TEMPS

By DANIEL M. KIMMEL
VARIETY

Indie Gen-X comedy plays like “Return of the Secaucus Seven” for the end of the century as a group of friends in their late 20s have to decide if it’s time to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. They’re all “temps,” working as consultants, receptionists, and even, in one instance, as a gynecological model. Dead-on take of a generation at the crossroads should be good for some coin… Maria Burton, who has a small role as a would-be poet, directed. Gabrielle Burton, who also wrote the screenplay, stars as Ally, while another sister, Ursula Burton, plays Jane, the friend who goes from gynecological model to stripper to business entrepreneur.

Ally is doing temp work because she really wants to be a filmmaker. She’s working on a documentary on temp workers, which gives her an excuse to film her friends… Another friend (Tim Bohn) is a lawyer who takes secretarial jobs so that he can work on a novel, but that’s just an excuse to avoid having any sort of real job at all. Georgia (Katrina Stevens) is a computer programmer who has to deal with her employer’s lecherousnous as well as his refusal to take her seriously beyond her technical expertise.
The problem for all these characters is that they’ve had so many choices in their lives that they’ve become paralyzed.

Ally finally decides to take a shot by interning at a Vermont film festival, which means no pay for overseeing the parking lot. But she meets a studio executive who, for personal reasons, decides to take her under his wing. So by risking failure, she is finally able to succeed.

Young cast is energetic, and pic’s rough edges boost its realistic feel. Casting of Seymour Cassel as the avuncular studio exec is a real plus, underling how the influence of a well-meaning mentor can make all the difference.

Screenplay serves up some eccentric touches, like a subway mugging which ends with the victim sharing her sandwich with her assailant. Tech credits are solidly professional, with good use made of Boston locations.

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