Management

R 5.8
2009 1 hr 34 min Drama , Comedy , Romance

A traveling art saleswoman tries to shake off a flaky motel manager who falls for her and won't leave her alone.

  • Cast:
    Jennifer Aniston , Steve Zahn , Woody Harrelson , Fred Ward , Margo Martindale , Kevin Heffernan , James Hiroyuki Liao

Similar titles

Nine Months
Nine Months
When he finds out his longtime girlfriend is pregnant, a commitment-phobe realizes he might have to change his lifestyle for better or much, much worse.
Nine Months 1995
Gypo
Gypo
Gypo is the story of a working class family in Margate, Kent, a town where immigrants have become the focus of most of the public's discontent. The film tells the story of the a couple of weeks in this family's life, beginning when a young Czech girl, Tash, comes to visit. The film is made in the Dogme95 tradition, so no costumes, no lighting, no props or sets, which gives the film a gritty texture appropriate to the story.
Gypo 2005
Suspicion
Suspicion
Wealthy, sheltered Lina McLaidlaw is swept off her feet by charming ne'er-do-well Johnnie Aysgarth. Though warned that Johnnie is little more than a fortune hunter, Lina marries him anyway and remains loyal to her irresponsible husband as he plows his way from one disreputable business scheme to another. Gradually Lina comes to the conclusion that Johnnie intends to kill her in order to collect her inheritance.
Suspicion 1941
The Moth
The Moth
This 1940s drama presents a story of class conflict and its influence on romance. Robert Bradley leaves the shipyards to work in his uncle's furniture business but soon finds himself at odds with the old man. So he becomes a servant for the destructive Thormans, and falls for the lady of the house, Sarah. But in 1913 this upstairs/downstairs romance can only lead to disaster.
The Moth 1997
Raising Arizona
Raising Arizona
When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Raising Arizona 1987
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
After five (or six) years of vanilla-wedded bliss, ordinary suburbanites John and Jane Smith are stuck in a huge rut. Unbeknownst to each other, they are both coolly lethal, highly-paid assassins working for rival organisations. When they discover they're each other's next target, their secret lives collide in a spicy, explosive mix of wicked comedy, pent-up passion, nonstop action and high-tech weaponry.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2005
Lolita
Lolita
Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.
Lolita 1962
Shrek the Third
Shrek the Third
The King of Far Far Away has died and Shrek and Fiona are to become King & Queen. However, Shrek wants to return to his cozy swamp and live in peace and quiet, so when he finds out there is another heir to the throne, they set off to bring him back to rule the kingdom.
Shrek the Third 2007

Reviews

Siflutter
2009/05/15

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

... more
Brendon Jones
2009/05/16

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

... more
Jonah Abbott
2009/05/17

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

... more
Maleeha Vincent
2009/05/18

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

... more
joemjv
2009/05/19

Perfect cast for the perfect job! Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn really nailed it. Enjoyable plot and a great performance. I also think that the performance by James Hiroyuki Liao as Al on this movie was superb - I think he should be featured in more movies.

... more
HelenMary
2009/05/20

This is the sort of film you aren't surprised if it goes straight to DVD or is made for TV, it's a slow starter, low budget style and rather basic. The premise doesn't really make any sense, at the start, in the real world, and if it was anyone other than Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn in the main roles I don't think it would have been at all believable. I got the impression from this that Aniston was just collecting her pay cheque and as another reviewer stated it really is Zahn's film - with honourable mention to the wonderful Fred Ward and Woody Harrelson. Again, if the simple naïve acting was done by anyone other than Zahn, I think viewers would consider it to be empty but he brings a gravitas to it as he is known for being such a talent.The film is predictable to a certain extent, but does play out with a degree of satisfaction. The film certainly improves half way through, up until that point I didn't really see much positive as it was too slow and silly. As the characters mature, especially Zahn, and Harrelson makes an appearance to add some conflict, the story picks up pace and I found myself sitting up a bit and paying more attention. The film unravels into a quite sweet philosophical and convincing romcom. A few laugh out loud moments but the film is more amusing than comical, and evolves into quite a touching story. Not one I'd see again, perhaps, but one I don't regret seeing.

