The Perfect Assistant (2008)

Touches You

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I have already commented on this film at great lengths- The perfect assistant- and it was never printed on your comments page, and I followed all the required rules -------- so don 't waste my time. Why 10 lines? I saw this film several times, it is a good film, but it had too many loopholes, parts of the plot of the story made no sense at all- for instance , how on earth can a woman walk into a hospital, kill someone and walk out without anyone seeing her. And David Wescott must have been a very STUPID man to say the least, as he failed to see how deeply in love his assistant was with him- then he takes her to NY on a business, trip, plies her with champagne sweet words of praise plus a gift of a watch, overwhelmed she gives him a big hug an kiss on the mouth, he turns on her immediately, won't accept an apology or explanation from her- oh come on. - MEN!!!

Josie's portrayal of Rachel is riveting. Those ice chip eyes, maniacal grin and posh attitude all combine to produce a character who, since she's only doing what she feels in her heart (albeit a black heart), works better than a cardboard, intentional villain.Rachel loves her boss ~ well .. 'love' may be too tame a word .. she yearns to POSSESS her boss and his daughter, Isabelle. There are some roadblocks: the sick wife who is 'getting better', the colleague who treats Rachel as - hey! imagine this: a secretary, and the fact that David, while he acknowledges Rachel's unfailing devotion to 'the company' (seriously?), has no personal affection for her other than gratitude.Then we have Nora. Nora is Rachel's cousin. She's weird and chirpy, has trouble with boundaries, and is nosy to boot, but otherwise is just a plain-Jane who wishes Rachel were more like a friend than an obligatory housemate. I think Rachel is unthinkably snobbish where Nora is concerned, and Nora's concern is that Rachel's obsession with David causes the most conflict. The tragic fall downstairs garners nothing more than a faked anguish as Rachel calls paramedics. Here we see the utter void where anybody but David occupies Rachel's brain & heart. He is not just her boss. David is her skin, and she will not be separated from him. "This can't happen. ... This can't happen." (shakes head as she ponders Mrs. Wescott's recuperation).David himself is understandably distracted or I think he would have clued in sooner to the cloying, effusive attention. He's a brilliant businessman, but apparently doesn't perceive subtleties in personal relationships. He's literally the last to know. It took a terribly inappropriate come-on to wake him up, then David was swift to deal with the problem as kindly and cleanly as possible, but she's been so invested and tethered to him to have deluded herself; when he fires her, Rachel concludes (after initially seeming to grasp reality) that he wants to date her without being improper.Showing up at David's house with a huge stuffie for Isabelle, Rachel admits to David that she loves him and thinks he let her go to set a good example at work, but that he can love her since his wife is gone. He is livid at this point: not only has Rachel completely ignored every word he said, she intruded on his sanctity and insinuated herself in his daughter's life. Now that he has seen what Rachel's been up to all this time, he clearly wants nothing to do with her ever again: she is no longer welcome in his life...... Rachel ain't havin' that.

Although the leading lady played by Josie Davis was a bit over the wall, she still brought that evil doings expected in these "perfect" films on LMN. Cold steel blue eyes and manner, she traipsed through the film undaunted. You could hardly wait for her demise. I loved it when she didn't get what she wanted. That's how good she was. Evil, evil and more evil. Although I do challenge in what hospital a stranger can walk in at night without a nurse questioning her and then do her evil. I thought monitors were for keeping tabs on patients, yet no one came to the rescue when the lady's monitor went crazy. Oh, well, that's show biz. I also liked Chris Potter from QUEER AS FOLK fame. Natural in his acting and believable with a difficult role. Unlike Perry King who always seems to succumb to his evil ladies. Rachel Hunter brought a likable maturity to the fold. Weak spots were Sophie Gendron, with her Novocaine lips and Deborah Pollitt as the plain Jane weird sister. Both were not actresses but a freak of nature. All in all, thanks to Davis, Potter and Hunter it wasn't that bad.

Having watched more than my share of Lifetime movies, I am constantly surprised at the creative ways the filmmakers switch things up. There is a format that these movies follow and it must be challenging to consistently find ways to keep them fresh--and more importantly, with this channel, entertaining.I think part of the reason why The Perfect Assistant was so enjoyable is that it features a collective of actors who work pretty consistently in these movies, and much like a basketball team that has played together for a long time, they have a fun time with what they are doing. While the user above pointed out Sophie's performance I have to say I completely disagree. Not only is she hot, but she brings a spark to the screen. If they were recasting Dallas, she'd fit right in.I've enjoyed a few movies she and some of the other cast have been in for Lifetime, and part of that enjoyment is seeing what type of character they'll be playing this time around. Is it the disingenuous friend? The unsuspecting sister? The co-worker with a nefarious plan? The roles are just "parts" to an actor. But in a cable TV movie, each of these roles is a part of the plot machinery that must move the story forward. So watching what choices fine actors like Ms. Gendron and Mr. Potter make with these roles is part of the delicious fun of watching the films.If you are a fan of puzzle movies, or cable drama thrills, than The Perfect Assistant is certainly going to be very satisfying. If not, then you might want to watch something else.