Olivia is a single, always-broke woman who cleans houses in Los Angeles to make ends meet after quitting her job as a teacher. She is in a group of wealthy friends consisting of Franny – a stay-at-home mom with a large trust fund, Christine – a television writer, Jane – a fashion designer, and their husbands.
Still heartbroken over a brief affair with a married man, Olivia agrees to go on a blind date with Franny's trainer, Mike. The date goes poorly, but Mike attempts to make up for it at the last minute and asks to go along with Olivia on a cleaning job. Despite him only offering minimal help, Mike asks for part of Olivia's pay and she reluctantly agrees. They begin dating and Mike continues to come along to work with Olivia and take part of her earnings until she finally finds the self-confidence to call Mike out for his callous behavior and ends the relationship.
Christine and her husband David are constantly at odds with each other, to the point that their friends openly speculate whether they're going to split up. Christine struggles to concentrate on the script she and David are writing as the construction of a new addition to their home is ongoing. She soon discovers that their neighbors' sudden animosity is because the addition will block their views, and attempts to stop construction.
David expresses apathy at the neighbors' anger and Christine confronts him for his lack of sensitivity, including showing a lack of care and affection for her. They decide to separate. Christine puts the unfinished house up for sale and briefly finds herself despondent at David's absence before stubbing her toe and hearing her nanny call out asking if she's okay—something David had always failed to do.
Jane cannot seem to stop herself from insulting acquaintances and becoming angry over minor perceived slights. She also has stopped washing her hair and shows signs of depression. Her husband Aaron, who owns a shampoo company, is fashionable and often assumed to be gay by strangers as well as friends. He befriends another straight, married man named Aaron with similar interests and finally, confronts Jane for her angry fits and refusal to wash her hair after she has an outburst during brunch with the other Aaron and his wife. Jane admits that she's depressed after realizing, "There's no more wondering what it's going to be like."
Franny and her husband Matt are by far the wealthiest couple in the group due to Franny's trust fund. Neither of them work and live in a large house with full-time help. The other friends frequently comment on their wealth and the apparent lack of tension in their marriage as a result of having no stress about money or work, though Franny does express some discomfort with how much Matt likes to spend.
The friends come together at a charity fundraiser for ALS, where Franny has bought a table. Jane finally washes her hair and smooths things over with her husband. Olivia, who has stopped cleaning houses and started a new job, has begun dating Marty, an awkward and unkempt former client, and finds they have much in common.
After the benefit, Marty reveals to Olivia that he does not work because he has inherited his father's wealth. The next morning, they talk in bed about redecorating Marty's house and connect on a deeper level after admitting they both have some issues that they need to address.
In its opening weekend in wide release, the film grossed a total of $4.96 million, ranking tenth at the North American box office, this soon became $13,367,101 domestically and $18,245,244 worldwide even though it received a limited release in most weeks (under 600 screens).
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of the critics gave the film a positive review, based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Strong lead performances, witty dialogue, and wry observations cement Friends With Money as another winning dramedy from writer/director Nicole Holofcener."[2]Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 38 reviews.[3]
