The Perfect Assistant
Tags: murder, home movie

Plot synopsis:
The movie begins with the hiring of Rachel Partson (Josie Davis) as an administrative assistant at Wescott Public Relations. She is a nice girl, but starts to obsess over her boss David Wescott (Chris Potter). She finds out he has a wife who is dying and a daughter.
His wife soon dies, due to an injection Rachel gives her. Then Rachel gives a stomach bug to David's business partner, Judith (Rachel Hunter), allowing her to go to New York with David.
Rachel asks her cousin Nora, to watch her house while she is in New York. Nora's computer crashes so she uses Rachel's, who returns from New York and is angry to discover this. Nora confronts her, but Rachel kills her by pushing her down the stairs. Judith and co-worker Wally tell their suspicions of Rachel to David, who later fires her.
Rachel thinks he only fired her so he can date her without being an employee. She shows up at David's house, who tells her he doesn't love her. When he throws a dinner party for the employees who secured a deal with a major company. Rachel shows up, threatens David with a gun and takes everyone hostage. Rachel unloads her anger onto them and shoots Judith. The police arrive and arrest Rachel.
The film ends with Rachel writing a letter to David that says she looks forward to seeing him. She is shown to be in jail.

Review: Perpetually perky and seemingly psycho Josie Davis (as Rachel Partson) works as a secretary for attractive executive Chris Potter (as David Wescott).
"Actually, I'm his executive assistant," she corrects.
Once tragically orphaned, and displaying a compulsive use of anti-bacterial hand lotion, Ms. Davis is extremely devoted to Mr. Potter.
She wants to take the place of his hospitalized wife and be a mother to cute little Veronique Natale Szalankiewicz (as Isabelle).
Suspicious co-stars like Rachel Hunter (as Judith) and Jason Harper (as Wally) provide fun watching but, compared to several similarly-titled "The Perfect" cable-ready TV movies, "The Perfect Assistant" is tragically slow.**** The Perfect Assistant (2008) Douglas Jackson ~ Josie Davis, Chris Potter, Rachel Hunter, Jason Harper.
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.
I loved it when she didn't get what she wanted.
I thought monitors were for keeping tabs on patients, yet no one came to the rescue when the lady's monitor went crazy.
I also liked Chris Potter from QUEER AS FOLK fame.
Natural in his acting and believable with a difficult role.
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.
All in all, thanks to Davis, Potter and Hunter it wasn't that bad..
Ugh. This movie was terrible.
The lead character Josie Davis was about a C- throughout the entire time.
There was not one scene in which I found her believable or even interesting.
And as soon as I saw Sophie Gendron walk on the screen, I groaned.
Having suffered through a movie with her once before, I was hoping her role would be very brief.
Ms. Gendron is badly in need of a coach, or perhaps another profession.While these two roles were desperately in need of recasting, Chris Potter was absolutely fantastic.
He was completely believable and his contribution kept me from giving this movie fewer stars.I also enjoyed Judith Manion, and think she did a great job.
She and Chris Potter completely outshone the others.However, this movie is not worth the two hours it took to watch to the end.
The Perfect Assistant.
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.
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.
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..
Extremely boring movie: The the story is "seen before" - all the script is like written to morons.
Few good looking faces (but not future stars), some intrigues, a stupid husband and stupid doctors not questioning the curious death of a "getting better" patient.
At the end, it seems to me as the movie has been made in "give me something to sell" way.
There are many enough and good enough new novels to make a movie on them, or even many enough interesting news and stories from all over the world.
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.
I will remark that Chris Potter was one of the few good things about this movie.
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..
Josie Davis is Hot. I got to see this film a few times on on the Movie Network and I really enjoyed every second of the film which featured two stars Joesie davis & Chris Potter who as some of you may remember him from Kung-Fu (Peter Caine) The Legend Continues & Queer As Folk (Dr. David Cameron) I had met Chris a few times back in the early 2000's down at club called Blues On Belair and he is also a great musician.
Josie Davis I remember her from Y&R playing the original Grace Turner who had a love interest for Nick Newman.
Anyway the most outstanding of the two goes to Josie who played Rachel a assistant to David Wescott (Potter) who is going through the lost of his wife and she simply want Wescott to be with her but unfortunately he simply doesn't feel like having affair with Rachel would not heal his lost to his wife.
So Rachel would go to lengths to be more closer to David so she can have him to herself.
This is the best I seen Josie in and she looks even more beautiful now..
If you haven't seen it already, avail yourself of the opportunity to see "The Perfect Assistant" on Lifetime.
This movie combines an excellent cast with a taut and fast-paced script.
Josie Davis is sparkling in this movie, and Rachel Hunter gives a solid performance.
