Welcome akd200,
You have a very informed friend there. Yes, he is correct about not caring that his speaker wires not being the
exact same length. These claims that speaker wire need to be identical lengths are often spewed by self proclaimed "golden ears" which lack even the simplest understanding of physics.
There are NO reasons why cable lengths between pair channels (ie. Main Left, Main Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, etc) need to be kept identical, but avoiding a ratio greater than 4:1 of identical wire gauge is good measure for minimizing RLC losses which can affect system damping factor and attribute to frequency response variations. If cable runs need to be much longer, selecting a cable of lower gauge is advised provided that the geometry and conductor spacing is conducive of keeping Inductance (recommended < .200uH/ft) and Capacitance (recommended < 50pF/ft) in check. (DellaSala, 2007)
http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-length-differences-do-they-matter 
