Friends with Money features an ensemble cast of great actors, and an interesting plot that takes its time examining “ordinary” life. At the same time, the film’s ending lacks any real closure and the film’s pace sometimes fails to give any real direction of where the plot is headed.
The movie was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener (who also brought us Walking and Talking and Lovely and Amazing). It features performances by some great character actors including Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Greg Germann, Simon McBurney, Jason Isaacs, and Scott Caan.
The film’s plot revolves around four longtime friends and their husbands as they struggle with the direction their lives have gone. All of the actors do a great job in the film, and Holofcener makes sure all of the stories have enough screen time to develop.
With the exception of Aniston’s Olivia character, all of the friends are married, have children, and are enjoying some level of success in life. Olivia (an ex-teacher who now cleans houses and spends her day getting stoned) is broke, without a real direction for her life, and has had nothing but bad luck in love.
Throughout the film, Olivia cruises along trying to find her place with the others, and trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She has a few disastrous dates with Mike (Caan)– a personal trainer that is about as shallow a person you could hope to find, decides on a couple of career choices – that none of her friends support, and possibly stumbles on “Mr. Right” in a very unlikely place.
The film examines the lives of four friends and their families
Frances McDormand (easily the best performance in the film and on caliber with what you expect out of the great actress) delivers a ton of laughs with her Jane character. Jane is in a successful marriage (although some question her husband’s sexuality), but is facing what can be described as a mid-life crisis. This crisis causes McDormand to lash out with road rage incidents, lots of great attitude, and a “speak first think second” mouth.
Her character is easy to relate with - who hasn’t wanted to yell at the person who cuts in front of them in the grocery line or takes a parking space? The actress also makes sure to keep the performance entertaining, and lightens some of the film’s heavier story elements.
Cusack also brings several laughs to the film, but her character was somewhat lost on me. She is the most successful of the friends, and had the most money. While this is a struggle for her in regards for her children (Cusack and her husband have several discussions on the amount of money they spend on their kids), she doesn’t go through as much character development as the other actors in the film.
There are several good scenes with the actress (such as when Aniston comes to her for money), and she brings her trademark quirkiness to the role. At the same time, her character suffers from a lack of any real development, and seems that she is included just to make the group of friends a foursome.
Keener delivers a very emotional performance as Christine – who slowly begins to realize her marriage has lost the love needed to hold it together. Her interactions with her husband David (Isaacs) is sometimes chilling, and her delivery of lines manages to hold the story’s emotional elements even through simple dialogue (such as when she comments on the fact her husband shaved his beard and he replies he did it weeks ago).
Keener’s performance differs greatly from the more comedic elements of McDormand and Cusack, and (for me) her story became the most interesting part of the film. I also enjoyed how Holofcener made Christine and David writers, and delivered much of their marriage problems through the story they were working on together. This was a unique touch to the characters and one that works very well throughout the entire movie.
Aniston’s character seems to have no direction for her life
Although Holofcener has delivered an extremely interesting film that manages to draw your attention, the film does have some problems that might lose some audience before it has a chance to really get going. The four stories work extremely well, and the director does a good job cutting the different plots together. However, at times the film loses some of its direction, and you are not really sure just where the plot is actually going with some of the characters.
Also, several different elements of the plot are never fully explored (such as Jane’s husband’s sexuality question), and you are left to guess where Holofcener was intending to go with the characters. Since the film is about life, this lack of answers is acceptable, but might turn off some viewers.
The film’s ending was also a bit of a disappointment for me. While I understand why Holofcener chose to end the movie that way, it leaves you wondering if they just ran out of film. You want a few more answers on some of the characters, and a bit more closure with some of the others. I am sure the ending makes more sense upon multiple viewings of the film, but it might leave some viewers scratching their heads if they just rented it to see a good drama.
The DVD features some pretty standard special features including a Sundance featurette, a Behind the Scenes featurette, and a look at the Los Angeles premiere. There is also commentary with Holofcener and producer Bregman.
Keener delivers a very emotional performance as Christine
Friends with Money is an interesting and entertaining film, but it may not please everyone. The movie features great performances from its cast, and an interesting story from Holofcener. However, its pace and sometimes lack of direction might turn off some viewers before the ending.
Friends with Money is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a September 25th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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