Management (film)
Encyclopedia
Management is a 2009 romantic
comedy-drama
directed by Stephen Belber
and starring Jennifer Aniston
and Steve Zahn
. It premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
and received a limited theatrical release on May 15, 2009.
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's initially flabbergasted by his advances, and rushes to get him out of her room. 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.
. 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 rock
er 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, Mike tells Sue to leave.
). 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.
, which summarized critics' conclusion that
"[c]lever and often beguiling performances by Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston can't revive this sweetly misguided stalker romance." The film earned a 50/100 "metascore" on Metacritic
.
was released on September 29, 2009. It has grossed 3,753,546 in US DVD sales.
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
directed by Stephen Belber
Stephen Belber
Stephen Belber is an American playwright , screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Belber was born in Washington, D.C.. He studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and moved to New York at the age of 25. There he unwittingly moved in with a roommate with AIDS,...
and starring Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
and Steve Zahn
Steve Zahn
-Early life:Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carleton E. Zahn, a retired Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School...
. It premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
2008 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008...
and received a limited theatrical release on May 15, 2009.
First Act and Introduction of Characters
Steve Zahn
-Early life:Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carleton E. Zahn, a retired Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School...
) works at his parents' motel as the night manager. One day he sees Sue (Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
), 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's initially flabbergasted by his advances, and rushes to get him out of her room. 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.
Second Act
Mike realizes his feelings for Sue and flies to her home in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as 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
Margo Martindale
Margo Martindale is an American stage, television and film actress. In 2011, Martindale won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Mags Bennett on Justified.-Early life:...
) 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
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
), a former punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
er 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
James Hiroyuki Liao
James Hiroyuki Liao is an American television, film and theatre actor.-Life and career:Liao was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and is a 2004 graduate of the Juilliard School's drama division. He also studied at the Marjorie Ballentine Studio. In his acting work, he has also been credited as James...
), 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
Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company song)
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song by British supergroup Bad Company. The song originally appeared on the LP Straight Shooter in April 1975 and was released as a single in August of the same year...
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, Mike tells Sue to leave.
Third Act and Ending
After spending four months in a Buddhist monastery, Mike returns to the motel, now being run solely by his father (Fred WardFred Ward
Freddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
). 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
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
, 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
- Jennifer AnistonJennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
as Sue Claussen - Steve ZahnSteve Zahn-Early life:Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carleton E. Zahn, a retired Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School...
as Mike Flux - Woody HarrelsonWoody HarrelsonWoodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
as Jango - Matthew GoodeMatthew GoodeMatthew William Goode is an English actor. His notable films have included Match Point, Watchmen, Brideshead Revisited, Leap Year, Imagine Me and You and A Single Man.-Early life:...
as Peter Claussen - Emily MortimerEmily MortimerEmily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
as Amelia Flux - Mark RuffaloMark RuffaloMark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
as Geoffrey Cromwell - Seann William ScottSeann William ScottSeann William Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series...
as Michael Claussen - Elizabeth BanksElizabeth BanksElizabeth Maresal Mitchell , known professionally as Elizabeth Banks, is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy...
as Brooke Cromwell - Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
as Oliver Cromwell - Patrick WilsonPatrick WilsonPatrick Wilson may refer to:*Patrick Wilson , US theater and film actor*Patrick Wilson , Saint Lucian boxer*Patrick Wilson , British musician/composer...
as Stuart Claussen - Helen HuntHelen HuntHelen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
as Kim Flux - Henry WinklerHenry WinklerHenry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
as Gilbert Claussen - Seth RogenSeth RogenSeth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
as Theodore - Fred WardFred WardFreddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
as Jerry Flux - Margo MartindaleMargo MartindaleMargo Martindale is an American stage, television and film actress. In 2011, Martindale won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Mags Bennett on Justified.-Early life:...
as Trish Flux - James Hiroyuki LiaoJames Hiroyuki LiaoJames Hiroyuki Liao is an American television, film and theatre actor.-Life and career:Liao was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and is a 2004 graduate of the Juilliard School's drama division. He also studied at the Marjorie Ballentine Studio. In his acting work, he has also been credited as James...
as Al - Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
as Barry
Reception
Management received mixed reviews from critics, garnering only 46% positive reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, which summarized critics' conclusion that
"[c]lever and often beguiling performances by Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston can't revive this sweetly misguided stalker romance." The film earned a 50/100 "metascore" on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Home media
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on September 29, 2009. It has grossed 3,753,546 in US DVD sales.