A Trip on the Couch With Jennifer Aniston

Filling a Void, From Crevasses to Space

Gal pals Catherine Keener and Jennifer Aniston, at the premiere of "Friends With Money," later ran the conversational gamut. (By Evan Agostini -- Getty Images)

PARK CITY, Utah -- We arrive in the late afternoon at the interview couch, which is low and puffy and covered with fake fur. Jennifer Aniston is supine, sprawled. It has obviously been a long day, but she looks tiny and perfect, if slightly sleepy. Catherine Keener sits upright. She has sparkly eyes and appears to enjoy her caffeine. The pair are friends in real life, and during their time together in Park City, they are inseparable. They hug onstage. They cling in photo shoots. Keener seems protective of Aniston, who for those visiting from another planet has had a difficult year. One of the ground rules for the interview: If you want Jen, you get Catherine. It turns out to be a good deal.

They are here at the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of "Friends With Money," an arty ensemble piece about a quartet of Los Angeles women from writer-director Nicole Holofcener ("Lovely and Amazing" and "Walking and Talking") and also starring Joan Cusack and Frances McDormand. Keener, currently on a roll with recent turns as Harper Lee in "Capote" and the comedy blockbuster "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," is a relatively private person. Aniston is currently on the covers of Us Weekly ("How Jen Found Out"), Life & Style Weekly ("Jen Says: It Should've Been My Baby") and OK! ("Who Really Told Jen?").

In the new film, which is scheduled to open in Washington April 7, Aniston plays a burned-out high school teacher who now works as a maid while her three rich friends live in houses with excellent lamps. The Aniston character smokes pot, steals her employers' rejuvenating creams and borrows their sex toys. Oh, and she can't find a boyfriend. Plus, she's a stalker. Sony Pictures Classics describes the film as "a painfully hilarious examination of modern life that manages to be both brutally honest and ultimately uplifting."

Our 20 minutes on the couch goes something like this.

Aniston, suddenly: Do you smell fire?

Keener: Yeah, I do. Maybe they're smoking outside?

Reporter looks at coffee table, which appears to be glowing, and points.

Keener (snorts): Those are plastic ice cubes with little lights inside.

Aniston (sniffing): Smells like a match.

Reporter: We could run out the back door.

Aniston: And there's about 20 paparazzi that would catch us.

Keener: Or shoot us.