The Temp (1993)

Nice guy junior exec Peter doesn't play dirty but unfortunately, some of his colleagues do. In comes Kris, his new temp, who is bright and efficient and saves him. She's willing to play dirty for Peter.

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers:

Kevin Falls (story), Tom Engelman (story)

Stars:

Timothy Hutton, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dwight Schultz

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Hutton	...	Peter Derns
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Kris Bolin
Dwight Schultz	...	Roger Jasser
Oliver Platt	...	Jack Hartsell
Steven Weber	...	Brad Montroe
Colleen Flynn	...	Sara Meinhold
Faye Dunaway	...	Charlene Towne
Scott Coffey	...	Lance
Dakin Matthews	...	Dr. Feldman
Maura Tierney	...	Sharon Derns
Lin Shaye	...	Rosemary
Michael Winters	...	Mercer
Daniel C. Swanson	...	Nathan Derns
Demene Hall	...	Marla Higgins (as Demene E. Hall)
Jesse Vint	...	Larry

Storyline

A cookie company takeover has employees scrambling to make a case for continued employment. An executive's administrative assistant takes paternity leave, and he gets a temp who is too good to be true, doing tasks at a fast pace and doing quite a bit of creative work for the project. The executive starts noticing that all the obstacles to his climb up the corporate ladder are disappearing, including the death of some of his rivals. When his regular admin returns to work, his temp, who has made it clear that she wishes to stay with him, begins her own accelerated climb up the ladder, and he begins wondering if she was responsible for the removal of the obstacles.

---

Plot Keywords:

corporate ladder | cookie company | serial killer | office politics | upward mobility | 

---

Taglines:

Don't get mad. Get promoted.

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and scenes of violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ambición fatal

Filming Locations:

North Coast, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,877,744, 12 February 1993, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,419,876

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbus Circle Films,Paramount Pictures,Permut Presentations

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role played by Faye Dunaway was first offered to Diane Ladd: Dunaway and Ladd had both appeared in the film Chinatown (1974) in which Ladd's character impersonates Dunaway's. Dunaway was given the role as she was agreeable to a lesser fee than that asked by Ladd and also did not wish the star billing which Ladd did.

---

Goofs

Though the movie takes place in Portland, Oregon, one of the characters is listening to a Seattle radio station, which would not be available in Portland.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Peter Derns: Kris. These are the pictures that Charlene was talking about just before she fell and died. I didn't call her that night and tell her that there was an emergency at the bakery. You did... on my behalf. You were going to kill her and pin the murder on me because you knew she was on to you, wasn't she? She knew you didn't go to Stanford. She knew you lied about having a family. And you knew that you weren't going to rise any higher here as long as Charlene was around.
Kris Bolin: I was going to ...
[...]

---

Connections

Features The Arsenio Hall Show (1989)

---

Soundtracks

Falling In Love
Composed by Alec Gould

User Reviews

Standard, watchable thriller.

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. (**)