A touching comedy
A traveling art saleswoman tries to shake off a flaky motel manager who falls for her and won't leave her alone.
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Runtime: 94 minutes
Rating: 6.6/10 (1,923 votes)
Release Date: 7 September 2008
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Image Entertainment
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated R for language.
Director(s): Stephen Belber
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Producer(s):
Jennifer Aniston - executive producer
Marty Bowen - producer
Jordana Glick-Franzheim - associate producer
Wyck Godfrey - producer
William Horberg - executive producer
Sidney Kimmel - producer
Nan Morales - executive producer
Jim Tauber - executive producer
Bruce Toll - executive producer
Writer(s):
Stephen Belber - (written by)
Cast:
Jennifer Aniston - Sue Claussen
Steve Zahn - Mike
Margo Martindale - Trish
Fred Ward - Jerry
James Hiroyuki Liao - Al (as James Liao)
Woody Harrelson - Jango
Katie O'Grady - Corporate Bliss Receptionist
Yolanda Suarez - Marissa
Kevin Heffernan - Jed
Don Burns - Businessman (as Don Stewart Burns)
Music: Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen
Jennifer Aniston - executive producer
Marty Bowen - producer
Jordana Glick-Franzheim - associate producer
Wyck Godfrey - producer
William Horberg - executive producer
Sidney Kimmel - producer
Nan Morales - executive producer
Jim Tauber - executive producer
Bruce Toll - executive producer
Writer(s):
Stephen Belber - (written by)
Cast:
Jennifer Aniston - Sue Claussen
Steve Zahn - Mike
Margo Martindale - Trish
Fred Ward - Jerry
James Hiroyuki Liao - Al (as James Liao)
Woody Harrelson - Jango
Katie O'Grady - Corporate Bliss Receptionist
Yolanda Suarez - Marissa
Kevin Heffernan - Jed
Don Burns - Businessman (as Don Stewart Burns)
Music: Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen
Posted on: May 28, 2009
May 17th, 2009
Jennifer Aniston makes her return to indie territory but this littleclunker from writer/director Stephen Belber (Tape) isn't going to earnher any new fans. "Management" is a romance that purposely seems towant to stop the romance from actually happening. How wrong are the twomain characters for each other? If you were to swap their scenestogether out and put a question mark on screen instead, it would makemore sense.
Aniston plays Sue Claussen, a traveling art saleswoman who happens tostay at the motel run by the parents of Mike Cranshaw (Steve Zahn), aman-child who all indications point to not having much of a sociallife. Sue catches his eye. Mike brings her champagne. He tells her shehas a nice ass. To get rid of him, Sue offers him a chance to "touchand go", to which he obliges. Can you feel the romance yet? This ofcourse is not the last encounter Mike has with her, but right beforeleaving the motel, she explains to him why this relationship can'twork. Then a couple seconds later she returns for some very passionatesex, even though they don't know each other, are complete opposites interms of financials and personality, and Mike seems almost, I won't sayretarded, but way too simple for her. Why does she do this?
Also, why does Mike follow her to Baltimore afterwards? Cause she has anice ass? And why does Sue keep giving into Mike's fairly bizarrebehavior? The rest of the movie centers on the two meeting andsplitting, Mike stalking or wooing (depending on your outlook of him)her with everything from parachuting into her boyfriend Jango's (WoodyHarrelson) pool to singing (badly) "Feel Like Making Love" outside ofher window. Belber keeps giving us reasons why Sue should be runningfor the hills but the reasons for why she keeps staying with Mike aremore ambiguous and the only reason I can think of for why he would wanther is she's good-looking and she makes a lot of money.
Only Jennifer Aniston is a buttoned down, sexless bore here and SteveZahn is too child-like, socially awkward, and bouncy for there toactually be any chemistry. Zahn is capable of sweetness at certainpoints that most other actors wouldn't be able to accomplish, butoverall the romance just falters. It's not all their fault though.Belber is helming the ship and he has no idea where he's taking it.Perhaps that's why he tacks on a weakcharacters-needing-to-find-themselves subplot in the second half. Themovie could use some trying-to-find itself of it's own.
