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The
Neglected FRIENDS WITH MONEY: Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. Produced by Anthony Bregman. Cinematography by Terry Stacey. Music by Rickie Lee Jones. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Scott Caan, Joan Cusack, Greg Germann, Jason Isaacs, Catherine Keener, Simon McBurney and Frances McDormand. Sony Pictures Classics, 2006. R. 88 minutes.
Friends with Money has drawn comparisons to The Big Chill (1983), but I don't see the resemblance. Friends with Money isn't about going back to move forward. It's about what happens when the music ends and it's time to go home. Friends with Money is about three wealthy couples in various states of disrepair. Christine (Catherine Keener) and David (Jason Isaacs) are screenwriters who stopped having sex over a year ago. Jane (Frances McDormand) is so depressed she no longer washes her hair, leaving Aaron (Simon McBurney) feeling helpless. Franny (Joan Cusack) and her husband are the least miserable — even when they argue, it's more like flirting — but Franny is suffering from guilt for being rich while her husband most certainly is not. Then there's Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), their single friend. (Being single in this movie is on par with having cancer.) Olivia is kind but relatively passive. She's also a housekeeper and a "pothead," as Jane likes to point out. They all love Olivia, but they would change her if they could. Things begin pleasantly enough with the seven friends mixing easily at dinner. But the fault lines soon appear. There's a prismatic quality to the early scenes as the various couples discuss each other in private. We learn which couples tend to disagree; more importantly, we learn how they disagree. Christine and David no longer communicate at all, a terrific irony considering they write together. Jane's depression alienates Aaron so much that he seeks comfort with another man. Franny finds Olivia's bohemian life confusing, so she decides to intervene. In many ways, this is Aniston's movie. Her Olivia is perfectly comfortable with herself despite mounting evidence that her life is sliding backwards. If you're the person your friends and family constantly worry about, you'll appreciate her Olivia. She's chronically misunderstood. It's Aniston's best role since The Good Girl (2002). In fact, each actress contributes some of her best work to date. McDormand's venom is exquisite; her dressing down of a woman over a parking space is a thing of beauty. Cusack reminds us that nobody does wacky maternal quite like she does. And Keener, who seems to get better with every picture, is all sharp angles again after her reclusive Harper Lee in last year's Capote. Ostensibly, Friends with Money is about how money changes and complicates our lives. Money might facilitate happiness, but shouldn't be confused with happiness itself. It's a fine theme, but nothing new. The more important achievement of Friends with Money is how well it brings to life the Elie Wiesel saying that the opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference. The two least understood people in the film — Olivia and Aaron, who is or isn't gay — are the two most comfortable with who they are. They are also the most compassionate. They endure the slings and arrows of friends who claim to want the best for them. They persevere, and for one of them, rewards are right around the corner. This is an emotionally complex and gutsy film, but be warned. People behave badly in this movie. Where the blame lies isn't always clear. Your sympathies will likely depend on your experience and possibly your conscience. Friends with Money opens Friday, April 21 at the Bijou.
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