Management (film)

Management is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama directed by Stephen Belber and starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn. It premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival[2] and received a limited theatrical release on May 15, 2009.

Management
Promotional film poster
Directed byStephen Belber
Produced bySidney Kimmel
Wyck Godfrey
Marty Bowen
Jennifer Aniston
Kristin Hahn
Written byStephen Belber
StarringJennifer Aniston
Steve Zahn
Woody Harrelson
Fred Ward
Music byMychael Danna
Rob Simonsen
CinematographyEric Edwards
Edited byKate Sanford
Production
company
Distributed bySamuel Goldwyn Films
Release date
  • September 7, 2008 (2008-09-07) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • May 15, 2009 (2009-05-15) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.4 million[1]

Plot

Mike Flux (Steve Zahn) works at his parents' motel as the night manager. One day he sees Sue (Jennifer Aniston), who is staying at the motel for the weekend. He develops a crush on her and surprises her at her door with a bottle of wine. She doesn't quite know what to make of his approach, shares some wine to be polite, then asks him to leave. He returns the next day, trying the same trick with champagne, and this time she allows him to touch her butt momentarily. As she heads back home the next day she decides to go back and have sex with Mike in the laundry room.

Mike realizes his feelings for Sue and flies to her home in Baltimore. She's shocked to see him there, but out of courtesy allows him to stay with her until morning when he can go back home. After spending some time together they get to know each other better as friends, and soon after Mike returns home, Sue stays at the motel again. They decide to go out and have fun. Mike's mother (Margo Martindale) is very sick, and the two stop by her home to see her. She approves of Sue, and tells Mike that he needs to find happiness in his life. Soon after Sue leaves, Mike's mother passes away. Mike decides to make a change in his life and go after Sue once again.

Mike learns that Sue has gotten back together with her old boyfriend, Jango (Woody Harrelson), a former punk rocker turned successful businessman in Aberdeen, WA. Mike settles into the new town by taking a job at a Chinese restaurant. The son of the owners, Al (James Hiroyuki Liao), befriends him and allows Mike to stay in the restaurant's basement. Mike skydives into Sue and Jango's pool to surprise her, but Jango responds by attacking him with an airsoft gun. Feeling bad about what he did, Jango invites Mike and Al over for dinner. Jango knows Mike has feelings towards Sue and threatens him. Regardless of the threat, Mike, with help from Al, sings a song for Sue outside her window later that night. Sue meets up with Mike the next day, informing him, that she and Jango are getting married. Sue is pregnant, and she wants to be with someone that's in control of his life. In anger after everything he worked for to be with her, Mike tells Sue to leave.

After spending four months in a Buddhist monastery, Mike returns to the motel, now being run solely by his father (Fred Ward). After talking about moving on with their lives, Mike's father hands him the deed to the motel. Mike decides to turn the motel into a homeless shelter, something Sue had mentioned always wanting to do. Mike calls her at home to tell her, but Jango answers the phone. He reveals that Sue has left him and is living with her mother. Mike makes his way to Sue's home to ask her for help with the shelter. She's happy to see him and tells him that she had messed up their relationship. Mike tells her he loves her and only wants to take care of her and her baby. The story ends as they embrace.

Cast
The two stars of the film (Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn) at its TIFF premiere.

Filming

While set in Kingman, Arizona, Maryland, and Washington, filming took place entirely in Oregon in 2007.[4] Sonny’s Motel in Madras[5] served as the Kingman Motor Inn, while Portland stepped in for Baltimore.[6] Instead of Aberdeen, Washington, both Oregon City and West Linn were used to represent the hometown of Kurt Cobain.[6] Even the footage showing Zahn's character driving cross-country from Arizona to Maryland was all shot in Oregon. The restaurant scenes were filmed at the Aloha Mall in Aloha, Oregon off TV highway.

Reception

Management received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 47% based on reviews from 96 critics. The website's critical consensus concludes: "[c]lever and often beguiling performances by Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston can't revive this sweetly misguided stalker romance."[7] On Metacritic it has a score of 50/100 base on reviews from 26 critics.[8]

Home media

The DVD was released on September 29, 2009. It has grossed $3,820,537 in US DVD sales.[9]

References
  1. "Management (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  2. Toronto Film Festival lineup 2008
  3. Fleming, Michael (August 2, 2007). "Aniston to star in 'Management'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  4. Lindsey, Ethan (November 20, 2007). "Central Oregon Filmmakers Unhappy With 'Management'". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  5. McDonald, Jeff (November 7, 2007). "Lights, camera, financial action". The Bulletin. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  6. DeCosta, Nicole (October 31, 2007). "Lights, camera, action in Lake Oswego". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  7. Rotten Tomatoes: Management (2008)
  8. "Management (2009)". Metacritic.
  9. Management - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information. The Numbers. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
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