And Chris Potter's tender, nuanced performance as David Wescott may well garner an Emmy.
Potter has established himself as one of the premier leading men in Lifetime TV movies.
With this film, director Douglas Jackson has established himself as a leader in made-for-TV suspense.
Under his able direction, the actors turn in brilliant performances and Christine Conradt's script translates beautifully onto the screen.
I can say confidently that this is the best Lifetime movie I've seen in years.
I love this kind of movie!!!!!!.
I actually really enjoyed this movie...and Sophie Gendron is a great actress!
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..
At the start of the movie, my finger was hovering over the off button for at least the first twenty minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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..
the perfect assistant review.
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.
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.
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 ..
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.
David is her skin, and she will not be separated from him.
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.
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..
Good Movie!.
Josie Davis does a fantastic job in this as "Rachel", an assistant who is obsessed with her boss.
Even though she is crazy as a loon, there are aspects about her character that are quite likable.
She's got more than one side to her, unlike some of the nuttier one-dimensional lifetime villains I've seen.
Sophie Gendron's character as the meddling, goody-goody aunt, Mary-Beth, was annoying.
I thought she was a horrible snob and cannot figure out why she is praised as a good person in this movie.
When she first meets Rachel, she snidely says "Oh yes, you're the Secretary.".
Rachel corrects her and says, "Actually, I'm an Executive Assistant" and Mary Beth just smirks at her in a really condescending way.
Sophie is much more likable in other lifetime movies IMO.
Rachel Hunter's acting as Judith was boring and plastic.
However, I thought the boss (Chris Potter) was perfectly cast and did a superb job in his role.
His acting is real and very believable..
I chose an 8 rating out of ten even though I enjoyed the movie intensely because the lead male character did not do as I would have done and "go for it", the young and smoking sexy hot and very beautiful Executive Assistant.
Bearing in mind that no one knew Rachel assisted her boss's wife on her way "out the door" so to speak.
She would never allow another man in her bed or betray my love to her nor let another woman move in on her territory because as she so aptly said in the movie "She can't live without me." And her actions backed up her words.
Josie Davis executed her seductive role so well I could literally taste her sweet and succulent womanhood in my mouth.
I wanted her sooooo bad.
Which is why through out the movie I could not fathom why David could not figure out she wanted him, and when he finally did realize it how on earth could he resist her charms, her beauty, her passionate desires.
Rachel would surely give him a night he would not soon forget.
And he would definitely know beyond doubt that she belonged to him, only him, and no other man could swoop in and take her away from him because she was crazy beyond reason about him.
I would surely have maximized the benefits to that truth about Rachel both in and out of bed.
Knowing I could never sleep with another woman again because Rachel would surely put her, and possibly me, in a permanent sleep (a by-product of insane obsession).
I also rated the movie an 8 because I did not feel it perpetuated reality.
If the events of this movie happened in real life he would give way to her advances and she would surely rock his world in ways he had never dreamed possible.
I would have loved to see an R-rated version of this movie..
****SPOILERS****Obsession is a bitch and administrative assistant Rachel Partson, Josie Davis, learns that the hard way in her trying to win over her boss David Wescott, Chris Potter, after she found out that his wife Carol played as a corpse not a real life human being by Jennifer Marcil, in a non-speaking role, was suffering from a food or drug induced stroke.
Seeing her big chance Rachel sneaks into the emergency ward without anyone there bothering to notice her, they may well have been on their coffee brake, and pops a needly in her arm causing an air bubble to end up killing her.Now working to get David to fall in love with her Rachael gets very friendly with his 10 year old daughter Isabella, Veronique-Natale Szalankiewice, as well as makes sure that he wins the very lucrative Price Account by sabotaging David's rival for it, by blackmailing him, Grady Bransen,Ian M.
Still as hard as Rachael tries to get David to fall in love and marry her she falls flat on both her a** as well as face.
David you see is still in love and loyal to his dear departed wife Carol the very woman that Rachael murdered to be have him hook up with her.***SPOILERS*** David now realizing that he has a nut-Rachael-on his hands fires her just to keep her out of his hair which is a lot for a man his-in his middle 40's- age as well as life but it backfires badly on him.
Rachael not taking the hint, that David doesn't love her, feel that being fired will make things much easier for him to marry her by her just being a stranger not an employee of his: You go figure that one out!
This insanity on Rachael's part came to a bitter end with her crashing a party that David is throwing for his employees and gunning down but not killing his new assistant Mary-Beth, Sophie Gendron, in the wild free for all.
Rachael convicted of murder not just of Carol but her live in roommate Nora, Deborah Pollitt, who was about to expose her wild fantasies to both the police as well as David.
That as well as assault with intent to kill Rachael will have lots of time behind bars to reflect on the insanities that she had inflicted on those around her.