An enjoyable evening with friends

The crazy thing about Nicole Holofcener's "Friends With Money" is that I didn't notice there wasn't a plot until I'd reached the end, but by then I had enjoyed the movie enough that it didn't really matter.\nOstensibly, "Friends With Money," bestowed the honor of opening film of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, is a study of women and their relationships to each other and to their husbands. In that regard, it doesn't beat too far off the path of Holofcener's previous films -- 1996's "Walking And Talking" and 2001's "Lovely & Amazing," also studies of women and their relationships -- but hey, when something works for you, keep it working.\nBecause the movie is so much about the daily lives of people and the problems or pleasures that can come from money (or lack thereof), the cast is of the utmost importance. Fortunately, Holofcener scores four of the best working actresses today. \nAt the center of the storm is Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), a pot-smoking maid who seems adrift as the middle of her life approaches. The "Friends with Money" title references her friends, and boy do they have money in comparison: Jane (Frances McDormand) is a successful clothing designer who sells $800 dresses that people keep buying; Christine (the always lovely Catherine Keener, in her third Holofcener film) is a successful screenwriter; and Franny (Joan Cusack, here very underused), comes from big money.\nIt's always hard being the friend who isn't as well off financially as everyone else or who's "the single friend" -- like Olivia, who tolerates a lot from intolerable men -- but Holofcener is quick to point out money does not always equal happiness. \nJane is in a mid-life crisis, waxing prophetic about death, while her gay-ish husband Aaron (Simon McBurney) makes new friends. Christine and her husband David (Jason Isaacs) are building a second story to their home while their argumentative marriage is deteriorating. Franny and her husband Matt (Greg Germann) are well-to-do, except she worries too much about her friends and he couldn't care less.\nTogether, they all bounce off of one another, bitch at and counsel each other. We see some problems though towards the end, but the film makes no qualms about the fact that some problems go on longer than 90 minutes. \n"Friends with Money" is witty and clever, often laugh-out-loud worthy, but it would be wrong to say it is a constant pleasure. The film takes a rather serious and depressing dip in its middle, so much so I felt like Holofcener was going to lead me through to the end without any more smiles. Life's more painful and upsetting side is never too far behind its cheery and casual side; fortunately, the film rebounds enough that I was as satisfied at the end as I was when it all began.\nIt would seem incorrect to me to label the movie a "chick flick," although it is a flick about chicks. Holofcener has a keen sense of human observation; if I were writing the film, I'd probably put four guys in the starring roles, but I imagine I'd reach much of the same conclusions about interactions among friends as Holofcener does with her irresistible women.