Friends with Money

Once you get through the first half-hour of this film, you've seen essentially all you need to see, plot-wise: four friends, three of whom have money, and all of whom are "stuck" in some way. Thank goodness for Frances McDormand, whose superb acting makes this movie watchable long after the scenes start repeating themselves. Catherine Keener and Joan Cusack are also very good to watch, even if their roles do not allow for much development. Jennifer Anniston's role and her ability to carry the part are both severely flawed: Anniston brings absolutely no personality to the part, and the part itself doesn't ever really develop. For this movie, it's a fatal predicament, since Anniston's role is the central one.

What a rare delight - to see four talented actresses rising to the challenge of such a smart script. With each additional interesting project that she accepts, Jennifer Aniston edges away from the baggage of that daft and shallow TV show upon which she built her name. Frances McDormand, as a wife undergoing an existential crisis, is grittily beautiful and 100% believable.

I doubt whether most twenty-somethings will find much with which to connect in this film; in fact the message boards seem to indicate that they're hankering for a 'plot' ("Wot? No murder?"). Having said that, younger viewers with decent attention spans whose tastes tend toward more stimulating, 'art house' fare, might well feel rewarded.

The movie's characters are real people with real issues; issues which aren't necessarily wrapped up neatly and tied with a bow by the end of the movie, as is the case in most sitcoms. Their issues are recognisably human, and not the standard, manufactured, Politically Correct ones, such as those didactic "gender issues" that are so frequently wheeled out in mainstream Hollywood movies. (How dull that could've been...)

Furthermore, rather than serve up a neat 'Beginning, Middle & End', the film gives us a sense that the characters' lives and issues continue beyond the scope of the film, and that we've simply been privy to a slice of their timeline.

The dialogue, which crackles like a pine-cone in a blazing fire, is also worthy of being singled out for praise. While the film isn't a comedy, it boasts some wicked, laugh-out-loud lines. This is a beautiful, sad, funny, and engaging drama for discerning audiences. Bravo, Nicole Holofcener!

The women were awesome however the script seemed a bit incomplete and the story ended abruptly. Frances MacDormand is amazing. A feel good movie with a sweet undertone.

Friends With Money is a quirky and shallow interpretation of friends, relationships and the ever present views on wealth. Although at times it seems to skim over certain issues that are produced, the overall movie left me with a confused contentment. It didn't answer all the questions and left it decidedly up to the audience to figure out and is possibly a good mirroring of life itself- sometimes things aren't just resolved and we are left to our imaginations to decide how we want it to end. Although many people did not recommend the movie, I found it was a beautiful epitome of a more modern indie film that the main actors rise spectacularly to. Jennifer Aniston (whom I must admit is not one of my most favorite actresses at the moment following her box-office bombs) plays a smaller role but does so in an unimposing way, and allows the other great cast to have their fair share of the movie as well. Altogether, I found it confusing at times and yet agreeable in the end. Not for the pickiest of film critics, this movie is to be enjoyed whilst in a more airy state of mind. Enjoy and try to look at the movie as more of an art- not just any old movie.

I would watch it weekly without fail. The characters are 3D, their lives interesting, the dialog graceful and funny...so why was I so disappointed by and frustrated with this movie? Because there just needed to be more. The short running time compacts all the problems and situations down to bare essentials, and there is too much going on for this film to skim across the surface the way it does. I guess the point is to show us a snapshot of these people at a very specific point in their lives, and then move on. The more-than-able cast certainly helps--particularly Frances McDormand, who can do more with just her eyes and mouth than most actors can with a page of script (just watch the way she looks at everything around her--especially other people). And while I am a huge fan of 70s-style non-endings, I admit that this movie's abrupt stop (after a very convenient and pat wrap-up) left me with an "Eh" kind of feeling. While it is certainly watchable and interesting AS FAR AS IT GOES, this movie is no "Walking and Talking." Have you seen that movie? "W and T" is absolutely brilliant, another small portrait of long-time female friends, but because it narrows its scope to two characters in a particular situation (one's wedding), it achieves all the depth and poignancy and hilarity that "Friends with Money" lacks. If "F w/ M" were a TV series, if it fully explored the characters' lives and situations in some depth and detail, I'd be its #1 fan. Maybe the DVD will include deleted scenes (say about 40 or 50) and the movie will finally feel complete.