Friends with Money

Three well-to-do married couples (Joan Cusack and Greg Germann, Catherine Keener and Jason Isaacs, Frances McDormand and Simon McBurney) juggle their own domestic problems while oozing concern—and free advice—for their single friend (Jennifer Aniston) who works as a cleaning lady and can barely make ends meet. Writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s film is short on plot, and the ending leaves us hanging, but what it lacks in story is compensated by Holofcener’s clear-eyed grasp of character and her knack for dialogue that’s brilliantly witty without drawing attention to itself; she’s like a female Woody Allen without the neuroses and hang-ups. The first-rate cast lights into Holofcener’s clever lines with unrestrained relish. Scott Caan has some amusing moments as Aniston’s cheapskate boyfriend.