Friends with Money (2006)

I just saw this movie and I can say I kinda liked it. I mean the acting and dialogues were absolutely fine and Francis McDormand was incredible. She almost made me cry. I am their age and I know about these kinds of problems people that age have, except for the wealth that is. So this movie goes on and on in slow mo, but bearable because of the good acting and meanwhile I am thinking about what will happen to each of the couples. Waiting for the excitement. And the movie sucked me in at last and I was really captivated by the story, so curious about the unfolding and then it happened.... The movie ended. And I was like.... wait.....what....? Dearest script writers, just don't do this to us movie enthusiasts. We invest our time. Please give us an ending!

Friends With Money (2006): Dir: Nicole Holofcener / Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Jason Isaacs: Comedy that relates to gossip about the supposed lives of others. Screenplay begins with potential but its four subplots are too much or not enough attention given too. The ending is abrupt leaving viewers wondering if that was it? Directed by Nicole Holofcener but neither pulls through as comedy or drama. What he succeeds with is a great cast of leading ladies. Jennifer Aniston plays a former teacher now maid who struggles financially and is dealing with a broken relationship. Catherine Keener plays a frustrated wife who cannot communicate with her stubborn husband. Frances McDormand is easily irritated and unaware that her husband is homosexual. Joan Cusack is rich yet unable to communicate on level with her friends. Each has their dilemmas and each suffers through relationships that are exhausting them. This also causes friction with each other when their issues overwhelm the others. The strength here is that they all find refuge in each other even if they often overstep their boundaries. Unfortunately the male characters are secondary and not very broad. It is a well made film despite being disjointed and sometimes overly predictable. Theme is communication and how we perceive others and then continue to live with them. Score: 6 ½ / 10

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

The good 1% of movies out of Los Angeles is here: Friends with money has excellent acting (even Jennifer Aniston cannot mollify director Nicole Holofcener's excellent script) wonderful dialogue with wit and moral. Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Simon McBurney are remarkable actors who give solid credibility to their characters, providing the viewer with a great opportunity to social critique while being serenely entertained. Special mention: Scott Caan who plays the jerk with charming villainy.The wit flows everywhere, nobody is spared. The rhythm is spicily quick, there is little time for reflection, (as it is to be done posthumously, one presumes) Great directing by Holofcener, memorable! We only hope the percentage of good movies like this from LA increases, so we don't all migrate towards foreign cinema!