Friends with Money (2006)

Truly Dreadful Film

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It just didn't really go anywhere?? I gave this a chance and just when I thought "I wonder where this is going" it ended. Still baffled!

Friends With MoneyA smart and more importantly a mature way to approach the episodes of lives of old ordinary friends that is shockingly gripping and funny for around 90 minutes. The writer-director Nicole Holofcener knows its strength i.e. unpredictable natured script, that thickens more and more as it ages on the screen and offers some of the most developed feature in this genre, if not the best. Sharing their screen time, all the leading ladies; Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand and Catherine Keener, are upto their mark and delivers the best in their limited span. Friends With Money is sharp, to the point and fast paced script that twists its way around the sub-plots holding them onto their seat and offers something new which is always rare.

I put off watching this for ages because I just assumed it was another Jennifer Aniston (exchange the guy, get same movie) romantic comedy. I also can't keep any of her movies straight because they're so similar so I wasn't sure if I'd seen it or not.Anyways I ended up really enjoying this mostly due to the large ensemble cast and a cleverly written script. (Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Scott Caan, Catherine Keener, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann) I became invested in all these characters, who give an interesting and well acted character study.The story follows three successful couples, all in their forties and struggling through midlife despite their wealth. All the stories intertwine with Jennifer Anniston playing the single loser friend who can't find a man (really), has zero self confidence and envies the security of her married friends. They in turn dream of her freedom. It was interesting to see Anniston as a pot smoking, slacker but honestly she was still just another reboot of Rachael Green. I did really enjoy Joan Cusack and also Frances Mcdormand's storyline. 01/13

Friends with Money (2006)Another interesting Nicole Holofcener film starring Catherine Keener, though not as inventive or funny or convincing as their more recent "Please Give." This is a tale of three and a half couples, and that's a lot of main characters to establish, especially given their relative similarity--all are white, well heeled, urban (and urbane), educated, and articulate. They are all friends, and there are some establishing scenes with all seven characters talking around a table, a little like some of Woody Allen's restaurant scenes.Oh, Woody Allen? Speaking of white, well heeled, etc. etc. Though being Jewish is not a salient part of the mix here, removing a series of stereotypes and jokes that Allen uses so well. The humor and satire and sometimes social criticism is largely cultural, and seemingly mainstream (since we all wish we were rich, at least on some days). But Woody Allen is frankly a better writer than Holofcener, at least so far (again, "Please Give" does resonate better), and I think his sense of physical presence, with the camera weaving around heads, or in other scenes of simple ambiance and old fashioned beauty, is not matched here.And this matters--the writing and camera-work--because there is no single event that turns the story here. In fact, there is very little that happens at all except a glimpse into a little bit of America, like "Sex and the City" (which Holofcener was involved with) but without the single girl on the prowl edge. If this movie is striving for poignancy within the ordinary, it gets halfway there, and half of poignant is something insufficient, yet still interesting.Most of all, the movie has a cast of great actors, all of them. The four women at the center of this (sound familiar?) are stellar: McDormand, Keener, Cusack (Joan), and Aniston (who plays the single girl of the bunch). The husbands are less known, and maybe less effective, though the gay-leaning husband of the McDormand character, played by Simon McBurney. And you can watch the movie just for the acting, and for some of the scenes, which are either powerful or funny in ways that make the other scenes, which are neither, worth waiting through. None of it is bad, so the people who give this a one star rating just didn't click with the slice-of-life aspect at work here.For the best short summary of the plot and the characters and actors, check out the editorial review at Amazon for the DVD (better than wikipedia this time). Notice also the range of reviews by customers, from top to bottom.