Friends with Money (2006)

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

Director:

Nicole Holofcener

Writer:

Nicole Holofcener

Stars:

Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Four women friends: three are wealthy and married plus there's Olivia, a former teacher who's now a maid. The marriages are in various states of health: Franny and Matt are happy and very rich. Christine and David write screenplays together, are remodeling their house, and argue. Jane is angry all the time and Aaron, who's an attentive husband, strikes everyone as gay. Franny sets up Olivia with a friend of hers, Mike, a personal trainer, and Olivia takes him with her to a couple of housecleaning jobs. A benefit dinner for ALS, an awkward guy named Marty whose place Olivia cleans, and a French maid's outfit figure in the story. Is there more to life than its problems?

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Plot Keywords:

friend | maid | teacher | remodeling | als | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont Columbia Tristar [fr] Sony Classics [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Amigos con dinero

Filming Locations:

6300 Orion Ave, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$50,904 (South Africa) (17 November 2006)

Gross:

$50,904 (South Africa) (17 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Jennifer Aniston's first film after a very public breakup with Brad Pitt.

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Goofs

Camera/crew reflection on the car when Jane is trying to park at the 7-11.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Friends with Money' (2006)

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Soundtracks

"At the Checkout Counter"
Written and Performed by William Joseph Martin
Published by Red Engine Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of MasterSource

User Reviews

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.