THE KID'S REVIEW OF:
FRIENDS WITH MONEY (2006)

OPENING THOUGHTS

    No I didn't lose a friggin' bet, I watched this movie by choice; although I will admit that my company had something to do with it. I knew that I enjoyed all the main actors in it and figured it would make for a good rental. Also I heard that Jennifer Aniston dresses up in a French Maid outfit, so that didn't hurt either.

ACTING

    JENNIFER ANISTON does indeed slip into said outfit and it works damn nicely. In continued efforts to pull herself away from Rachel Green, a character she played for 10 years, Aniston takes on another role that is supposedly full of substance; and for the most part this one is. She plays a pot head addicted to sex and masturbation, the first scene is of her using someone else's vibrator and even though it occurs out of frame, I had a graphic depiction in my mind of her rubbing her clit with a pocket rocket and screaming my name. I know, a far cry from having non-funny banter with Ross in Central Perk.
    FRANCES MCDORMAND is so cool. She can pull off the character actor thing and can then go do a leading lady role and make it look easy. I hate her.  Just kidding, she's great and she's great in this film. Her character is a real asshole and dealing with some real shit in her life, but then again all the women are in the movie. McDormand did the best job out of the ensemble but she also had the most to work, her story was a little deeper than the others and she's a better actress.
    CATHERINE KEENER is the second strongest of the females in the movie.  I like Keener. A lot. From the time I saw her in Being John Malkovich I was hooked and I have yet to be disappointed in performances. And she's kind of a MILF in this, so that helps. Her performance is solid and very moving and at times I felt like I was peering into a real conversation between her and her husband. The chemistry between her and Jason Isaacs was very interesting because they clicked very well as actors but their marriage was supposed to be falling apart, so I guess I should say that they had a great lack of chemistry.
    JOAN CUSACK plays a rich bitch and I couldn't quite get into it. Maybe it was her weird raisin that she calls a face or maybe the fact that she should stick with comedies. She's great in comedies and character roles but just can't seem to break into other genres, with the exception of Arlington Road. I guess she can pull off creepy bitch with a shady past.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    NICOLE HOLOFCENER wrote and directed the movie and did a pretty good job. She's directed some pretty solid stuff in the past, Six Feet Under, Gilmore Girls, among others and surprisingly it's the direction that's the weakest part of the film. The script is really solid even though this is only her third attempt at writing a screenplay. It feels and flows like more like a play than a film and maybe that's why the direction suffers, this really should've been produced on a stage, not on film. But even with that said, most of the actors rise up to the caliber of the script.

THE VERDICT

    Very interesting relationships, good to great performances from the actors and a good script help make this more than an average chick flick. There are a few unanswered plot points and a less than satisfying ending but over all I'd say check this one out. And if you're a dude, get this movie and watch it with your girlfriend; you'll probably get some ass if you agree that all the men in the movie are dicks.
 
 

RATING: B

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