Management

Why has major screen stardom eluded the talented, personable Jennifer Aniston, who could have been another Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock? Part of the answer lies in her willingness to appear in films like Management, a love story that doesn't have enough punch to qualify it for airing on the Hallmark Channel, let alone on the big screen. Aniston plays Sue, a Baltimore-based salesperson of “corporate art” (those boring landscapes you see in banks, office buildings, and hotel rooms) who's dissatisfied with her life. She'd like to be making a contribution to society, preferably with a likeminded guy at her side, but so far it hasn't happened. While in Arizona, Sue has a brief encounter with Mike (Steve Zahn), a painfully shy night manager at a motel, who ends up quitting his job and following Sue back to Baltimore. Not surprisingly, Sue is unnerved by this development, but Mike does his best to convince her he's not just some creepy stalker. Although director Stephen Belber's Management tries hard to be quirky, it defies logic and credulity that Sue would ever give loser Mike the time of day back in Baltimore (and the chemistry between Aniston and solid second banana Zahn never amounts to much). Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Stephen Belber and costar Steve Zahn, deleted scenes (16 min.), a gag reel (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lackluster romcom.] (E. Hulse)