'The Temp' is the kind of dark comedy you saw a lot of in the early 90s that's really tricky to pull off, and honestly when all is said and done I don't think it quite sticks the landing. But you know what? It's at least fun enough I can still recommend a watch.

Most of the movie plays almost like a family-friendly comedy that just happens to have murders and sexual situations (though not really a lot of sex), and the juxtaposition makes for some amusing scenes - I admit I laughed way harder at Dunaway's line "We've got to stop the bleeding" than I should have. But it also makes the whole thing feel like fluff, and it doesn't help that the last act has gone through some obvious and clunky rewrites (see the review headline).

The performances from pretty much the whole cast are what keep the movie going even when the plot and tone are all over the place. You won't regret watching 'The Temp', but you probably won't think much about it once it's done.

Random sidenote: I have no idea how intentional it was to have Timothy Hutton and Steve Weber sport the exact same wavy 90s hairdo to the point where in certain shots you can't tell them apart.

always lean, but in a good way, as we know, this gorgeous creature just destroyed herself later in her career with anorexia, however, that aside, this is an unusual variant of Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct, because in this movie, somehow, despite the full onslaught that she gave him, Timothy Hutton manages NOT to have sex with Boyle...sort of like a friend without benefits! LOL.....

Nevertheless, and in spite of the fact that he remained chaste in that matter, in the spirit of those movies, she still does manage to make a whole bunch of untoward events happen to further her cause and career, often at his expense, but how did she manage? The guy with his hand in the shredder...the Wasp inside Oliver Platt's car, the brake line of her own vehicle tampered with , with HER in it along with Hutton? Are these plot holes, or is there something more?

The movie will leave you scratching your head, afterward, however, it is such a great performance by Boyle, that it merits 3 stars, despite some sloppy work by the production people.

And ( spoiler alert ), if Faye Dunaway was the victim in the end scene, why did she hit Hutton over the head with a pipe???

these , and other inconsistencies, are what downgrades the rating of the movie. I would love to hear the director himself explain away all these plot holes.

Timothy Hutton is fun to look at and Laura Flynn(?) is gorgeous...but her character murdered so amazingly efficiently you literally never saw how she did it...shredded hand? Wasp not only in the car but in his mouth?? Hanging a full grown man all by herself??? I was mostly convinced 1/3 of the way through she had supernatural powers. Sadly, no. But I'm still very worried that a woman as skilled as she isn't going to be stopped simply because T.Hutton fires her at the end. Abruptly. Like the writers got a little stoned and tired and just said, "Enough. Fire this bitch already." Too many holes to be more than 2 stars. Well, Timothy Hutton almost makes it a 3.

This was a good film featuring Timothy Hutton's acting ability. It is a shame he has not been given more feature film roles. Overall, the film had a good plot but there were some holes in the story that were not explained.

I saw this movie some years ago when it was on a VHS tape. It's about a successful executive played by Timothy Hutton who hires a temporary secretary, Lara Flynn Boyle. Similar to fatal attraction in a sense where he ends up having an affair with her, but she wants his job, not just him and she goes after it. Don't want to spoil the plot here by telling you any more about it, but let's just say that the sexy masturbation scene is really hot and the end is worth waiting for. This DVD is well worth the money.

This was a good movie that didn’t get much attention- not amazing but fun and easy to watch

She made the cookie recipe. Showed lots of smarts. A beauty. I'd never get rid of her unless she stole something or gave away secrets or assaulted someone. Some counseling about boundaries, yes, but otherwise way too valuable to fire.

Very predictable plot. Good performance by T Hutton and very good by Lara Flynn Boyle. But not worth investing an hour and a half.