It’s a common bit in films for a woman to be torn between two men. It’s also common for one of the men to be successful, but just not right for her, and the other to be kind of a loser, but completely and utterly devoted to her. Management milks this bit for all it’s worth and has some highlights, but in the end is a little too predictable.

Jennifer Aniston stars as the aforementioned torn woman, Sue, and is a little more homely and run-down than her usual roles. She works a very boring job, selling paintings to motels, and has the expected simple haircut and dark, simple suits. While on a business trip to Arizona she meets Mike (Steve Zahn), and he begins turning Sue’s world upside down. Zahn isn’t the typical, fun-loving guy expected in this type of role. He’s pretty sad, kind of weird and creepy, but gives Sue the attention she never got from her ex, Jango (Woody Harrelson). And while viewers can tell that Mike’s intentions are sweet, him bringing Sue some wine while she’s in her room alone and suggesting they drink together just seems scary. Maybe this would have worked in a different decade.

And so the journey begins of Mike chasing after Sue. He even goes to her hometown with no money and stays at her place. The question that will come up while watching this in the film is why Sue would let him stay. Viewers can tell that she is intrigued by him, but she’s also fairly wary and shocked by his behavior. It could be in part because of Sue’s meek personality, but writer/director Stephen Belber just doesn’t give enough of an explanation. It’s hard to think of a woman who would not be fairly freaked out by Mike’s behavior. It’s almost as if Sue’s living in a different world where quickly shacking up with complete strangers is normal.

As far as the actors go, they work at times. Steve Zahn comes off perfectly as a guy stuck in a small town and struggling to get out. He seems harmless enough, but he also seems completely desperate--which is part of what doesn’t work for the film. Simply put, he comes on too strong.

Woody Harrelson is clearly over-the-top as Jango, maybe too much, but it works for what audiences know about his character. Compared to how bland the other characters in the film are, though, he could have toned it down a bit.

Jennifer Aniston is always hit-and-miss for me. It’s unclear if it is because she’s so associated with “Friends” or if her personal life has just taken over the media to such an extent that seeing her as any character can be difficult. She plays the role of Sue the way it should be played, though, but it still isn’t enough. She never really breaks through for the viewer to understand her motives and where she is coming from.

The highlight of the film is James Liao (as Al), who is the perfect comic relief in a movie that is a bit slow moving. Liao has wonderful timing and delivery. Every scene he is in comes to life, and he truly captivates the audience. However, his character seems to have the open and willing heart that audiences should be seeing in Mike.

Despite its quick running time (94 minutes), Management is slow in that everything takes quite a while to get going and viewers see all the steps in every major action that is about to happen, which isn’t necessary in a film. Audiences are taken through the whole story, when we should just skip bits and pieces here and there and get to the major moments. Also, the hardest part of any movie can be its ending and wrapping up the story in an appropriate way. Management drops the ball on that. Its ending feels a bit unnatural and is exactly what audiences would expect.

Overall, Management is like the stories of its characters: it has its good moments and its bad. If that’s enough to keep an audience’s attention, that would be on a viewer-by-viewer basis. Management is one of those films that will hit a note at times or just fail to register, depending on who is watching.

Management is now playing in select theaters.

For more information, visit Management’s official Web site.