Mike, the night manager of his parent's Arizona motel, is a loner; he has no life. When we meet him he is living in one of the upstairs room of the complex. Mike suddenly awakens to show emotion, when Sue Classens, a sales rep for motel art work, stops at the inn. She is seen to Mike as a pleasant distraction. The first night he knocks on her door to offer a complimentary bottle of wine, something that puzzles Sue. What does he really want, she wonders. On her second night, he offers her a bottle of champagne. If Sue had doubts about the intentions of this man, she counteracts with her own proposal: Would he like to touch her butt? It is an offer no man could refuse.
Sue, in turn, finds herself in a quandary. She is based in Baltimore. She is probably a girl with low self esteem who finds it is safe having sex with Mike on the day she was departing, but little did she think of the consequences of her actions. Mike is smitten. He has to go see her, and if possible stay with her. Sue is not exactly happy to see Mike come back into her life, so she sends him packing back to Arizona. Mike does not give up. When he finds out she has moved to Washington state, he makes it his priority. Unfortunately, Sue has gone back to her ex-punk boyfriend, now a businessman with a yogurt business. Will Mike impress Sue?
This is an indie film that came as a surprise when it turned up on a cable channel. Not having seen it, we decided to take a look. Directed and written by Stephen Belber, the film has a combination of styles, but it pays off because it does not pretends to be anything but a small film. The success of "Management" depended heavily on its star, Jennifer Aniston, an underrated actress whose choices always tend to be big studio features which only requires her to be pretty. As she clearly showed in "The Good Girl", it pays to have a good director behind her whom she trusts totally. This is not exactly what one would expect to be one of her first choices, but playing it subtly, Ms. Aniston's work seems to be the best excuse to watch "Management".
A tamed Steve Zahn plays Mike with a new perspective, something that pays off for him. The combination of this actor and Ms. Aniston pays in sweet ways. Woody Harrelson does another of his specialties with his Jango, although he is seen briefly. The wonderful Margo Martindale, appears as Mike's mother, but her screen time is only limited. The same goes for Fred Ward, the enigmatic father.
Director Stephen Belber does a fine job in his film debut.
Sue, in turn, finds herself in a quandary. She is based in Baltimore. She is probably a girl with low self esteem who finds it is safe having sex with Mike on the day she was departing, but little did she think of the consequences of her actions. Mike is smitten. He has to go see her, and if possible stay with her. Sue is not exactly happy to see Mike come back into her life, so she sends him packing back to Arizona. Mike does not give up. When he finds out she has moved to Washington state, he makes it his priority. Unfortunately, Sue has gone back to her ex-punk boyfriend, now a businessman with a yogurt business. Will Mike impress Sue?
This is an indie film that came as a surprise when it turned up on a cable channel. Not having seen it, we decided to take a look. Directed and written by Stephen Belber, the film has a combination of styles, but it pays off because it does not pretends to be anything but a small film. The success of "Management" depended heavily on its star, Jennifer Aniston, an underrated actress whose choices always tend to be big studio features which only requires her to be pretty. As she clearly showed in "The Good Girl", it pays to have a good director behind her whom she trusts totally. This is not exactly what one would expect to be one of her first choices, but playing it subtly, Ms. Aniston's work seems to be the best excuse to watch "Management".
A tamed Steve Zahn plays Mike with a new perspective, something that pays off for him. The combination of this actor and Ms. Aniston pays in sweet ways. Woody Harrelson does another of his specialties with his Jango, although he is seen briefly. The wonderful Margo Martindale, appears as Mike's mother, but her screen time is only limited. The same goes for Fred Ward, the enigmatic father.
Director Stephen Belber does a fine job in his film debut.