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

Opening film for 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

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Goofs

In the thrift store when Aaron is trying on sweaters, his sweater appears inside-out even before the guy trying to pick him up urges him to try on a new sweater.

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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

"Leaving Home"
Written by Christine Mourad and Jason Orme
Performed by Big Red Button
Published by Original Candy Music / Guitarland Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Big Red Button Music

User Reviews

Been There, Done That

Not only is this not a groundbreaking film, it's not a particularly pleasant, or enjoyable one either. It centers around a group of early 40s-somethings who hate their lives, their spouses and their place in the world. The casting of Aniston is strange, as she is easily 10 years younger then her circle of friends.

While you'd think that the film is trying to state "happiness has nothing to do with how much money you have", the opposite appears to be true as the more elevated couples do have less problems. And, if fact, all of Aniston's problems are seemingly solved when she manages to snag a wealthy (albeit slacker) guy herself. While the three married couples do have children, they don't add anything to the story, as they seem more like convenient accessories than meaningful relations. While that may be a creative choice, the fact that it runs across all three couples identically makes me inclined to believe it's just sloppy, two-dimensional screen writing. None of the story lines are brought full circle and the entire exercise feels like a long death march towards irrelevance. Several interesting notions are addressed, but none closely examined or fully developed. While there are poignant moments and some nice creative decisions (i.e. allowing the actors to look their age), this genre has been mined before to better results (i.e. "Grand Canyon").