Management (Bluray) [DVD]

This is a competent comedy with Jennifer Aniston and the much under-rated Steve Zahn. With a plot similar to All About Steve, it is about a mismatched couple where one falls in love and the other doesn't.
It moves along smartly and has some genuinely funny moments but it has been done so much better elsewhere and spends a pleasant evening without being brilliant.
Comedies always score highly though with me and this has charm

Mike is a slow witted handyman at his parents run down motel in the middle of nowhere Arizona. A life of room cleaning and lonely evenings on reception followed by a night of channel surfing on his own stretches out before him. His life changes when a saleswoman from Maryland turns up and Mike finds himself smitten. He grabs the bull by the horns and turns up at her room with a 'complimentary' bottle of warm wine and a completely useless line of patter.Sue is a reserved & quiet individual who at first is unmoved by Mikes advances but slowly melt herheart as he becomes more focussed and determined to win her over.
The course of love runs slowly and with no little difficulty as Sue meets an old boyfriend & Mike's mother dies.
I suppose in the final analyses it has to be said that this is yet another rom-com but in truth 'Management' avoids most of the usual cliches and adds some unexpected twists. At first the humour is thin on the ground & it is hard to sympathise with either the aloof Sue or frankly creepy Mike. However as her heart melts & Mike slowly matures they become likable & you begin to hope for the best. So too the humour shines in a couple of scenes but this is never allowed to descend into slapstick.
The pace is never fast but neither does the film ever drag. The two stars handle their roles with ease and portray two hurt individuals learning to trust quite nicely. Anniston has made a nice little niche for herself starring in slightly offbeat rom-coms and Steve Zahn tones down the kooky man boy enough to make the slim chance of his winning Sue over possible. So too the support is good with Fred Ward giving solid value for money as Mike's reserved & grieving father & a particularly lively turn from James Hiroyuki Liao as new found friend Al & a typically unhinged turn from Woody Harrelson.
All in all this is a pleasant & sufficiently different & interesting character study to make it an enjoyable & easily recommended film. Don't let the straight to DVD tag put you off as this is a little gem that you should take a look at.

While her character in Management isn't one of the sweeter and more personable characters she's played, you really just can't go wrong with any Jennifer Aniston movie. Admittedly, I was a little worried about Steve Zahn's ability to hold his own alongside her, but he turned in a terrific performance. It's not easy to play a sort of dumb character in a serious, natural, and completely honest manner, but Zahn does it. There are laughs aplenty to be found here, but this is no dumb comedy - not by a long shot.

Poor Mike (Zahn) is about as smooth with the ladies as I am. When Sue Claussen (Aniston) checks in at the family-owned hotel where he works as the night manager and janitor, he is immediately smitten and uses the old "complimentary wine" ruse to try and get to know her. A couple of uncomfortable yet very funny scenes ensue, and we learn that this beautiful woman who is way out of Mike's league is something of a lonely soul herself. That being said, Sue has no thought of ever seeing Mike again - until he shows up at her workplace on the other side of the country a few days later. In a seemingly foolhardy and somewhat spontaneous move, Mike has spent all of his money and left his family behind just to come and see her. Sue is less than happy about this unexpected turn of events, but a part of her can't help but be touched by the puppy-dog devotion she has inspired in this strange young man. After returning home, an undeterred Mike sends her letters and poems before chasing after her once again when she moves to the state of Washington to reunite with her old boyfriend (Woody Harrelson). Mike proves himself quite willing to do anything, no matter how crazy, to see her again. Anybody else would come across as a stalker, but Mike is far too genuine and sincere in his unabashed love for this woman to be considered anything of the sort. And no matter what happens, even when all hope is seemingly lost, he still loves Sue in a most beautiful way.

The story is really all about learning to manage your own life. Even when she seemingly has all she thinks she wants and needs, it is really Sue who is screwed up the most. Mike is obviously a dreamer and an eternal optimist, while Sue tries to find happiness in going about her life in a totally pragmatic fashion. Both ultimately learn that sometimes you have to let go of everything in order to find what you have been trying to attain all along. I loved this sweet and quirky romantic comedy. I feel sure that most people will be able to identify themselves with one of the two main characters and maybe even learn something about themselves by enjoying the comedy foibles that make up this most unconventional of romances.