DVD Release Date:  September 29, 2009
Theatrical Release Date:  May 15, 2009
Rating:  R (for language)
Genre:  Drama
Run Time:  93 min.
Director:  Stephen Belber
Actors:  Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, Fred Ward, Margo Martindale, James Hiroyuki Liao, Woody Harrelson

One slight premise plus one exceptional cast equals one enjoyable movie.

That's the equation for Management, a new film from writer/director Stephen Belber, known for his TV work in series such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Rescue Me—decent programs, but not the kind of credentials that might make one want to shell out for a night at the movies.

But Management is a great example of the power of casting. By giving Steve Zahn the starring role alongside Jennifer Aniston, we become witness to an unexpected, winning chemistry, thanks in large part to the impressive performances from the lead actors and stellar supporting work.

Zahn, so memorable as an emaciated prisoner in Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn and the philandering husband in Sunshine Cleaning, brings an awkward likeability to the character of Mike, night manager of the family-run Kingman Motor Inn in Arizona.

His gruff father (Fred Ward) and ailing mother (the wonderful character actress Margo Martindale) tend the books and work the front desk, enlisting their son's help in addressing customer complaints. When Sue (Jennifer Aniston), a corporate art saleswoman, checks into the motel, Mike is immediately smitten by her. He brings her a bottle of wine—a standard first-night gift, he tells her—but Sue rightly suspects that Mike has a romantic interest in her. That suspicion is confirmed when Mike arrives the next day with a bottle of champagne, a gift, Mike says, for those who stay a second night.

Sue demands to know Mike's intentions—is he looking for sex?—and permits him a certain degree of intimacy, hoping the brief thrill will be enough to get rid of him. No such luck. Mike wants something more, and so, it turns out, does Sue, who surprises Mike later with a sexual tryst in the motel's laundry room.

When Sue's job takes her away from Mike, he is left desperate and confused by the strange turn of events in his life. Working up his courage after a liquor-fueled night of contemplation, he buys a one-way plane ticket and chases Sue to her hometown in Maryland, where he escorts her to soccer practice and accompanies her on humanitarian and personal betterment adventures—among them handing out Burger King vouchers to the homeless and attending yoga classes.