Lara Flynn Boyle Movie:

Editorial Review:
Enjoyably trashy fun. The Temp stars Timothy Hutton as an executive with a history of paranoia and jealousy. When his company is taken over by a large corporation, everyone scrambles and jockeys for position--but Hutton finds himself rising to the top with the assistance of his temporary secretary (Lara Flynn Boyle, wearing a series of escalating hairdos and short skirts). As rivals and foes start turning up dead, Hutton struggles to figure out if his madness is returning, or is his curvaceous secretary taking her job a little too seriously? The Temp isn't as gloriously over-the-top as one might wish, but it is a ridiculous yet completely watchable potboiler with lots of daffy dialogue and cheesy performances; the cast includes Faye Dunaway, Oliver Platt, and Maura Tierney. --Bret Fetzer

The Temp [Region 2] Reviews:
She bought a set--five for $9.99 from Thrifty's
2009-09-29 - "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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GREAT WONDERFUL HAPPY EXPERIENCE
2009-04-23 - I LOVE THE PRICE, THE SERVICE AND THE TIME IT TOOK TO GET IN MY HANDS, GREAT JOB.

Just look at it in fun
2006-11-29 - 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.

The Temp is "Killer".
2006-08-09 - 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!

Gosh...I thought I was the only person that liked this movie
2006-03-04 - **** 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.