather weak currency by the time it was removed so that's not far off.
- Self-Made Man: Pete Becker first made his fortune by inventing a piece of software that many companies use, including Chandler's and Rachel's.
- Sleep Learning: Chandler borrows a tape to help him quit smoking, which unfortunately offers such encouragement as "You are a strong, confident woman who does not need to smoke". He then spends the rest of the episode behaving in a very effeminate manner.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Frank is engaged to his high school home-ec teacher.
- Video Call Fail: When Monica confronts Pete about the check he left her, he's in the middle of a four-way Video Phone conference. He switches off the screens so they can talk privately, but accidentally misses one screen.Monica: Are you trying to buy me? Is this the way you get girls to go out with you?
Employee: Uhhhh...I'm still here. - What the Hell, Hero?: Frank condemns Phoebe for interfering in his relationship, saying it's far worse than anything his disapproving mother ever did.
