Product Description

Jennifer Aniston Catherine Keener Frances McDormand and Joan Cusak star in a film the New York Times hails as "a bittersweet comedy about the drama of being alive'" ' Manohla Dargis/New York Times FRIENDS WITH MONEY ' the story of four best friends whose comfortable lives are thrown off balance as the realities of early middle age set in. It paints a painfully hilarious portrait of modern life in the class-sensitive West side of Los Angeles. Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener (Lovely and Amazing) Friends With Money was the Opening Night Selection at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and is being hailed as "Terrific" ' Kenneth Turan/Los Angeles Times "Acutely perceptive and slyly quick-witted" ' Allison Benedikt/Chicago Tribune.SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary with writer/director Nicole Holofcener and producer Anthony Bregman Behind-the-scenes featurette Sundance Featurette Los Angeles Premiere FeaturetteSystem Requirements:Running Time 88 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396150881 Manufacturer No: 15088

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17417 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2006-08-29
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
With her third feature, Friends With Money, writer-director Nicole Holofcener continues to develop one of the most distinctive voices in American independent filmmaking. While not as purely satisfying as her previous films Walking and Talking and Lovely and Amazing, Holofcener's third feature is admirably ambitious in establishing a diverse and dynamic range of relationships among long-time girlfriends, their spouses (for better and worse), and the way in which money (or lack of it) affects them all. The have-not of the group is Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), a teacher-turned pot-smoking housecleaner in the upscale neighborhoods of West Los Angeles. She's drifting, uncertain of her future both professionally and romantically, while her friends Franny (Joan Cusack), Christine (Catherine Keener), and Jane (Frances McDormand) cope with the relatively enviable problems of wealthy discontentment. They've all got personal crises to resolve, and while Olivia juggles the affections of a likable louse (Scott Caan) and a lonely slob who's secretly rich (Bob Stephenson), Holofcener taps a rich vein of humor and melancholy as these women go about their daily routines, attending benefits, chatting over meals, and doting over Olivia as the "needy one" in their closed circle of friendships. All of this is richly observed and wonderfully acted (with male costars played by Greg Germann, Jason Isaacs, and Simon McBurney), but reaction to Friends With Money is strictly a matter of personal taste. Holofcener isn't telling a story so much as examining lives in various states of disarray, and she offers no false comforts or simple resolutions. Like life, Friends With Money just continues on its way, with some friends happier than others. There's plenty of truth to be found, if you know where to look.--Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The independent writer-director Nicole Holofcener had a fresh idea for a movie: how would three well-off married women (Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack), living in Los Angeles, sustain their friendship with a younger woman who is unmarried, broke, working as a housekeeper, and given to meaningless relationships with jerks? By most standards, and particularly by wealthy Los Angeles standards, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is a loser, and the wealthy, notoriously, do not like to hang out with losers. In a series of tense ensemble scenes, Holofcener explores not only the gossip and shifting alliances in these relationships but the three marriages as well. The trouble with this scheme, however, is that Olivia has no drives or hopes or powerful regrets; she has nothing to say, and Aniston, a very limited actress, does most of her work with her lower lip, which she wrinkles and tucks under the upper one. She pulls so little out of herself that we lose all interest in her by the middle of the picture. But there are good bits from the other performers, particularly McDormand as a woman who has everything going for her but throws fits over trivialities.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

not a bad movie at all
Friends with Money was a pretty good comedy movie with a bit of seriousness and truth thrown in. It's about all these different couples who talk to each other, and then when the girlfriends and boyfriends (or wives and husbands) leave their friends home (or restaurant or wherever the meeting place was) on the drive home, they criticize their friends and basically talk about them behind their backs.

I got the feeling on many occasions that the wives and girlfriends were more concerned with being jealous of each other instead of actually caring about the friendships they've developed with each other. I think that's part of reality anyway- secretly we do become jealous of our friends when they're able to accomplish something we haven't been able to yet.

There's also an important message behind this film- don't take things too seriously or you won't be able to enjoy life. Of course, the more obvious message is that it really stinks how the world has to constantly revolve around money, but I got more out of this movie than just that.

Anyway, the film was really good. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's a romantic comedy in the beginning. This movie works for just about anybody. You have to allow time to get to know the characters and the way they act to really enjoy the storyline. Each character has a separate personality from the others, which makes you wonder how they all became friends in the first place.

Another thing I enjoyed was the way many of the friends would start out acting like they were getting along great with each other, only for their conversations to end on an angry note until they met again!

All the characters were really good throughout the movie, and there was more than enough exciting plot twists to make it a movie worth watching.

Don't Waste Your Friends' Time or Your Money
Don't waste your time on this movie. I saw it for free and still felt robbed! (A friend rented it.)

The plot--as best as I could discern one--seemed to be something along the lines of "Life is a mess, feel free to despair amongst yourselves." If I want stories about despair, I'll just stay at work. (I work in ER's and an Urgent Care Clinic)

Interwoven through this overriding theme of despair, the values and morals showcased in this movie are typically Hollywood these days--that is to say, abysmal to non-existent.

What a waste of some otherwise great talent. Joan Cusack in particular is WAY above this movie. Her agent should be fired, and then shot for letting her take this movie.

I would rather sell my TV than watch this movie again!!!

I love the Clothesline Mcdormond's character creates in the movie
Now if you've ever been in this situation you might change your mind... I like how the "tables turn" in the movie. Jennifer plays a girl out on her luck and taken to cleaning houses for the wealthy side. Not her best roll, however, how else would she play this? How exciting is cleaning other peoples homes? Think about it! She's going through "a change" and hey, she's doing something...although somewhat of a stall... She is considering going to school to become a massage therapist? Jennifer's character asks her wealthy "friend" for a loan for massage school and get's basically slapped in the face!? Well how cruel!
The under currents going on could have been stoked more, yes, I agree. More could have offered up a deeper peering in the pond of life but... I like seeing that Jennifer comes out ahead, with a nice guy who happens to have money! #1 she gives him a "shot", before she knows this and how perfect is that.
I have watched this movie twice now. It Deserves a second viewing.