Friends with Money: Movie & DVD Review (2006)

(Originally published 2006)

Nobody in the new Nicole Holofcener's movie, "Friends with Money,” is especially happy, which on paper might make it sound like a dreary downer but which in reality turns out to be part of its charm.

The film has a satisfying edge, dialogue that cuts, rage that burns, with performances from a fine ensemble cast--Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Francis McDormand, Joan Cusack--that are amiably askew.

While it’s true that some of the characters are under the illusion that they're happy, they really aren't. Others would like to be happy, but since they're too busy getting in their own way, their happiness remains elusive, frustratingly out of reach.

Working from her own script, Holofcener (“Walking and Talking,” “Lovely and Amazing”) focuses on four female friends at different stages in their lives--three have grown into money while one is nearly destitute. The dynamics of their relationships are observed by Holofcener, though never judged by her--she leaves that to the women.

Aniston, once again strong in an independent movie (she has yet to find a big-budget feature that suits her), is former teacher Olivia, who is unhappily single after a messy breakup with a married man and who now is something of a pot-smoking wreck. She cleans homes for a living, which her more-accomplished friends think is beneath her, and she has slumped into a relationship with a bum personal trainer (Scott Caan), who uses her for sex and for cash, and who doesn't do much for her self-esteem.

There’s Christine (Keener), a screenwriter whose fiery marriage to fellow screenwriter, David (Jason Isaacs), is about to fade to black in the midst of a house renovation, and there's Franny (Cusack), a multi-millionaire snob married to unlikable Matt (Greg Germann). Rounding out the fold is Jane (McDormand), a successful dress designer who has sunk into a funk. With rumors swirling among her friends that her doting husband, Aaron (Simon McBurney), is gay, she has retreated into herself, with her anger manifesting itself into frequent violent outbursts targeted at strangers.

“Friends with Money” is one of those small, character-driven movies in which the writing and the acting are everything. Screw them up and the film is finished. Since the plot doesn’t allow for the concealment of any flaws within a distracting haze of special effects--and since it lacks anything that might be considered a sense of style--it has to succeed on the strength of its story and its relationships, which it does.

There are no tricks employed in this movie, nothing particularly groundbreaking, just competency on all levels. That proves more than enough.

Grade: B