La ayudante perfecta

I can't believe I watched the whole thing. For fans of any kind of thriller or suspense films, or any kind of drama, you are going to be seriously disappointed with this one. We have all seen the "trusted assistant is nutty stalker" movie a hundred times, so we expect something different when a new version is foisted on us. Every single second of this movie was predictable, from the start to the finish. There is not one surprise. Based on other comments here I stuck it out to the end, but oh did I regret it. We've seen it all before. And on top of that, the dialog was just horrible. Nobody speaks that way, no, not even to themselves. I will remark that Chris Potter was one of the few good things about this movie. He is actually an actor with talent. I really don't know what his agent was thinking when they got him mixed up in this mess. He needs to fire that person ASAP.

Be aware you have to stay with this film for it to gell together correctly. At the start of the movie, my finger was hovering over the off button for at least the first twenty minutes. I was close to the pressing point. But something in my mind stopped me from depressing the button.

The story starts out with David Prescott's (Potter) wife Carol (Marcil) being rushed to the hospital. David contacts his personal assistant, Rachel (Davis), to bring her up to speed and to cancel and rearrange meetings until his wife is better. However, Rachel isn't as stable as she appears. She sees David as one of the good men and is truly upset to hear about his wife. She asks how their daughter, Isabelle (Szalankiewicz) is coping. From here on in we get to see her slowly immerse herself into the Prescott's life and family as her delusion grows. It's this growth and the path it leads her down that makes this movie watchable. It gives the story twists and turns that show the workings of a broken mind. Her morals lose ground as her infatuation and obsession grow... how far will she go in what she believes to be true love?

I believe that had this been given to a stronger cast and director it would have been a fantastic thought-provoking and chilling film. However, what we get is an entertaining and easily watchable afternoon TV movie.

Though the direction is pretty standard for this style of flick more powerful atmosphere and tension were called for to add strength to the project. For me, the worst thing about the film was the acting. Especially from Josie Davis who is a little too over the top with her characterisation - less definitely would have been more. However, it's not a constant thing as there are times when she's spot on with her portrayal. Then there's Deborah Pollitt as Nora... okay, so I actually know people like this so she conveys a realistic character, however, with Josie Davis' performance it makes Pollitt's idiosyncrasies more than a little irritating. One annoying character per film is enough.

Since this film surprised me I would recommend it to all psychological thriller fans, though you have to stay with it for the full effect - it's a potboiler.

I actually really enjoyed this movie...and Sophie Gendron is a great actress! Check out DEMONS FROM HER PAST and A LOVER'S REVENGE. She is fantastic in both of these films.

(Actually DEMONS FROM HER PAST is one of my favorite Lifetime films to date).

I also thought Josie Davis's character in TPA was very believable. I haven't seen her on screen in awhile and thought she played a great psycho.

I watch a lot of Lifetime movies...and this was actually one of the better ones.

Check it out...see for yourself.

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!!!

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.