Management (2008) - Great star chemistry in under-appreciated romcom

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+ Best On-Screen Couple of the Year: Jennifer Aniston & Steve Zahn

 

 

A lazily clad handsy fellow wanting to grab Jennifer Aniston's butt is the picture used to attract audiences on this questionable poster for Stephen Belber's Management

A man running his parents' Arizona motel without a life partner himself one day has a beautiful businesswoman as guest for a couple of nights, who subsequently drives off with his heart. - But can he score her for the long run?

 

Management is written and directed by debuting Stephen Belber (Tape (2001, writer)).

Steve Zahn (Night Train (2009)) is really natural and funny, which also goes for Jennifer Aniston (The Edge (1992-93)), and the two share real chemistry in this delightful and different romcom. It isn't sugar-coated but it is packed with charm. There's fine supporting performances from James Hiroyuki Liao (Prison Break (2008, TV-series)) as Zahn's Chinese friend Al, and Woody Harrelson (Ellen (1998, TV-series)) swings in a role as an aggressive punk-rocker ex to Aniston.

Management doesn't reach poetic or any unforgettable heights, but it is a damn sympathetic crowd-pleaser.

 

Related post:

 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

 Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 2.5 mil. $

= Uncertain (but likely a box office disaster; projected return of 0.12 times its cost)

[Management premiered 7 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place in Oregon, including Portland, from October - November 2007. Aniston received 8-9 mil. $ for performances in the years around Management, and so likely received something in this neighborhood for the film, which may therefore easily have cost 20-30 mil. $. This would make it a box office disaster. The film opened #17 to a 378k $ first weekend in 212 theaters in North America, where it only diminished from there and grossed 934k $ (37.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Brazil with 483k $ (19.3 %) and Mexico with 295k $ (11.8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The-Numbers asserts that the film made 3.9 mil. $ on home video sales in North America, which, if added into the equation, would change the film's status to that of 'merely' a mega-flop. Belber returned with Match (2014). Aniston returned in 30 Rock (2008, TV-series) and theatrically in Marley & Me (2008); Zahn in Monk (2009, TV-series) and theatrically in Night Train (2009). Management is rotten at 47 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Management?

Synecdoche, New York (2008) - Kaufman's depressing, pretentious debut, eerily tied to Hoffman's tragic real-life end

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A bizarre, manipulated version of a Manhattan cityscape - with a Zeppelin floating through its overcrowded sky, - makes up this interest-building poster for Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York

New York theater director Caden experiences that his wife leaves him to go to Berlin with their daughter. He ventures on new relationships and a mammoth play set in a warehouse, which he works on for 40 years!

Synecdoche, New York is written and directed by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich (1999, screenwriter)) in his directorial debut.
The debacle of Synecdoche, New York starts with Philip Seymour Hoffman's (Red Dragon (2002)) insufferably anguished performance as Caden, which in an uncanny way presages the great actor's own real-life drug-fueled death in 2014: Caden is staging Death of a Salesman, which is the devastating play that Hoffman was actually acting in, when he let his demons get the best of him, resulting is his drug-fueled death in 2014. Furthermore Caden's therapist in Synecdoche, New York asks him, why he killed himself: "I don't know", he answers. Hoffman's lead character is also a hypochondriac, highly involved in his own bowel movements and seemingly incapable of experiencing joy.
Synecdoche, New York is a long row of absurdist scenes, (Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown (1999)) lives in a burning house, for instance), where actors overtake each others' roles, - which is understandably confusing, - while audiences like me will find themselves either zoning out or downright falling asleep.
An impressive amount of work has been done to erect this blown-up pile of ideas, which never becomes a satisfying whole. It is a film about death and death anxiety, essentially, but Kaufman breaks his nose on Synecdoche, New York and looks pretentious.

Related posts:

Charlie Kaufman: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Anomalisa (2015) or, Depressed Adult Male

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life (writer)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) or, The Gong Show Killer (writer)
Being John Malkovich (1999) - Jonze, Kaufman and Malkovich's great triumph (writer)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 4.3 mil. $
= Box office disaster (returned 0.21 times its cost)
[Synecdoche, New York premiered 23 May (Cannes Film Festival, France, in competition) and runs 123 minutes. Kaufman started the project with past collaborator Spike Jonze as an untraditional horror film project, which drew on the things that scare the two artists. The title is a play on Schenectady, New York, where much of the film is set. Shooting took place in New York from May - August 2007. The film opened #30 to a 172k $ first weekend in 9 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #21 and in 119 theaters, grossing 3 mil. $ (69.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 875k $ (20.3 %) and Italy with 187k $ (4.3 %). The film won 2/3 Independent Spirit nominations among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 5 notches higher than this one. He later made it his #1 film of the 00's, and even said it was a strong contender for his all-time Top 10 list. Kaufman returned with How and Why (2014, TV movie) and theatrically with Anomalisa (2015). Hoffman returned in Doubt (2008); Morton in The Daisy Chain (2008); Michelle Williams (Suite Francaise (2014)) in Mammut (2009); Catherine Keener (The Real Blonde (1997)) in A Summer in Genoa (2008). Synecdoche, New York is fresh at 68 % with a 6.75/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Synecdoche, New York?

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) - A great cast shine in fine and funny doll romance dramedy

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Adventureland (2009) - Mottola's personally inspired, funny coming-of-age romance

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+ Best Coming-of-Age Movie of the Year

Jesse Eisenberg appears to look into the distance with a daydreaming glare on this nostalgia-styled, neat poster for Greg Mottola's Adventureland

It is 1987, and James is going to Europe and then on to Columbia University. That is, until his parents' economy changes, and he instead has to take a job at the local amusement park, which becomes the beginning of an eventful summer.

Adventureland is the 3rd theatrical feature for great New-Yorker writer-director Greg Mottola (Superbad (2007)). It is an assured coming-of-age romcom that has more to it than most probably expect; both in terms of laughs, sharp observations, lines, situations and scenes, which feel real. Adventureland is a lot like a fun removed cousin to Stephen Chbosky's masterpiece The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012).
Jesse Eisenberg (Camp Hell (2010)) and Kristen Stewart (Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)) are charming together; Ryan Reynolds (Chaos Theory (2008)) is good as a park hustler, and Kristen Wiig (Sausage Party (2016)) and Bill Hader (The To Do List (2013)) are hilarious as the park owner couple.
Adventureland also boasts good music. It is a mature and solidly great movie, simply a fine time.

Related posts:

Greg Mottola: Paul (2011) - Pegg, Frost and Mottola delve into SF with mixed results

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 9.8 mil. $
Box office: 17.1 mil. $
= Big flop
[Adventureland premiered 19 January (Sundance) and runs 107 minutes. The script is based on Mottola's own experiences of working at the Farmingdale, New York amusement park Adventureland in the 1980s. Shooting took place in New York and Pennsylvania, including in the Kennywood Amusement Park, from October - November 2007, effectively hiding cold weather and sometimes even snowfall to achieve the narrative's summer setting. The film opened #6 to 5.7 mil. $ in North America, its peak there where it grossed 16 mil. $ (93.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 796k $ (4.7 %) and Australia with 95k $ (0.5 %).  The film was nominated for the Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award. Adventureland is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Adventureland?