Customer Reviews

The Temp

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having worked in an environment where temporary employees were utilized, THE TEMP offers a sardonic look at one such temp whose ambitious goals elevate her to a rather auspicious position. I have always enjoyed Lara Flynn Boyle's work; her performance on TWIN PEAKS was always worth watching. She chews up this role deliciously, without going over the top; Faye Dunaway looks great (even ten years ago), and she reigns in her potentially campy performance with a vengeance; Timothy Hutton does well in a role he is used to playing--the misunderstood underdog. The movie builds to a pretty good climax, and then unfortunately deflates it with a rather weak ending.
But, getting there is fun and this movie works in its oft-abused genre.

With a breakout performance, Lara Flynn Boyle tears her role to shreds as the psychotic, ploying nutcase of an office temp out to systematically destroy every co-worker this b%&*# comes across. As she spins her web of lust, lies and greed, we the viewer helplessly lie back and watch her catch her next victim, devouring them with no apologies or regrets. Lara plays a convincing deadly Diva, along the same lines as some of the greats like Kathy Bates in Misery, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. This film is worth checking out if you like strong woman characters with a tinge of evil running through their blood.

**** REVIEW INCLUDES "GREAT DIALOG" SPOILERS ****

Wow was I surprised to see all the positive reviews of this movie here on Amazon. I thought I was alone in being entertained by this. External reviews often completely trash this movie without finding anything positive.

Well get this chemical makeup: Stunning and popular star Lara Flynn Boyle overtly titillating us and wearing skimpy outfits even including a bikini(!), Timothy Hutton, habitual scene stealer Oliver Platt during younger and thinner days, superstar Faye Dunaway, and Steven Webber from the TV show "Wings." How's that for voltage? Add in a proven plotline with a long pedigree (Hand that rocks the cradle, Single White Female, many more), some great whacky dialog, and top it off with the inspired idea of a corporate thriller set in a cookie company with the climax in an industrial kitchen, and yeah...I'll bank that. How could you possibly lose?

Actually I really like this movie, even just watching it straight. The only problem I have is Faye Dunaway's really bad, hammy, mugging acting, and toward the end Boyle picks up some of the same style, but other than that I like it. However, if you make me analyze it, ok, it's riddled with plot holes, dropped threads, unanswered questions, implausabilities, etc, but that really doesn't matter if the movie succeeds in entertaining me. And it does. So with that in mind, you could look at it as one of the "so bad it's good" genre, and it does succeed on that level. I agree with others that the ending seems as tho it was written on the spot when someone lost the rest of the script.

It actually has a lot of good stuff in it. For example:

One of my favorite literary devices is the "buddy thing," which is an entertainment staple: Laurel and Hardy, Skipper and Gilligan, Kip and friend in Bosom Buddies, Balky and Larry in "Perfect Strangers," etc. This movie features that, but in four directions: Hutton and his boss, Hutton and his buddy (Webber), Hutton and his rival (Platt), Hutton and Boyle. Lots of fun there.

The highlight for me is some of the whacky dialog, which I'm still quoting years later. For example:
"You're BLOWIN' it man."
"YOU'VE GOT THIS PROBLEM."
And one of the greatest lines ever:
"Good gosh how hard can it be? I'm not asking you to splice DNA you just DO IT!"

Wonderful stuff.

Finally, it's no surprise that Hutton and Platt both turn in performances that are well worth watching.

well the casting is good. boyle looks great. hutton does his EMOTIONALLY SCARRED role good (again). and faye dunaway to boot? trying to kill and screw her way to the top, temp harrington excels as a natural born liar who is able to respond effectively to any confrontation. I really liked that element of realism. We've all met people like that. There are some clever killings, and a memorable dismemberment. such of a happy ending as hutton's character finds confidence and authority in his capture of a crook. slick and glossy. sexy in a sick way.

