"A Rehashed, Distasteful Slice of Life"
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What You Need To Know:
This slice of life is distasteful. With strong sexual situations, plus dialogue, drug use, plenty of foul language, and a homosexual agenda, the movie leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. It has a very strong humanist worldview with a high emphasis on material wealth and elements of Romanticism that exalts emotion over reason, promotes a promiscuous lifestyle and contains strong homosexual references. Media-Wise people should realize that these promiscuous lifestyles are destructive. The good news is that God calls His people out of that type of darkness and into the glorious light and life of Jesus Christ.
Content:
(HHH, RoRo, HoHo, LLL, V, SSS, N, A, DDD, M) Very strong secular humanist worldview with a high emphasis on material wealth, and things pertaining only to this present world, with some elements of Romanticism which exalts emotion over reason and promotes a promiscuous lifestyle and strong elements of homosexuality because everyone thinks one of the friend’s husband is homosexual, and he is hit on by several homosexual men (it should be noted that although he is effeminate, he is unsuspecting in these advances, and he never gives in to any advances) and parents discuss whether their ten-year-old son may or may not be homosexual ; 42 obscenities (24 of which are F-words) and seven profanities; very light violence as one woman steps barefoot on a Lego, that same woman burns her arm on a hot pan, and another woman walks into a glass window and gets knocked out, later she is seen with slightly bloody gauze over her broken nose and bruises and swelling around her eyes; very strong sexual content includes implied use of a vibrator, unmarried couple kissing, one man describing an adulterous encounter in a restaurant bathroom with a married woman, a man asks for a description of a woman based on the quality of her breasts, married sex implied after the act, discussion of woman’s adulterous relationship with a married man, implied fornication after first date, boyfriend buys woman a maid outfit to fulfill his fantasy, fornication depicted in maid outfit although the woman is uninterested and distant and same woman has implied fornication with another man after their first date; naturalistic nudity as father is putting a shirt on his five-year-old child, various naturalistic upper male nudity as men are seen lying around without their shirts, upper thigh and almost backside shown as woman is dressed in fantasy maid outfit; light alcohol use as drinks are seen around a table as people eat dinner and some people take sips of champagne and wine; strong drug use includes several discussions about smoking pot being stoned and a friend being a pot head, and smoking pot depicted four times; and, miscellaneous immorality includes couple getting separated and friends gossiping about each other behind each others’ backs.
More Detail:
In FRIENDS WITH MONEY, four women (Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, and Jennifer Aniston) must deal with their ever-changing adult relationships due to their individual degrees of financial comfort.
The three married women who are more financially secure, Frannie (Joan Cusack) Christine (Catherine Keener) and Jane (Frances McDormand), are worried about Olivia (Jennifer Aniston). Olivia has not found the financial or relational stability that these women seem to have. While their working with their personal trainers or remodeling their multi-million dollar homes, they watch as Olivia floats from relationship to relationship, and they observe as Olivia is forced to take a job as a maid just so she can make ends meet.
As the story develops, maybe Olivia’s friends’ lives don’t seem so perfect after all.
Jane struggles with a burgeoning mid-life crisis while everyone around her seems to think that her depression stems from her effeminate husband that they all think is homosexual. Christine and her husband are at the point of separation and divorce because they find themselves continually growing apart emotionally. The only one who seems to have her life together is Frannie; coincidentally the richest of all of them, and the one who they refer to as “I’d have no problems if I were that rich either.”
Eventually, Olivia finds herself in an unexpected relationship that will ultimately transform her life for the better. Her friends also find themselves in places of transformation as well. Some transformations good, some bad, but through it all, the women know that they have each other.
This movie is a rehashed, slice of life film that takes its cue from so many friendship stories that precede it. The concept of the single friend who is pitied by all the married friends is an old storyline. Unfortunately for FRIENDS WITH MONEY, this old storyline is not tackled in a new way. Has anyone ever heard of Stephen Sondheim’s broadway musical, “COMPANY”? Or NBC’s debunked comedy, “THE SINGLE GUY”? Or countless other, “our sad-struggling-single-friend” stories? Besides the music, the only differences between COMPANY and FRIENDS WITH MONEY are that instead of Bobby, is Olivia, and instead of New York – Los Angeles.
The other regrettably aspects for this movie involve Olivia’s promiscuous lifestyle. Within 88 minutes, viewers learn of her unrequited love for a married man with whom she had an affair. They see her on an unsuccessful blind date only to have promiscuous sexual relations with the jerk on several occasions. There is also more implied sex with another fellow after her first date with him. Added to those poor lifestyle choices are the four separate depictions of Olivia smoking pot and her implied use of a vibrator. Olivia is a tragic, depressing character whose story is not worth telling.
Also unsettling is the story of Jane’s husband, played by Simon McBurney. His character, Aaron, is a slightly feminine, sensitive man who designs soaps and beauty products and buys only top-line designer clothes. Every character in the movie agrees that he is an unrealized homosexual. He is hit on several times by men, even though he is completely unsuspecting. Every time he realizes what is happening, though, he quickly lets the pursuers know that he is married. It should be noted that, throughout the film, he never gives in to any homosexual advances.
This distasteful slice of life tale is a tired rehashing of the same fare audiences have been subjected to time and again. With the sexuality and drug use as well as the strong language, this movie is excessive and not worth anyone’s box office dollars.
Media-Wise people should realize that those promiscuous lifestyles full of fornication and illegal drug habits are destructive lifestyles. The good news is that God calls His people out of that type of darkness and into the glorious light and life of Jesus Christ.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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