Fridae

Jennifer Aniston was born to play knockout-next-door type of roles. And she does so beautifully in Management, an average romantic comedy by writer-director Stephen Belber.  She plays a travelling sales representative who checks into a motel one night run by the lonely Steve Zahn, who falls for her instantly. That evening, he shows up at her room with a bottle of wine, claiming it’s a perk for all guests. After some flirtation, she lets him pat her butt – the first beautiful woman to let him do that for free. Well, almost for free. 

When she checks out of her room the next day, he decides to follow her home, only to find that she is already involved with a yogurt tycoon (Woody Harrelson). Nonetheless, he continues to woo her, as she slowly starts to see the good in him…

As actors, both Jennifer and Steve have immensely likeable qualities that transcend the bizarre storyline (could a hard-edged woman like her really fall for loser like him?). If writer-director Stephen had the smarts to let these two characters simply discover each other instead of throwing crazy gags and obstacles in their path, Management might have actually been a sweet romance, not a far-fetched formulaic romantic comedy wannabe that reminds us of all the far-fetched formulaic romantic comedies that have gone before.     

Better management next time, Stephen!