Maledetta ambizione

This is one of my "guilty pleasures" movies. A movie that has no real message and nothing profound to say. It's just fun to watch. (Con Air is another example for me.) The performances are more than adequate for this type of movie, so it is easy to watch.

Basic premise, Peter Derns (Timothy Hutton) gets a temp, Kris Bolin (Lara Flynn Boyle) that is smart, sexy and ambitious. She seems like a Godsend at first because she actually helps him in his dog-eat-dog world of marketing. His boss, Charlene (Faye Dunaway) is great in her supporting role as both mentor & menace.

One of the problems is that Peter is under mental supervision (aka: shrink) for supposed paranoia & extreme jealousy. When things start to go wrong as Kris works her way up the ladder, everyone thinks he's just paranoid. Hmm?

Well, you can probably guess what happens next. But even though this movie is predictable, it doesn't stop me from watching it whenever it's on. The actors are fun to watch, and very attractive. The sexual tension between Hutton & Boyle is believable. And there are plenty of deaths to keep it moving right along!

Just a fun movie, nothing major or worthy of the Academy of Dramatic Arts- but then not everything has to be. Just enjoy this for what it is- a guilty pleasure.

THE TEMP is one of those glossy 90s office thrillers that you can watch with one eye closed, walk away from it for a few minutes, come back to it and not miss a thing. Michael Douglas made one of these as well, 1994's DISCLOSURE. Lara Flynn Boyle, the main reason for watching this, plays a nutjob temp who fills in for corporate exec Tim Hutton's regular secretary. Pretty soon, his in-office competitors and acquaintances are dropping like flies, and the very existence of the company is threatened -- all thanks to the evil machinations of the delectable and obsessed Ms. Boyle, who is lots of fun to watch as she slithers about and whispers dire warnings in her boss' ear. Hutton perhaps plays his part a little too straight, but old-timer Faye Dunaway as the beleaguered company head tears up the scenery in every one of her too-few scenes. Dunaway at least knows when she's working a turkey jerky. Try watching Boyle and not think of her in WAYNE'S WORLD, by the way. She played a similar nutjob in that comedy classic.

A standardized psychological thriller, in the "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" mold; we have yet another female character that seduces the men with her attractiveness and at first appears to be incredibly genial and helpful, but gradually turns into a possessive, obsessive person, ready to try anything to achieve her goals. The film is overly predictable and long but fairly entertaining. Lara Flynn Boyle is not quite up to the level we'd like her to be, but Timothy Hutton is an effortlessly likable actor, easy to identify with. (**)

I found this video in an ex-rental shop, i had never heard of it and bought it for 50 eurocents. When i came home and searched on how people voted for this film. The average vote was not encouraging so i left it on the shelf for months. When i decided to watch it, it was surprisingly good. Not a classic and sometimes very predictable, but never dull. Good performances by the leading characters, especially Laura Flynn Boyle and Faye Dunaway. I rate this film 8 out 0f 10.

The stalker from hell was the most popular plot in Hollywood in the early 1990s . In fact come to think of it , it was probably the only Hollywood plot in those days . Never a week went by without a major film studio releasing film featuring a spurned lover from hell , a lodger from hell , a cop from hell a flatmate from hell etc . What I didn`t know was that there was a personal assistant from hell film called THE TEMP untill I saw it on TV the other night .

I`ve got to admit I`ve got a soft spot for these type of movies even though they`re all the same . As you`d expect THE TEMP plays out like the rest of them with an everyman character finding his life falling apart with the climax involving a physical life or death struggle . Timothy Hutton plays the everyman character fairly well in this , and the final scene isn`t as how you`d expect it . Without doubt the best scene involves some public samples of biscuits .

If you like these type of movies you`ll like THE TEMP . If not you won`t