Friends with Money

Friends with Money is a “small” “chick flick”. “Small” – because there is nothing overtly dramatic in this movie, instead it is filled with everyday life and conversations; “chick flick” – because the story revolves mainly around four women friends. Well, with the customary onslaught of “big” “rooster shows” expected out during the summer blockbuster season, there is nothing wrong to have a brief breather here and now even though this movie is not that great.

Friends with Money is writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s third major female movies (Walking and Talking of 1996 and Lovely & Amazing of 2001 are the other two). I have not seen Walking and Talking, but quite enjoyed Lovely & Amazing. While Lovely & Amazing primarily dealt with women’s insecurity with their bodies and images, Friends with Money is more focused on four middle-aged women’s relationship among themselves and with men around them. There is Olivia (played by Jennifer Aniston), the only single and least established one among the four; Franny (played by Joan Cusack), a very wealthy homemaker and the mother hen in the group; Christine (played by Catherine Keener), a writer who has grown more and more disconnected with her writing partner/husband; and Jane (played by Frances McDormand), a successful clothing designer who is going through a phase of anger and self-loathing. Holofcener clearly knows her subjects well and she is adept at showing all the nuances in female friendships and ordinary lives, but at the end of the movie, one cannot help feeling the triviality of these women’s problems. In this world and even in this country, many women have to deal with a lot more serious issues every day in their lives and they don’t constantly stop to whine about them. At least, those four characters don’t have money troubles (maybe Olivia does feel the pinch from time to time at the beginning, but certainly not at the end). Actually that is one thing I like about this movie. Holofcener does not portray money as the root of all evil; on the contrary, she shows all the nice things money could buy and all the good money could do. Miscommunication, insensitivity and isolation are what make these characters miserable.

All four lead actresses are natural and realistic in this movie. I am no fan of Aniston, but have to admit that she is convincing as Olivia, a woman in her thirties who still struggles to grow up and achieve certain stability in her life. Some may argue that a woman who looks like Aniston will easily find a boyfriend, but attractive appearance does not necessarily solve all problems in life. Out of all four women, I feel Holofcener seems to have an affinity to Keener’s Christine. Keener has played major parts in all three Holofcener movies and must be Holofcener’s favorite actress. In this movie, Christine, like Holofcener, is a writer and also a richer part than the other three. Holofcener gives her a lot of mirror shots to show her search for herself and independence. She ends up to be the one, in my opinion, who has gone through the most major transition in this movie. Keener may play all her roles with a sameness, but it is kind of sameness that I can never get enough of. She, along with Cusack and McDormand, are the few real women onscreen these days. They proudly display their age and life experience on their faces rather than trying to erase them.

Friends with Money is not a masterpiece on exhibit, but an intimate portrait that still deserves a close look.