MovieChat Forums > Friends with Money (2006) Discussion > Were any of those people really Olivia's...

Were any of those people really Olivia's friends?

posted 11 years ago by qljsystems
4 replies | jump to latest

I think the whole point of the movie was: it's actions that count and in their actions none of Olivia's acquaintances were really friends.

Friends help you out when you're down on your luck. They understand when you have to quit a job because you're being humiliated on a daily basis.

Instead, Olivia's "friends" do the following:

- they donate $2m for show to a rich private school
- they spend $90 on sneakers for their child
- they talk about Olivia in demeaning terms when she's not there
- they're ungrateful and prissy
- their marriages are either aimless or disastrous
- they judge Olivia for leaving a "lucrative" job
- they give Olivia gifts from the ALS fund-raiser, but not one of them gives her $2000 (which in real terms, would be a tiny drop in an ocean)
- they embark on a disastrous house-extension project that alienates them from their neighbours and leads to their marital breakup
- they hook her up with an egotistical personal trainer who's secretly dating an ex-girlfriend and who demands his "cut" of Olivia's pay for doing little to help her in the house

The only friend Olivia does have is the fat, sloppy guy, who sees her for who she is and who probably has more money than the others put together. He thinks like she thinks. He's easy. He has money, but he doesn't squander it on looking important or good. He is the title of the movie: Friends With Money.

[–] superflyjd 11 years ago

I really liked your analysis; however, I think "Friends" with Money was supposed to be an almost mocking title because while Olivia hangs out with these people they never do act like true friends. Even later Joan Cusack's character states that if her and Olivia had recently met they probably wouldn't be friends.

Her former employer (the guy she is with at the end) is a little more than a friend, in fact he has all of the qualities she needs. He won't be a dick to her, he's loaded and he has the right amount of "I'm Messed Up" to keep up with her problems!!

[–] evejanelucille 11 years ago

I agree with you. She was unwilling to give her money to get the qualification because what, she didn't think it was realistic, so what? A qualification in anything is worth having, and she wanted to do it. But she would give her money no questions for therapy!? What a condescending, soulless cow. You are right, they weren't her friends. The only one I would say was a friend out of them would be Frances McDormand's character, because fair enough she was going through her own stuff at the time and was obviously a little depressed and unsatisfied with life, so she probably could be forgiven for being preoccupied, I also didn't see her doing anything bad to Olivia, like Joan Cusack's character did.

I was really happy when she found that guy at the end, he seemed really nice.

You are right about all those points you made, those people are very shallow and mostly just not nice people.

[–] Clothes-Off 10 years ago

I disagree. I think these are complicated people who were close friends, and the movie portrays the drifting apart process. Yes, Cusack's character is unlikable, but believably so. To go all the way back to The Women, it's possible to be "friends" with someone you somehow stopped liking but don't realize it. Condescending? Absolutely. "Soulless", I don't think so. All four of the characters are flawed, that attitude a ("I'll help you if I can help you my way.") and prickly personality her hers.

I also found it interesting that Keener who has been cast so often as a total bitch, plays the most normal/relatable of the four. She must have needed a break from bitchery, because she followed it as the "hot grandma" love interest in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

(Aside: The Evanston IL neighborhood in which Cusack owns a hime, let's just say she had a lot of real people on which to base that character. The rumor is, possibly herself.)

"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns

[–] DaveBowman2001 9 years ago

I don't think Keener's character was the most normal. Maybe most relatable to you. She wanted to build the home extension that blocked her neighbors view. She later woke up to how it affected them. She hadn't had sex with her husband in a year. She was a drama queen at home. She had a nanny taking car of her kid. She "gave" her money to charity at the fancy party thing (you can view this two ways, but 2 characters said "why not just give the money to those who need it", so the writer must feel it's a silly waste too). I thought her husband seemed ok. I didn't quite get what their problem was and why it lead to divorce...obviously they weren't having sex and had some communication obstacles, but it didn't see overly drastic....they were all a bit detached though..and also shown by having a nanny raise their kid...however, the guy wanted to make his kid happy and caved in on the Xmas tree thing (I totally agreed with him)...but they should have just got a fake tree and compromised.

I think all the characters had problems. I think that's the point of the movie, so many seem to miss. That's life. We all have problems and deal with them (or cover them up) in different ways. Money or no money.

I found Jenn A's character the most relatable to me, but I'm probably in the minority. IF anyone was closest to "normal" I think it was the "gay-acting" husband. I don't necessarily think he was gay though and I don't think he was problem free, but he seemed nice, genuine and more together than most. If he was straight, it could be a problem that everyone thinks he's gay, but he was having more sex (with his wife) than most of the characters.