'Management' review

An impractically blissful and offbeat romantic comedy

By Matt Pais

Posted May 14, 2009

Metromix

You just never know when someone will turn your life around. Uninspired art saleswoman Sue (Jennifer Aniston) learns this during a business trip when she ambivalently lets awkward motel night manager Mike (Steve Zahn) touch her butt and then indulges him a quickie. What's the big deal? Mike falls for her hard and continually tracks down Sue, refusing to give up until she'll agree to be with him. Uncomfortable conversations, skydiving and outside-bedroom-singing ensue.

The buzz: Theoretically, writer-director Stephen Belber's "Management" shouldn't work: It's considerably quirky and revolves around a guy most women would just find weird. Hopefully the film, which has seen a few release dates come and go, can generate some sympathy for oddball outsiders and become the polar opposite of forced junk like the Zooey Deschanel/Paul Dano indie "Gigantic."

The verdict: Showing that Mike isn't a creep but just a well-intentioned guy without an internal compass, Zahn makes you believe in persistent, irrational love—and also that he belongs with someone like Sue, whose self-perception is all out of whack. As Zahn and Aniston bond, this sublime little movie's humor takes you by surprise, underplaying jokes and maximizing laughs in a way that's simultaneously familiar and fresh. Even better, "Management" has a hopelessly romantic spirit, and a belief that amused indifference can, in fact, inch away from pity and wind up somewhere close to the heart.

Did you know? Mike discovers that, contrary to his understanding, Buddhist monks aren't supposed to play volleyball for seven hours a day. Rugby it is!