Friends with Money (2006)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Nicole Holofcener

Writer (WGA):

Nicole Holofcener (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

After she quits her lucrative job, Olivia finds herself unsure about her future and her relationships with her successful and wealthy friends.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Maid | Wealthy | Teacher | Als

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Catherine Keener	...	Christine
Jason Isaacs	...	David
Timm Sharp	...	Richard
Joan Cusack	...	Franny
Greg Germann	...	Matt
Hailey Noelle Johnson	...	Tammy
Simon McBurney	...	Aaron
Frances McDormand	...	Jane
Jake Cherry	...	Wyatt
Jennifer Aniston	...	Olivia
Bob Stephenson	...	Marty
Marin Hinkle	...	Maya
Scott Caan	...	Mike
Troy Ruptash	...	Brad
Elizabeth Keener	...	Lancome Saleswoman

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:M18 | Germany:o.Al. | USA:R (certificate #42071) | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | France:U | South Korea:15 | South Africa:13LS

Filming Locations:

855 S. Serrano Street, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

This Is That Productions

Trivia:

The Farmer's Market sequence was shot guerrilla style, with permits, but without extras. Most of the people are real shoppers, and many of them didn't notice that Frances McDormand and Jennifer Aniston were among them. However, members of the paparazzi still managed to slip in, trying to get shots of Aniston.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jane and Olivia start walking away from the orange stand at the farmer's market, a steadicam operator appears to fall into shot. It is a man with a large belt, plus what looks like camera equipment, visible on the right hand side of the scene.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Richard: So the corrugated metal not only reflects the beauty of the common, off-the-shelf material but also emphasizes the invisible line between the old and the new construction.
Christine: Wait. There'll be a line?
Richard: It's invisible.
David: Just let him finish.
Christine: Oh, sorry.

Movie Connections:

References "Desperate Housewives" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Stargazing

Friends with Money

Finally, after four years of choosing films that were either not suited for her or not all that good, Jennifer Aniston has finally returned to her indie film best in Friends with Money. Her last indie bullseye was in 2002's The Good Girl, which earned her a lot of praise and surprising recognition. But then she wasted all that praise by starring in forgettable films such as Derailed and Rumor Has It… I pretty much wrote her off as another Hollywood casualty. But now she's back in rare form in Friends with Money. The film doesn't totally depend on her performance, though – it's an ensemble piece showcasing amazing talent by Catherine Keener (my personal favorite), Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand and Jason Isaacs. The story centers on the relationships of three female friends, their three husbands, and their one single (and much less financially well-to-do) friend (Aniston). Each woman has her own woes, her own set of relationship troubles, but it is Aniston's character, Olivia, that the three married women focus their attention on (mostly to enable each to ignore her own very real but ignored problems). See, Olivia isn't rich – she's a maid, she smokes pot and she can't find a good man. Even though the four women have been friends for a very long time, each of the married three looks at Olivia as if she is from another planet – and they all want to help her in their own (and mostly misguided) ways. Each married woman doesn't always realize that she is just as messed up as Olivia, which hits each woman in different ways as they begin to examine their own lives. What is so engrossing in Friends with Money is just how intimate it all feels. Sure, viewers might not identify with any of the characters as a whole, but it is easy to see a bit of yourself in each of the characters, even if the bits are the ones that you hide from the rest of the world. In a very quite and subdued way, you leave the theater feeling as if you've glimpsed into the lives of people you would have never known, and that, by itself, is very entertaining.