Opposites attract in quiet romantic comedy 'Management'
"Management" is a whimsical, quietly comical romance about two people who you would never, ever think could fall in love with each other. Not seriously, anyway.
But they do.
It's how they do it that makes the magic in Stephen Belber's unassuming little movie, a quirky story populated by characters with great sadness lying just below the surface of their everyday smiles.
"Management" approaches a dark comic version of a classic stalker movie. But it never crosses the line into anything scary or threatening. Actually, Belber's characters are so fresh, flawed and real, we have no idea where they're taking us. That's the kind of movie "Management" is.
The main couple, Sue and Mike, don't have anything in common.
Sue, played by Jennifer Aniston with a matured confidence, works as a saleswoman who sells corporate artwork to big companies.
Mike, played by an amazingly scaled-back Steve Zahn, works in a thankless, menial job at his parents' motel in Arizona.
Sue stays at the motel one night, and Mike becomes instantly enamored with his guest. So enamored that he can't help but make a complete fool of himself trying to score points with her by offering her a complimentary bottle of cheap wine. And cheap compliments.
Mike isn't educated.
Sue is.
Mike has no career.
Sue does.
Sue wants to run a homeless shelter.
Mike wants Sue.
You're thinking no way.
Yet, the emptiness of their lives becomes the common element that triggers the trace beginning of a relationship. That, and Mike's bumbling come-on line, one of the most unusually blunt ones in the history of motion pictures: "Can I touch your butt?"
Her response is a surprise, not just to him, but us. "Management" continues to surprise us in small, revealing ways that attest to the unpredictability of true romance, made real by Aniston's and Zahn's slow simmering chemistry and the vulnerability they both carry like a burden.
James Liao plays a well-meaning, whacked-out stoner who befriends the needy Mike when he moves into a new town to be close to Sue.
Fred Ward plays Jerry, Mike's dad, a stoical man who has managed his life into a rut. After the long, drawn-out death of his wife (Margo Martindale), Jerry has retreated into an emotional hole. He expects Mike to take over the family business.
"Management" picks up in the second half, when Sue does what some women do when confused in matters of the heart: She goes back to her former lover, a certified nut job named Jango (Woody Harrelson, not in scaled-back mode). A rich, yogurt mogul, Jango uses his corporate powers to keep Sue with him, and his competitive nature turns against poor Mike.
With sure-footed direction, superlative actors and their truly human characters, "Management" is a remarkable film that puts Belber on the list of filmmakers to watch.
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Management"</p> <p class="News">Three stars</p> <p class="News"><b>Starring:</b> Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, Fred Ward, Woody Harrelson</p> <p class="News"><b>Directed by:</b> Stephen Belber</p> <p class="News"><b>Other:</b> A Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Rated R for language. 93 minutes</p>