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Friends With Money

2006, Movie, R, 88 mins

Friends With Money: Review

FRIENDS WITH MONEY
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Jennifer Aniston rebounds from the painfully awkward RUMOR HAS IT... (2005) with a nicely understated turn in Nicole Holofcener's sharp ensemble comedy about a troubled woman who finds it increasingly difficult to bridge the psychic gulf separating her impoverished self from her three wealthy friends. Fast approaching the age when most people hope to be living the life they always dreamed they'd have, high-school teacher Julia (Aniston) has never felt further at sea. Tired of dealing with her rich, obnoxious Los Angeles students' ingrained snobbery, Julia recently quit her job to work as a housekeeper, a gig she can do stoned — and often does — but one that offers little more than whatever comfort Julia finds in the solitude of a stranger's empty home. Julia's friends, meanwhile, all of whom made the "right" choices, are married and living moneyed lives. They're all starting to worry about Julia, even though none of them — with the exception of millionaire Frannie (Joan Cusack) and her husband, Matt (Greg Germann) — seem particularly happy at this juncture of their lives, either. Successful fashion designer Jane (Frances McDormand, in yet another pitch-perfect performance), who has just turned 43, can barely contain her deep-rooted anger, and regularly lashes out at waiters and people thoughtless enough to steal her parking space. She's also stopped washing her hair, much to the dismay of her husband, Aaron (Simon McBurney), a gentle Englishman who's made a fortune in hair products and whom no one can believe isn't gay. Their marriage at least seems secure: Screenwriter Christine's (Catherine Keener) union with her writing partner, David (Jason Isaacs), seems to be heading straight for the rocks. While not as rich as Frannie and Matt, they can afford to give their bedroom an ocean view — and alienate their neighbors — by adding a towering upper story to their ranch home. But their success doesn't seem to make any difference in their growing inability to stay on the same page, either in their work or in their lives together. Everyone, however, can agree on Julia: They all pity her, despite their own unhappiness or perhaps because of it. Over the course of three feature films, Holofcener has consistently concerned herself with women at turning points in their personal relationships, whether with a best friend (WALKING AND TALKING), family members (LOVELY AND AMAZING) or, as is the case here, themselves. For a film that feels so breezy on the surface, it's a surprisingly complex character study. But that's just further testament to Holofcener's skill and ongoing development as one of her generation's most consistently interesting independent filmmakers. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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