Very suspenseful film stars the (...) Lara Flynn Boyle as a temp who is climbing the corporate ladder faster than her boss (Timothy Hutton) and makes his life a living hell the entire way
by sabotaging his work and murdering various executives. Boyle turns in a delightfully wicked performance that rises beyond (...), and Hutton's performance as Peter Derns is exceptionally true to what any man would do. Direction and script make this taut thriller look very slick and sound authentic and real. All of the characters seem like they could be living next door. My only concern is the ending in which it rushes and tries to be dramatic with the last two words spoken by Hutton, but it only mildly succeeds. Great flick however and highly recommended!

Not to be taken serious...........look at Lara's hairstyles throughout. At times she has is way bigger than her body. Like Cousin It when she jumps into a pool. Full of goofy dialogue and plot holes galore, just take this trashy movie in fun. Don't analize.

Gulity Pleasure..Not a thriller, nor a comedy, not film noir nor oscar winner just pointless fun, I get a kick out of these films that dont take things seriously, "The Crush" w/ Alicia Silverstone is another!

Like a private pleasure, THE TEMP moves quickly and predictably. None-the-less, in the what-ya-see-is-what-ya-get vein, this cuddly low budget offering is irresistably sexy and watchable. Void of any sense of morality, Hutton and Boyle look great. Is he paranoid in suspecting his temp (or is it "temptress?), is an obsessive sociopath dedicated to make it to the top? Or is his mental illness re-curring? Lara Flynn Boyle is well over the top in her portrayal of THE TEMP; and Hutton equally satisfying as her boss. But what of the death's of co-workers? Why is she always linked to them? And why is her boss the only one to notice? An abrupt ending sees that....

"The Temp" rips away the thin veneer of civility and exposes the dog-eat-dog world of a cookie company. "The Temp" was all right for a momentary diversion, but I wouldn't offer it a full-time permanent position with benefits. I would blame the director, but I heard that he was forced to change the ending by one of the actors so she wouldn't look bad.

Faye Dunaway played the big boss. She is very good at acting bossy, perhaps too good, if she forced the director to change the ending. No wonder there were so many loose ends never tied up.

Here is an example of the sloppy plot: Lance, a secretary, gets his hand caught in a paper shredder. Later, he is back as the secretary for another employee, but his hand is fine. Did I miss something? I won't give away the ending, but there are many inconsistencies never explained.

Lara Flynn Boyle as Kris Bolin, the temp, was efficient, attractive, and you really believed that she would do anything to get ahead. She does that kind of character very well. She seems in control, but she is just one cookie short of a Happy Meal, and could go totally psycho at any moment.

Timothy Hutton was Peter Derns, Kris Bolin's boss, and he seemed like he might almost be too nice for the cutthroat business world he was in. He was supposed to have a dark side, as he was in therapy and his therapist warned him about keeping his Mr. Hyde in check. I kept waiting for that side to come out, but it seemed like no matter what was happening, he was always lukewarm.

Oliver Platt and Steven Weber were also under utilized. Bottom line is "The Temp" was a cookie cutter thriller that only kept you entertained temporarily, but when the cookie crumbled, the pieces didn't fit together.

Cougar Club (2007) Faye Dunaway was Edith Birnbaum
Kinsey (2004) Timothy Hutton was Paul Gebhard; and Oliver Platt was Herman Wells
Beautiful Girls (1996) Timothy Hutton was Willie Conway
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Steven Weber was Marc Nussbaum
Threesome (1994) Lara Flynn Boyle was Alex
Wayne's World (1992) Lara Flynn Boyle was Stacy
Postcards from the Edge (1990) Oliver Platt was Neil Bleene
Barfly (1987) Faye Dunaway was Wanda Wilcox
Chinatown (1974) Faye Dunaway was Evelyn Mulwray
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Faye Dunaway was Bonnie Parker

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Peter Derns: Where'd she get the picture?
Rosemary: It came with the frame. She bought a set--five for $9.99 from Thrifty's.
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