... more
cnt0030
2009/05/21

People are just not giving this movie credit where credit is due! Anniston helped produce this movie. Im a guy and I have to say this is a top 3 romantic movie of all time. Watch the whole movie from beginning to end. Excellent and creative way how true love works. He seems stalkerish and creepy at first but his intentions were innocent. It had a "Gilbert Grape" type of feel to the movie. I would say that if Mike (main character) didn't have his un orthodox view of life then anyone else in his position would of given up on chasing after the love of their dreams. Give this movie a chance. The movie definitely takes its time to progress but thats how they keep you intrigued. I would def recommend this to anyone who believes love is not out there, or to those that feverishly ignore the hints of love hitting you in the face!

... more
MBunge
2009/05/22

Management is a quirky little wish fulfillment fantasy for lonely nice guys that comes completely undone when it brings too many contrived and conventional romantic comedy clichés into the mix. It trades subtlety and dysfunctional realism for overly broad comedy and reaches for meaning that it never really earns.Mike (Steve Zahn) is the night manager at his parents motel. He's the classic 30something guy who still lives like he's in his teens, with no ambition to ever be more than that. Then he falls in love with a woman who checks into the motel one night. Well, Mike actually falls in love with her butt, since he only sees her from behind at first. Sue (Jennifer Aniston) is a traveling saleswoman who doesn't quite know what to make of Mike and his pathetically inept attempts at romance, but she responds to his neediness enough to throw him a roll in the hay before she has to check out. Mike then spends every last dime he has to fly across the country and visit Sue. She's a little taken aback but can't resist his harmless sincerity and indulges his romantic fantasies for a while before sending Mike back to his mom and dad.A tortured long-distance relationship continues for a while but when Mike gets another chance to visit Sue, he learns she's moved all the way across the country to get back together with an old boyfriend. Mike decides to follow her and that's where the story falls down and dies. What had been sweet and original becomes fake and predictable, with Mike even picking up a wacky best friend and indulging in an opaque journey of self-discovery. The movie even ends in a way that makes you wonder if writer/director Stephen Belber forgot what the original point of his story was.The best thing about Management is the acting of Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston. Zahn is given a character who behaves like a deranged stalker for most of the film. The script could have made Mike into a serial killer and it wouldn't have been that surprising, but Zahn is able to drain away all of Mike's potentially unsettling creepiness and make him likably pitiful. Aniston gives probably her most nuanced and affecting performance since The Good Girl, playing an unhappy adult who finds some solace with Mike's immature devotion but can't ignore how emotionally stunted he is. You can never forget how unbelievable it is that a well-intentioned but hapless loser like Mike could ever wind up with a successful beauty like Sue, but Zahn and Aniston interact so well that you won't care.Unfortunately, that relationship is largely abandoned for the second half of the movie and it runs through fairly typical rom-com paces. Mike spends far more time with the new wacky best friend the film gives him than he does with Sue, and when the movie does bring Mike and Sue back together it's with a maudlin tone that is out of step with either the sweet, quirky beginning or the broad, almost slapstickish comedy of the middle.Writer/director Belber came up with two great characters and cast two wonderful actors to play them, but then he didn't let their story unfold organically. Instead of letting Mike and Sue experience the limitations of their unequal relationship, Belber wields The Almighty Plot Hammer to keep them apart. So instead of feeling the real pain Mike and Sue would inflict on each other as their romantic dreams collided with reality, there's a bunch of manufactured angst that covers up how unhealthy Mike and Sue's relationship actually is.I mean, a guy knows a woman for 48 hours and decides to fly across the country to see her? She sees him show up at her office and doesn't immediately tell him to get lost? Then after stringing him along, she gets back with an old boyfriend and moves without telling him…and he follows her to her new home on the other side of the country? These are desperate and mean actions, yet Mike and Sue never have to accept or deal with that because the story never allows them too.Zahn and Aniston are great. Management is not.

... more