Management - Un amore in fuga

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,no girlfriend & potentially no future. All of this changes when an art dealer (Jennifer Aniston)checks into the motel on a business trip. He falls head over heels in love with her,to the point of stalking her across the country. The mere fact that she is engaged to be married to an ex-punk rocker doesn't sway Mike from his mission. This is a nicely played film about casting off the superficial and moving ahead. Woody Harrelson has some nice,but too brief screen time as the proto psycho boyfriend. First time director,Steven Belber directs from his own screenplay that mixes comedy & drama with a nice touch of quirkiness, and even manages to toss in a bit of eastern philosophy for good measure. Steve Zahn is a likable chap who just wants from life what everybody else wants. Jennifer Aniston is (as usual)Jennifer Aniston. This is a hold over film from last year that is just now getting some distribution (mainly to art houses). You could do a lot worse than this. Rated 'R' by the MPAA for some salty language & adult situations.

"Management" isn't necessarily a bad film -- I just found it entirely disengaging. Judging from some of the early feedback, I was expecting a sweet (if predictable) "indie" romantic comedy. I'm not a big fan of Jennifer Aniston, but she plays her types of roles well enough, and Steve Zahn proved with "Rescue Dawn" that he's an underrated actor.

My problem with "Management" is that it plays into the quirky subgenre clichés far too easily. I'd bet the director is a big Hal Ashby or Mike Nichols fan -- this comes off like an uneasy mix of "Harold and Maude" and "The Graduate." Its protagonist is a borderline stalker.

That's not inherently negative, but I just felt like there was no real spark between Aniston and Zahn. The whole thing felt very...calculated. It wasn't naturally offbeat -- and, as a result, I was left wondering why we're supposed to feel any type of entertainment in watching these people.

This film is about a man who works in his parents' motel who falls for a beautiful lady who is a guest of the motel.

"Management" is a disappointing despite a strong cast. The story is far too dull, slow and flat to be remotely entertaining. There is no joke. The relationship between Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn is forced and unconvincing. Their chemistry is poor, which kills the film's remaining chance of becoming a romantic comedy. The only character that shines is Woody Harrelson, but his scenes are few and far in between to make any positive impact on the snooze factor.

In summary, even Jennifer Aniston fans is unlikely to enjoy this film.

Jennifer Aniston plays Sue Claussen, a lonely traveling saleswoman. In one of her trips she checks in in a roadside motel in Arizona.Mike,played by Steve Zahn, is the son of the owners and he feels attracted to her immediately.Trough little schemes Mike succeeds in seducing Sue and they spend a night together. Eventually Sue checks out of the motel;however Mike can't let go of her and flies across the country to meet her. There is a lot more to the story but I don't want to give anything away.But make no mistake, this indie is much more then your typical romantic comedy.It bursts with originality,humor and sweetness.Both Mike and Sue are looking for something meaningful in life but while Mike pursues what he wants(in this case,Sue) Sue holds back fearing for the complications of being involved with someone like Mike and for the complications of life itself. The soundtrack was good and Mrs. Aniston had plenty of charisma as always but the film belongs undeniably to Steve Zahn. Amazing performance. He plays Mike in a way that its impossible not to feel devoted for his character.

7/10

Mike (Steve Zahn) is a hapless young man stuck in Arizona; Sue (Jennifer Aniston) is a young career woman on the move all over the country. He thinks he has something special with her but she just views his actions as inappropriate.

Aniston's Sue comes across as mature and diplomatic—very different than Rachel and her other recent characters. While Steve Zahn's character was very well written. He's very awkward and inexperienced around women and his use of words shows that perfectly and humorously. He's also very observant and a good judge of character. These characteristics help him build a connection with Sue and move the film forward.

At times, the structure of the story drags the film down a bit. The beginning is about introducing the characters and the second half has a more active plot when we meet Sue's on-again, off-again, and on-again boyfriend Janga (Woody Harrelson) and Mike gets closer to sorting out his life. The two halves aren't connected as well as they could have been but there is a bit of subdued humour sprinkled throughout.

"Management" is just a romantic comedy, but it has better written humour than most in the genre and much better written characters. I recommend it for its cute performances by Aniston and Zahn and for the little bit of inspiration that such real and developed characters can provide.