AN UNDEMANDING GROUP OF 'FRIENDS'.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic If you accept the limitations of Nicole Holofcener's character-driven, content-deficient "Friends With Money" from the outset, you might be OK with it. Nothing much happens in this well-observed movie, and one of the characters is a passive, pot-smoking work-in-progress who's played by a passive actress (Jennifer Aniston) who's not so much a work-in-progress as a personality who has never registered particularly well on screen. That may make Aniston a perfect fit for the woebegone woe·be·gone adj. 1. Affected with or marked by deep sorrow, grief, or wretchedness. See Synonyms at sad. 2. Of an inferior or deplorable condition: a rundown, woebegone old shack. Olivia, but that doesn't make the character or the performance any more interesting. Olivia's presence in the movie serves as a contrast to the lives of her rich and somewhat famous pals. Holofcener ("Lovely and Amazing") wants to know just how much money matters in friendships, not to mention what happens when successful women reach a certain age and can't use their cash flow to stave off menopause. Coincidentally, a long-ago "Friends" episode handled the first topic with more humor and just about as much insight as this movie. (Aniston, again, was on the side of the have-nots, who were none too happy when Chandler, Ross and Monica scored some high-priced tickets to a Hootie & the Blowfish A secret key cryptography method that uses a variable length key from 32 to 448 bits long. It uses the block cipher method, which breaks the text into 64-bit blocks before encrypting them. concert, an event that would probably be a free, concert-in-the-park show today.) Holofcener isn't reinventing the wheel here, simply putting some pretty talented actresses in some occasionally interesting situations and letting them run loose. Aside from untethered Unattached to any data or power source by wire or fiber; in other words: wireless. Contrast with tethered. Olivia, the movie's other three women are married. Franny (Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (born October 11, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and comedian. Personal life Cusack was born in New York City to an Irish American family. ) and Matt (Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann (born February 26, 1958) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Richard Fish in the television series Ally McBeal. Germann was born in Houston, Texas and raised on Lookout Mountain outside of Golden, Colorado. ) are the wealthiest, and, by appearances, the happiest. (The underlying message: Sometimes money can come without strings.) The oblivious Christine (Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 23, 1959)[1] is a two time Academy Award-nominated American actress. Biography Early life Keener, the third of five children, was born in Miami, Florida, to Evelyn and Jim Keener, a manager of an automotive store. ) and her horrible husband David (Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor. Raised in Liverpool and later in London, he fell accidentally into acting during his first year at university, and went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. ) haven't had sex for more than a year. That rules out another kid, so they decide to add a second story to their home instead. Jane (Frances McDormand) seems happy enough with the lovely, caring Aaron (Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born August 25 1957) is an English actor and director. He was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. His father, Charles Brian Montagu McBurney, was an American archaeologist and academic. ), except everyone seems to think Aaron is gay because he enjoys food, wine and shopping. The way these women use their friends particularly Olivia to ease their own feelings of deficiency is a running theme in the film. Christine can ignore her own crumbling marriage by joking about the effeminate ef·fem·i·nate adj. 1. Having qualities or characteristics more often associated with women than men. See Synonyms at female. 2. Characterized by weakness and excessive refinement. Aaron's choice of clothes. (Maybe she feels bad about her own wardrobe, too.) Jane nurses a pulsating rage at the world, not because of her friends' comments, but because she has passed the big 4-0, and screaming at the person who cut in line at Old Navy or the mother who snagged her parking space makes it easier to avoid her own aging. She has also stopped washing her hair. Do I need to say she's the most interesting character in the film? Jane comes to something of a truce with herself by the end of the film, and the other women take baby steps, too. "Friends With Money" isn't so much a slice-of-life as a slice of a slice-of-life, about as weighty as an iced-blended coffee. You buy it, you consume it and, when it's done (jargon) When It's Done - A manufacturer's non-answer to questions about product availability. This answer allows the manufacturer to pretend to communicate with their customers without setting themselves any deadlines or revealing how behind schedule the product really is. , you wonder: Is that all there is? Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com FRIENDS WITH MONEY - Two and one half stars (R: language, some sexual content, brief drug use) Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand. Director: Nicole Holofcener. Running time: 1 hr. 28 min. Playing: Laemmle's Town Center 5 in Encino; Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; Laemmle's Monica in Santa Monica; ArcLight in Hollywood; AMC (Advanced Mezzanine Card) See AdvancedTCA. Century 15 in Century City. In a nutshell: Four Los Angeles women deal with money and menopause in Nicole Holofcener's latest, a character-driven movie that doesn't add up to much. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) finds affection in the arms of Mike (Scott Caan) in ``Friends With Money.'' |
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