May 18th, 2009
With this summer blockbusters going of without a hitch, it up to theindie films to provide the substance. Unfortunately, this did not. Ihad a chance to see free screening for this movie and I was notimpressed. Steve Zahn was funny as usual and I have to admit it wasgreat to see Woody Harrelson back in a somewhat descent role. HoweverJennifer Aniston misses the mark for her character. Her character failsto truly develop the romantic connection to Zahn's character, whichdoesn't help make this story believable.
Whether it was a failure on the on the part of Stephen Belber writingor Aniston's acting, the romance between the two main characters is notbelievable. And with romance being the vocal point of the story, thismovie is average at best. Want till video.
May 18th, 2009
A movie full of has-beens. Jennifer, Steve, and… Woody???
The only thing nice about the movie is looking at Jennifer, as for thestory, acting, cast… save your money an wait until it hits the 99cent rack in the video store.
I don't mean to be rude, but the truth is the truth. It SUCKS!
I read that it made less than $1800.00 per theater, that's less than225 tickets sold per day per theater. And that's an overall average ofall theaters!!!
Sorry Jennifer, I'm a big fan of yours – but you only. Woody's dayswere over when Cheers went off the air, and Steve… he's only fairlygood for stupid B- movies.
May 19th, 2009
By no means will this be the most successful movie of any given timeperiod, genre, or actor in it, but that has no bearing on the actualcontent of the film. Jennifer Aniston plays Sue, the equivalent of themodern "frigid bitch". So entrenched with her crappy job (a cleverstatement in and of itself; selling bland corporate art), she hascompletely forgotten to even search for happiness of fulfillment in herlife. Through a business trip she meets an unlikely Steve Zahn, who'sthe night manager of his parents' motel. He's certainly a man-child atthis point, and through awkward,an uncomfortable dialogue Anistonallows him to feel her butt. Although the action of the scene isseemingly sexual, the tone of it and of the film are completelyemotional. What's essential to grasp the film is the sense ofdesperation these two have, and after each awkward and unsuccessfulinteraction there's a moment where they both pause, rethink the events,consider facing each other again, and give up only to immediatelyregret it. None of it's spoken (which may confuse some viewers), butit's what drives the romance throughout the film; the fact that,although Aniston's in no way in touch with her emotions and Zahn is notthe brightest, there is something alluring there that keeps them incontact and changes them both.
I think people sell its subtly short, but if you're willing to thinkfor yourself, you may enjoy it. It has all the quirk and humor oneexpects from a good indie.
May 24th, 2009
Steve Zahn plays Mike, a night manager at the motel his parents run.Mike is a typical case of arrested development. He has no friends,nogirlfriend & potentially no future. All of this changes when an artdealer (Jennifer Aniston)checks into the motel on a business trip. Hefalls head over heels in love with her,to the point of stalking heracross the country. The mere fact that she is engaged to be married toan ex-punk rocker doesn't sway Mike from his mission. This is a nicelyplayed film about casting off the superficial and moving ahead. WoodyHarrelson has some nice,but too brief screen time as the proto psychoboyfriend. First time director,Steven Belber directs from his ownscreenplay that mixes comedy & drama with a nice touch of quirkiness,and even manages to toss in a bit of eastern philosophy for goodmeasure. Steve Zahn is a likable chap who just wants from life whateverybody else wants. Jennifer Aniston is (as usual)Jennifer Aniston.This is a hold over film from last year that is just now getting somedistribution (mainly to art houses). You could do a lot worse thanthis. Rated 'R' by the MPAA for some salty language & adult situations.
July 14th, 2009
Management is one of the rare films that is able to transcend thelimits of a predictable plot-line. Ten minutes into the movie itbecomes clear that there are two path the film could go down: the welltraveled path of the stereotypical romantic storyline or take the filmdown a road that ends in disappointment for our protagonist, Mike. Thatthe film journeys down the safe road and is able to come out asrespectable as having gone down the honest road is a testament to thefilm's acting and the characters the script provides for them.
