142 – Friends with Money

This episode, we are returning to the career of the great Nicole Holofcener with 2006′s enesemble comedy Friends With Money. The film stars Jennifer Aniston as the housemaid friend to three wealthy women played by Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, and Frances McDormand, and studies class and friendship with the kind of wit and grace that’s made Holofcener’s films so special. But despite strong notices for Aniston’s off-type performance and rising appreciation for Holofcener’s work, the film peaked with a Supporting Actress win for McDormand at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Once again, we praise the Holofcener ouevre and exhalt the Holofcener/Keener partnership. We also look at Cusack’s rare multiple comedy Oscar nominations, Aniston’s love of working with comedic actors like Adam Sandler, and McDormand going off in an Old Navy.

Topics include creative differences between Holofcener and Julianne Moore attempting to make Can You Ever Forgive Me?, films that might have overshadowed her work in their Oscar seasons, and our Holofcener rankings.

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080 – Enough Said (with Mathew Rodriguez)

One one our favorite female filmmakers to hover just outside of Oscar’s graces is Nicole Holofcener, and this week The Body’s Mathew Rodriguez joins us to talk about one of her more recent films: 2013′s Enough Said. The romantic comedy stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a single mother preparing to send her daughter off to college while discovering the man she is dating is the ex-husband of one of her clients. One of Holofcener’s most celebrated humanist examinations of class and relationships, the film faced an uphill climb against Oscar’s bias against comedies and female stories.

But perhaps its closest shot was for Louis-Dreyfus’ love interest, the dearly departed James Gandolfini. Released after the beloved actor’s death, his against type (but true to his real-life persona) performance remains one of his best.

This week, we’re taking a look at our love for Holofcener’s work, including with her muse and Enough Said supporting star Catherine Keener. We also discuss this year’s exceptional Globes Actress in a Musical/Comedy lineup, what went down when Holofcener almost made Can You Ever Forgive Me? (which still led to her first writing nomination), and Bon Qui Qui from MadTV.

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Joe: @joereid
Chris: @chrisvfeil
Mathew: @mathewrodriguez