Writer/director Nicole Holofcener scores with a sharp script and a tremendous cast. The film follows the day-to-day doings of four longtime friends in their 40s who probably wouldnt give each other the time of day if they were to meet today. Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and especially Frances McDormand star in this layered study of characters that gets its kicks from a sharp script and a refusal to submit to plotting. If you want to hear witty, intelligent people discuss Reese Witherspoons knitting speed, the visibility of the human anus, whether caring about sweater fabrics automatically makes you gay and the relative merits of paralyzing children, you really shouldnt miss Friends With Money. If youre looking for something with a plot and a lot of bikini models, youd do better watching the upcoming Showtime series Hugo Chavezs Beach Party. But I have no doubt that Friends With Money will be the better written and more rational of the two.