The story is simple with a twist of completely absurd. Mike works andlives at a small hotel run by his parents. His mother, Trish, loves thework, the interaction with their clients. His father, Jerry, is lessthan enthused with his responsibilities as a glorified-landlord forthis property. Mike is immediately taken with Sue who is in town as atraveling commercial art seller. Mike's plan to win her is not verywell thought out: he finds an old dusty bottle of wine in one of thehotel's storage rooms (apparently an unwanted Christmas present fromyears ago) and with the wine in hand shows up at Sue's door. His storyis that the hotel randomly provides complimentary bottles of wine. Hegoes on to say that most people invite him in their room to not onlypour a glass (or rather one of the plastic covered plastic cups that weall find in hotel rooms) for them but he is usually also invited topartake in the drinking festivities. Nothing comes of this firstencounter, but the next night Mike shows up with a bottle of champagne(evidently purchased new) and this encounter leads somewhere. Miketells her she has a nice ass. Sue takes this in stride, and we can tellhere that despite her beauty she is not accustomed to this type of opencompliments. Sue questions how often Mike does this type of thing anddoes it ever work. Of course, it doesn't ever work. Sue asks him ifhe'd be satisfied if she'd allow him to touch her ass, ruling out sexas a possibility. Mike, naturally, accepts this offer. And so, Miketouches Sue's ass.
Now, if this is your first introduction to the plot of this film, don'tlose your faith in it on the grounds of absurdity. Yes, the film beginson an absurd premise and continues down that path. Why does successfuland beautiful Sue allow Mike, who lives at his parent's hotel remember,into her room and allow him such intimate contact? That question isanswered and it is almost entirely done so through the performances ofSteve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston.
For Zahn he has to play a character that is pathetic, borderlinecreepy, but does so in a way that he is charming and he is trustable.He plays a character that we have seen before, the lovable loser, withsuch believability that the plot could have gone just about anydirection and we never would have doubted our hero. This is Zahn's bestcomedic film that I've seen. Jennifer Aniston, who can add this featureto her string of "lower-budget" successes such as Friends With Money,The Good Girl, and She's The One, has the impeccable ability to playcharacters that it doesn't seem someone of her looks and personalreputation should be able to play so effortlessly. In Friends WithMoney she is used by one man and then is somehow taken with anoverweight, lazy man who seems like everything you don't want a guy tobe other than nice, of course. In The Good Girl she finds herselfmarried to John C. Reily and in love with a teenage, and fullyimmature, Jack Gyllenhaal. In this feature her character plays soccer,is an advocate for recycling, hands out vouchers to the homeless, andaspires to build a large soup kitchen and shelter. She seems like thetype of girl that could not exist in real life and if she did she'dcertainly not belong with Mike. If her character was only surface-deep,this film would never work. Her performance again makes her morecomplex and explains why she could find herself interested in this manwho only has "sweet" going for him.
The bulk of the film after the meet-cute consists of Mike trying to winSue's heart. This consists of traveling cross country, pawning hisbelongings, window serenades, and jumping from an airplane, to name afew. Mike's parents retain a prominent and significant role as doesSue's boyfriend, turned fiancé, but the film is about Mike and hispathetic, yet sweet, efforts to win Sue. It's the rare film that goeswhere we fear it might, that goes down the worn-thin territory we'reall familiar with but by the graciousness of fine performances we don'tmind getting exactly what we thought we would. In this case, we want itto happen so bad for Mike, and even for Sue too, that we allowourselves to forget that it would never happen like this is real life.
B+ (66.5) @ A Reel Perspective
August 14th, 2009
Management is a surprisingly enjoyable comedy about Mike (Steve Zahn),a man who works at his parent's motel. One day, Sue (Jennifer Aniston)checks in, and Mike brings champagne up to her. When Sue tells Mike hecan touch her butt, Mike falls for her, but Sue won't barge. Sue soonenough moves back in with her crazy ex-boyfriend, Jango (an excellentWoody Harrelson). Zahn really shows his strongest talent. He is sweet,funny, and natural. He makes it so it's not a crazy stalker film, but asweet romantic comedy. I'd also like to discuss this R-rating. It has acouple of cuss words and a sex scene that wasn't even shown. Thisdeserves a PG-13 at best. The movie also features a very funnyperformance from James Liao as Al, Mike's newest helper. I wasn'texpecting anything great. I thought this had a good chance of beingmediocre, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a romantic comedy asfun and original as this. The movie is about people in love, and youlove watching them. The movie may not be the Hollywood backbone ofsmart films, but it's good for any Zahn, Harrelson, or Aniston fan.It's a movie that should be fine with anyone who's ever stayed at amotel or for someone who's ever been in love. Really, it's the castthat makes this movie as good as it is.
