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.

Brooklyn Lobster

Brooklyn Lobster opens with a bunch of black-and-white photographs on the wall accompanied by 60s pop music and it sets a nostalgia tone for the entire movie.

Writer/director Kevin Jordan penned the script based on his own family’s lobster shop in Brooklyn. The movie follows the family patriarch Frank Giorgio’s struggle to keep Giorgio’s Lobster Farm under his family control after 65 years in business. It all happens in a week’s time, but it shows a way of life that is gradually dying in this country. Giorgio’s Lobster Farm is a small mom-and-pop family business that strives to survive in current conglomerate corporate culture. It is a place that unfortunately may become foreign to our future generations – a work place where people treat each other like a family member. While watching this movie, one cannot help rooting for these underdogs.

The movie stars mostly unknown actors with two exceptions: Danny Aiello as Frank and Jane Curtin as family matriarch Maureen. These two veteran actors are absolutely joy to watch on screen. It has been too long since we last saw Aiello in theaters. Whether it is the pizzeria owner Sal in Do the Right Thing or Madonna’s dad in her music video Papa Don’t Preach, playing working class Italian American patriarchs is his specialty and once again he has given a first rate performance. Through Aiello, the audience can feel the stiffness in Frank’s back, his physical aging and his fierce determination to keep his business intact. We can see why his wife Maureen has decided to leave him, but under his rough exterior there is so much gentleness for his family and his employees. We are all familiar with Curtin’s comic genius during her years on Saturday Night Live and 3rd Rock from the Sun, but Brooklyn Lobster has showcased her dramatic acting chops. Maureen is a woman who, after years of hard work to keep a small business alive, has finally decided to enjoy a peaceful life on her own, but as in life, sometimes our connection to our family is for a lifetime and cannot be easily severed. Most times Curtin simply conveys Maureen’s state of mind via a smile or a look, but it has a strong pull on one’s heart string.

Jordan is a native New Yorker and his love for the city, especially for its working class people, shines through on screen. His New York is what makes the city special, a cultural melting pot boiling with Italian Americans, Chinese Americans, African Americans, Arab Americans and all other ethnicities. Jordan is a protégé of American cinema realism master, Martin Scorsese (this movie and Jordan’s early work are all presented by Scorsese). In this movie, Jordan has kept Scorsese’ minimum realistic approach and shot it with quiet subtlety. Lobsters in this film are not only all the main characters’ livelihood, but also in many ways reflect their trapped situation. In Brooklyn Lobster Frank’s son Michael dates an uptown girl Kerry. The movie constantly contrasts blue collar regular people against white collar upper class society and hard working small business owners against indifferent Wall Street money makers. Jordan does not make any overt statements about the differences in their life styles; he merely shows us Kerry’s parents and uncle’s tony town houses vs. Frank’s dilapidated store front; the superficial air kisses and insincerity at Kerry’s uncle’s party vs. the warm embraces and openness among the Giorgio family members. Brooklyn Lobster makes one lament all those dwindling family operations that offer customers not only quality products, but also a close friendship and personal service.

Brooklyn Lobster is a type of movie that has also become a rarity in our society. The studios are too busy churning out productions that may entertain us for two hours while we are in the theaters and they have virtually stopped making movies that mirror our daily lives and make us think even after walking out of the theaters. Fortunately independent filmmakers like Jordan have been persistent like Frank and keep creating movies that are true to their hearts.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (on DVD)

2004’s Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is funny, funny, FUNNY! Harold and Kumar are the modern day odd couple of Asian descent. While getting stoned on some marijuana, Harold and Kumar are transfixed by a White Castle commercial on TV and determined to get some of those delicious burgers. Their quick night run to the fast food joint is side tracked by their search for some more weed and, of course, turns into an overnight adventure where they encounter an array of bizarre characters. From the beginning to the end, this movie will keep you in stitches. The occasional crude humor fits well with the movie’s general over-the-top comic style. After seeing this movie, I am sure kids’ game Battleship will have a new meaning for you. Screenwriters Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg brilliantly choose to portray two Asian Americans as the main characters. One may have a preset notion of what Asian Americans are like; Harold and Kumar are well aware of that stereotype. They invariably fall into that trap from time to time while constantly struggling against being typecast by outsiders. A lot of the laughs come from their teetering on the borderline of those conventional conceptions. The movie features a series of cameo performances by recognizable faces. The best of them has to be Neil Patrick Harris playing Neil Patrick Harris. Don’t expect Doogie Howser here. It is NPH at his comic best and more in line with his current sitcom character in CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. No wonder all the critics think NPH is the best thing on that show. When Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle first came out in the theaters, it got little publicity. I suspect the studio did not know how to market a comedy with two unknown Asian American leads, but thanks to DVDs, there is life after theaters. Be sure to rent this movie. It is simply too funny to miss.