Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 04/07/06 (Limited) 04/21/06 (Wide) Home Video 08/29/06 MPAA Rating Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use Running Time 1 hour 28 minutes Genre Comedy, Romance Director/Writer Nicole Holofcener Cast Jennifer Aniston, K.C. Clyde, Bobby Coleman, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Jason Isaacs, Scott Caan, Greg Germann, Simon McBurney Studio Sony Pictures Classics |
FRIENDS WITH MONEY
SYNOPSIS
FRIENDS WITH MONEY examines the shifting
relationships between four women who have been
friends all of their adult lives. Now as they settle into
their early middle age, their friendship is
increasingly challenged by the ever-growing
disparity in their individual degrees of financial
comfort. It is a poignant snapshot of the way we live
today, where the safe divisions that class and
money have created are eroding under the
unstoppable force of everyday life and the result is
a painfully hilarious examination of modern life that
manages to be both brutally honest and ultimately
uplifting.
The three friends with money, Franny (Joan
Cusack), Jane (Frances McDormand), and
Christine (Catherine Keener), share a concern for
Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) who seems unable to
make a living or sustain a relationship at least by
their standards. Their group examination of her lack
of options magnifies each of their own doubts and
concerns about the marriages and careers to
which they have committed themselves.
FRIENDS WITH MONEY examines the shifting
relationships between four women who have been
friends all of their adult lives. Now as they settle into
their early middle age, their friendship is
increasingly challenged by the ever-growing
disparity in their individual degrees of financial
comfort. It is a poignant snapshot of the way we live
today, where the safe divisions that class and
money have created are eroding under the
unstoppable force of everyday life and the result is
a painfully hilarious examination of modern life that
manages to be both brutally honest and ultimately
uplifting.
The three friends with money, Franny (Joan
Cusack), Jane (Frances McDormand), and
Christine (Catherine Keener), share a concern for
Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) who seems unable to
make a living or sustain a relationship at least by
their standards. Their group examination of her lack
of options magnifies each of their own doubts and
concerns about the marriages and careers to
which they have committed themselves.
Olivia, meanwhile, drifts through each of her friends’ lives, at times avoiding the issue of money
altogether, and at other times accepting her friends’ painful generosity. Ultimately, Olivia will find
satisfaction and stability from an unexpected place, but her own somewhat happy ending is muted by the
harsh reality of the suddenly disassembled lives of her best friends.
FRIENDS WITH MONEY is also about the unexpected challenges of being an adult. It is about facing the
reality of one’s place in the world; about confronting a new stage of sexuality and attractiveness; about
realizing you still have lots of time left to live even though many of life¹s major benchmarks may be behind
you. It is about being honest with yourself and those you care most deeply about. Does a degree of
financial security conscript one to a life of comfort that ultimately becomes a kind of gilded cage? Does a
reduced measure of financial security, in fact, represent a greater degree of freedom and choice? The
film forces into focus a strong group of relationships that have long gone unexamined, as each confronts
a new stage in life.
--© Sony Pictures Classics
altogether, and at other times accepting her friends’ painful generosity. Ultimately, Olivia will find
satisfaction and stability from an unexpected place, but her own somewhat happy ending is muted by the
harsh reality of the suddenly disassembled lives of her best friends.
FRIENDS WITH MONEY is also about the unexpected challenges of being an adult. It is about facing the
reality of one’s place in the world; about confronting a new stage of sexuality and attractiveness; about
realizing you still have lots of time left to live even though many of life¹s major benchmarks may be behind
you. It is about being honest with yourself and those you care most deeply about. Does a degree of
financial security conscript one to a life of comfort that ultimately becomes a kind of gilded cage? Does a
reduced measure of financial security, in fact, represent a greater degree of freedom and choice? The
film forces into focus a strong group of relationships that have long gone unexamined, as each confronts
a new stage in life.
--© Sony Pictures Classics
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
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