"Management": A romantic comedy not living up to its potential

You would think that the combination of Jennifer Aniston's warmth and Steve Zahn's goofiness would result in a romantic comedy of rare charm. Unfortunately, in Stephen Belber's "Management," it doesn't. Aniston plays Sue, a rather remote corporate-art saleswoman who seems to live a life of utter blandness, except when she's helping the homeless. (It's sad to imagine that the sweet waitress from "Office Space" would end up like this, 10 years hence.) Zahn is Mike, an awkward man-child who's the night manager at his parents' small-town Arizona motel, and whose idea of small talk is "You have a great butt." They don't click on their initial meeting, and never do.

But the movie doesn't seem to notice this, and so "Management" unfolds as a sort of stalker romance, with Mike following Sue around the country (including a stop in Aberdeen, Wash., played by Portland) in the hopes of getting her to love him. Because Mike is such a charmless oddball, his behavior reads as creepy; because Sue is such a cipher (Aniston rarely gets to smile), we don't really care about what happens to her.

There are small pleasures sprinkled through the movie: funny performances by Woody Harrelson as Sue's eccentric ex-boyfriend (now a yogurt mogul in Aberdeen, of all places) and James Liao as an up-for-anything new friend of Mike's; an impromptu yet timely tribute to the late Ed McMahon; a nice silent shot of Mike smoking in the motel lobby, framed by a No Smoking sign. But you watch "Management" thinking of the comedy Aniston and Zahn could have made, and wishing you were watching that movie instead.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com