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:

Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener

2 wins & 2 nominations.

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:

money problems | marital problem | nervous breakdown | friendship | three word title | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dinner at the beginning of the film was shot in a real restaurant in Los Angeles. The film crew damaged the interior, leaving marks all over the walls. That scene was the first in which all the key characters were filming together at the same time.

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Goofs

When Jane and Aaron are in the restaurant and Jane is asking for the check from the waiter who appears to like Aaron, Aaron's arms jump around between shots.

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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

The Bad News
Written and Performed by Cory Culinan
Published by Red Engine Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of MasterSource

User Reviews

Woody Allen in slow-mo, but McDormand shines

"Friends with Money" is Americana the sit-com way: it is about older, (much) more monied, West Coast clones of TV's loathsome "Friends." Although it appears a slow-mo imitation of Woody Allen at his talkiest, the film does well. The reason: a quartet of actresses having a ball.

Nicole Holofcener's script and direction are merely OK: a medium-funny, not very insightful soap about three couples and a single woman (Jennifer Anniston), who is younger than her six friends, jobless, aimless, sloppy and rather annoying. Of the three husbands, only Simon McBurney is outstanding, but he really is, the English actor turning in a wonderful performance as a super-nice metrosexual.

Anniston does her best, which here works better than in any of her other roles. But "Friends with Money" is worth seeing because of - in order - Frances McDormand's huge star turn, with her unsuppressed rage turning into petty, ordinary rudeness; Catherine Keener, sleepwalking through affluence; and Joan Cusack, as a nice mega-rich woman without guilt or troubling thoughts.

The pace is glacial and steady; after a while, the film settles into a pleasant, moderately quirky flow, until a sudden and inconclusive end. Through it all, performances are to be enjoyed, and in McDormand's case, treasured. Never again will you be able go without washing your hair and not think of Frances McDormand.

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont Columbia Tristar [France] Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Friends with Money

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$637,000, 9 April 2006

Gross USA:

$13,368,437

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,245,244

Company Credits

Production Co:

This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1