The Bottom Line
Pros
- Terrific performances by the entire cast
Cons
- The film seems to hold its audience at a distance
Description
- Behind the scenes featurette with cast interviews
- 'Sundance' - The cast and director get together to premiere the movie at the Sundance Film Festival
- 'LA Premiere' - Short bit from the movie's Los Angeles premiere
- Commentary by writer/director Nicole Holofcener and producer Anthony Bregman
- DVD Release Date: August 29, 2006
Guide Review - "Friends with Money" DVD Review
Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Jennifer Aniston and Joan Cusack star in writer/director Nicole Holofcener's "Friends with Money." A story about women for women, the film delves into the lives four friends as they handle relationship issues and other obstacles to happiness.Aniston plays Olivia, a former schoolteacher struggling to get by cleaning houses. McDormand is Jane, a successful fashion designer irritated by just about everything. Keener stars as Christine, one half of a husband and wife writing team who do more fighting than writing. Of the group only Cusack as Franny is a genuinely happy person. She's extremely wealthy, in love with her hubby, and often wonders why she's still friends with at least one member of the group.
"Friends with Money" takes a scattershot approach at storytelling, and never allows us to understand who these women are. When you sprinkle in the male supporting players (including Greg Germann, Jason Isaacs, and the scene-stealing Simon McBurney), there's just simply not enough time devoted to any character to get a firm grasp on their motivations or even to figure out whether you like any of these four friends as individuals.
The Bonus Features
The behind-the-scenes featurette is pretty much the standard fare we've come to expect with most DVDs. The commentary track by writer/director Holofcener and producer Anthony Bregman is definitely the highlight of the extra material. The pair does a nice job of keeping the commentary track entertaining.
