The Temp (1993)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Kevin Falls, based on a story by Falls and Tom Engelman
Directed by Tom Holland
Starring Timothy Hutton, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dwight Schultz, Oliver Platt, Steven Weber, and Faye Dunaway

Released by: Paramount Home Video
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it.

Peter Derns (Hutton) is knee deep in a new marketing campaign for his company, he's got a huge report due by noon tomorrow, and, to top it all off, his secretary's wife just went into labor. However, the temp agency has sent a fantastic temp named Kris (Boyle) who comes in and changes Peter's life. The only problem is that she's a little more ambitious than she really should be. It seems that she's willing to do anything...no, really...to get ahead in her job.

Well, this movie is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The suspense that's created works very well and the actors pull it off. Hutton is perfect as the junior executive floundering with his own stereotypical mid-90s family problems. Boyle takes her character a little deeper than just the pretty little temp with the great set of legs who really wants to see her boss work his way up the corporate ladder. She adds just a little hint of devious undertones to everything she does so that you never know exactly what she's going to do next. The story line is sort of predictable, but the actors do such a good job of wrapping you up in it, that it almost doesn't matter. The writers do a very good job of creating very plausible "coincidences" where various people wind up dead and Boyle does an incredible job of making you consider that she's behind it all.

The DVD, as far as features go, is a vacuum. There is nothing on here in the way of special features whatsoever. It might have been nice to have some interviews with the cast or crew or maybe a commentary track (Tom Holland doesn't seem too busy, at least film-wise, these days) or some behind the scenes stuff would have been better than nothing. At the very least, they presented us with a widescreen presentation, but the fact that there's nothing else on it makes it not worth adding to the collection permanently.

So, if you feel like a doing an almost ten year flashback, pick this one up as a rental someday. You won't be disappointed. And, if they ever come out with a special edition, it might be worth owning. Only time will tell.