Friends with Money – DVD Review

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Own it on DVD August 29, 2006

Director

Nicole Holofcener

Cast

Jane……….Frances McDormand
Olivia……….Jennifer Aniston
Christine……….Catherine Keener
Frannie……….Joan Cusack

The Movie

Early in 2006 two films showed how independent cinema can go from the art-house to the multiplex and make a nice sum of money. Thank You For Smoking and Friends with Money opened in L.A and New York, slowly expanding to the major markets and then eventually nationwide. By using word of mouth, as opposed to a multi-million dollar marketing campaign, both films went from drawing large crowds in small markets to larger crowds on thousands of screens nationwide. While not touching the sort of box office revenues that other films have generated this year, both got plenty of critical acclaim as well as generated better revenues than most independent releases have made this year. While Thank You For Smoking generated more buzz and revenues due to being one of the best films of the year so far, Friends with Money is up there with it in quality but has a different sort of appeal.

Friends with Money focuses of four women at the same point in their lives: early middle age. Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is a former school teacher who is cleaning homes for a living. Christine (Catherine Keener) is a successful screenwriter whose marriage is falling apart. Frannie (Joan Cusack) has minimal to worry about in the world as she is obscenely wealthy. Jane (Frances McDormand) is a clothing designer whose husband is as sexually ambiguous as they get and lashes out at the world indiscriminately. The film focuses on a stretch of their lives as their respective worlds change: the vigor of their 20s and 30s is disappearing into the late stretch of their 40s.

And it’s a fascinating film based on that vantage point alone. A film about four women is rare enough on its own, but the vantage point writer/director Nicole Holofcener takes is refreshing. These are strong women at difficult points in their lives; they don’t do anything clichéd or tired, they are living through difficult and trying stretches of their lives and reacting like any normal human being would. But something seems to be missing to turn it from a good film to a great one.

It’s not the acting. The four principles are the sort that can generally be counted on for good to great acting in any film there in. With numerous and plentiful award nominations and one Academy Award win (McDormand in Fargo) between them, this is a cast designed for this kind of film. Being friends off screen doesn’t hurt, as the bulk of the film is carried by off-screen friends Keener, McDormand and Aniston. It’s believable that these women are friends as they interact and play off each other quite well.

It’s not the directing or the writing, either. Holofcener has a smartly written and developed film, that’s for sure. She has crafted some great characters, shoots the film well and it ends terrifically. The film’s dialogue is crisp and sharp, and the film is also scored well, another bonus in an era where films sound more like a Top 40 list than the sort of orchestral backgrounds that is usually stronger.

What’s missing from the film seems to be another 20-30 minutes worth of material. Most films often overstay their welcome, but Friends with Money feels like it’s just getting started when the film ends. Holofcener could’ve added some more material in the film and not have missed a beat in terms of pacing. She has given great characters and a strong story to start with; this is a story that wouldn’t have been hurt with some more bulk to it. As it is, it’s still an enjoyable film worth watching.

The Audio

Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format, the film has a great audio component. Being a dialogue driven film, the dialogue is crisp and sharp and spread out wonderfully. The score comes in quite well, not overpowering everything on screen.

The Video

Presented in both widescreen and full screen formats, the DVD version of Friends with Money has a terrific transfer. With aspect ratios of 2.35:1 and 1.33:1 respectively, the film looks great either way.

The Extras

Behind the Scenes of Friends with Money is an 11 minute feature focusing on how the film was made. Holofcener initially presented her script to her friend Keener, as they both explain, and Keener jumped aboard to help make this film. Keener, who was friends with Anniston and McDormand off camera, was thrilled to have her two friends on a project together and recommended Cusack as the fourth member based on having watched the films Cusack has been in. It’s an interesting look at the film, as all four talk about how they wanted to do the project and scheduled other projects at different times specifically to do Friends with Money amongst other things.

Sundance Featurette follows the director and the principles of the cast at the Sundance Film Festival with candid questions as well as snippets from a Question & Answer session. Running a shade over four and a half minutes, there’s nothing said here that hasn’t been said already.

Los Angeles Premiere is another quick feature that focuses on the film before its premier in L.A. Nothing of note is said.

Commentary by Holofcener and Producer Andrew Bregman

InsidePulse’s Ratings for Friends With Money
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

8
THE VIDEO

9
THE AUDIO

9
THE EXTRAS

5
REPLAY VALUE

10
OVERALL
8
(NOT AN AVERAGE)