Stephen Belber’s new film Management effectively blends “whimsical quirkiness, straight-faced absurdity, and affecting melancholy,” said Joe Leydon in Variety. This “dramedy” about an underachiever (Steve Zahn) who lucks into a one-night stand with a beautiful guest (Jennifer Aniston) at his mom’s motel, then flies across the country to try to pursue a relationship with her, features great performances by the leads and is highly “likable.” (watch the trailer for Management)
Aniston and Zahn do “endow their screwballish characters with emotional conviction in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of their tangled relationship,” said Andrew Sarris in The New York Observer. Still, although Management “offers a bit of sunny but not entirely silly escapism,” the film’s “narrative is nothing if not far-fetched.”
Not to mention “appallingly creepy,” said Bill Weber in Slant Magazine. Management “may blaze new, jaw-dropping territory” in the “annals of romantic stalker comedies.” This movie is a huge step down for Aniston. And “what kind of mass-culture industry tries to pluck the heartstrings with foul fantasies like this?”