August 15th, 2009
Sure if someone has hot as Jennifer Aniston were to offer you to touchtheir butt, I'm sure almost every male out there would jump at thechance of doing so without thinking twice. It's a no brainer offer, anda teaser of course to a larger, more sentimental story out there aboutthe relentless pursuit of love, the romanticism attached to wanting tobe with someone, without being consciously bogged by the harshrealities of life and survival. With affairs of the heart, to me atleast it's a seizing of opportunities presented, rather than to adoptthe wait and see approach.
The hook for the film, written and directed by Stephen Belber, is ofcourse that much talked about scene between Aniston and Steve Zahn, theformer being Sue, an art saleswoman who on a business trip had stayedat a motel, which Zahn's Mike is the night manager of his family'sbusiness. Smitten by none other than her buttocks, Mike crafts simpleyet really strange excuses just to be close to Sue and talk to her, andthe initial scenes which they share in her hotel room, is somethingthat both actors brought out superbly – the awkwardness, thesuspicions, and that hopeful look that something good might arise fromall of the nonsense.
Thus began Mike's obsession with Sue when she allowed him that grace tofulfill a fantasy, and that translated to the borderline of stalking,where he dumps everything, and pursues her across state lines. Turningup at someone's workplace unannounced can have a very chilling effect,especially when one is only nothing more than an acquaintance and aone- nighter, to pass time and in an attempt to claw out of loneliness.After all, anything else is better than being holed up in your hotelroom playing Solitaire on a computer.
Management is pretty much about the idealistic and pragmatic lensesthat we wear from time to time in our view of romantic relationships.Here, it's a Mr Idealistic versus Ms Pragmatic in the approach. InMike, we see someone with a hope of going beyond his comfort zone ofhis parents' business, in the pursuit of a romance that he only wishesto turn out positively. There's no plan, there's no ulterior motive,there's only the want to be with someone and spend time with her, pureand simple. Heck he doesn't even have enough money to begin with.
For Ms Pragmatic, it's all about the plan, where such a situation willlead to, Complications arrive through the introduction of herex-boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson), an ex-punk band member who is nowan established businessman. This means a nobody Mike is against asomebody Jango, and presents a choice for Sue to choose – the one forthat undying romance, or the one who can pay the bills and allow her tocontinue hiding behind charitable causes to coast through life withoutspontaneity that the former may bring. It's a matter of love forgenuine love of a person, or a love that is a matter of convenience andtiming, which in itself is truly sad because you know that there's acompromise, which may not be for the better.
The film also went beyond the usual romantic elements, and triedsuccessfully to insert other aspects of relationships such as family(Mike's Mom and Dad played by Margo Martindale and Fred Wardrespectively), and friends. The role of Al (James Hiroyuki Liao) asMike's best friend was curiously interesting as well, as here's analmost mirrored character in having a waiter working in his parents'restaurant business too. Despite being present only in the middle act,Al's role served as comedic fodder, and to catalyze that life changingidea for Mike in learning to let go, but never forgetting.
In many ways, the character of Mike had reminded me of a younger selfwhere caution is thrown to the wind with the chasing of skirts, in thesame way zoning on that singular tree while forsaking the forest, nevermind the issues of incompatibility that loomed in the horizon. Not avery wise move of course on hindsight, but given the intoxicatingpassionate nature then, I suppose that was that. Naturally between thenand now I had realized that there had been irreversible change in ourcharacters probably, and the ones in the past vaguely seem like distantcharacters who only remotely resemble who they are now.
But Management somehow was more hopeful and optimistic in nature, and Isuppose that suited the movie just fine, bringing you through thestages of passionate infatuation to love through the power of naivesincerity. With an excellent selection of songs in its soundtrack,Management may just end up as a surprise when I compile my top 10 listfor the year. For those who are looking for that little extra in aromantic comedy, then Management may just be that little gem which willset you thinking.