Love conquers all... almost!

Film review: Management

MANILA, Philippines - I have always firmly believed that one-night stands were never conceptualized for women. Making love for us females means there should be love to begin with. Unless a woman is engaged in the oldest profession, the rule is that she will not go to bed with someone for whom she feels no strong affection.

The movie Management starts with an exception to the rule. Here, a city-bred, intelligent, tough, high-flying career woman named Sue Claussen, who happens to have a nice butt (played by Jennifer Aniston), whimsically decides to have casual sex with Mike (Steve Zahn), the son of the owners of a small countryside motel in Arizona where she has a short work assignment.

For Sue, the sex was just a diversion from her hectic life — You kept on bugging me. I wanted to try something different. We had sex. Goodbye! I am going back to the city and continue with my busy life. What Sue fails to realize is that Mike would not settle for a fling. From the very start, the childlike, innocent and simple guy had fallen head over heels for her (who wouldn’t fall in love with Aniston?) and is willing to give up everything just to be with her. 

With just his one-way transportation money, he follows her to Baltimore where she works, then to Washington D.C., where she subsequently settles down. He could not understand how she could treat him as if nothing happened between them. And the more he saw Sue’s true, inner character (feeding homeless people from her personal funds, playing soccer for charity, insisting on recycling materials), the more he becomes besotted with her. (I particularly liked the very sweet scene where Mike, even as they were doing yoga, could not help but stare at Sue with his facial expression screaming “I adore you!”) She is the love of his life and will do anything and everything not to lose her. 

But Sue, who had intended to forget him from day one, has her own life, her own career and her own plans. 

Practicality dictates that she marry her former-punk boyfriend, now yogurt-mogul Jango (Woody Harrelson) and pursue her goals, including continuing with her charity work on a much bigger scale. But Mike is relentless in the pursuit of the object of his affection as he tries to do everything to convince her that even with a simple guy like him, she would be happy and have the life that she wants, and that she could attain her goals with him. 

What happens next is the main reason why you should go out and watch this cute, romantic and touching comedy.

Jennifer Aniston will always be Jennifer Aniston — a beautiful and great actress, classy and credible in whatever role given her. She is unafraid to show her body (which is remarkably well-toned) even if she is now above 40 (Brad Pitt, why, oh why?). In Management, she is presented with difficult choices from start to end, and every time she is pushed against the wall to make those choices, her face effectively evokes the difficulties she goes through in the process and the relief that washes over her face as she finally comes to her decision. Steve as Mike starts the movie acting like a dork (I had hoped against hope that he was not the lead actor) whose attentions a Jennifer Aniston will definitely not entertain. 

But as the movie progresses and he shows genuine love for Sue through so many funny and sometimes life-threatening antics, you would wish that in the end, he will be the one who gets the girl. His transformation, from someone unsure of himself and what he wants to do in life to a confident man firm in the belief that it was he and no other who could truly love Sue and make her happy, is clearly shown. Harrelson as Jango was outstanding as a supporting actor in the role of the punk former boyfriend/husband and I wished he had a meatier role. Although at the back of my mind I thought Brad Pitt would have been perfect for the role for better chemistry (don’t you think a Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston movie would be great at the tills?), I still highly recommend this movie to all those who believe in the adage “Love conquers all.” 

And for those who suffer from unrequited love, the movie was made for you and will teach you to never stop trying. Now, as for the women out there contemplating on experiencing a one-night-stand, please remember, the movie is an exception to the rule.

(Text author at 0927-5000833 or e-mail at [email protected]. Help build houses for the poor through the Gawad Kalinga by calling 718-1738 to 41 or texting 0917-5239777.)