A Job to Kill For (2006 TV Movie) User Reviews

Now we know why they call it "cracking heads"

[douggers · 4/10 · 13 January 2009]

Do they still describe the advertising world as a business where you have to "get out there and crack heads?" This TV movie gives that classic phrase a whole new meaning, as hard-charging Jennifer Kamplas takes over as general manager at HR&Y Advertising. But Jennifer isn't the one to fear, for no sooner is Jennifer installed in her new job than she's interrupted at lunch by one Stacy Sherman, an "interviewee" who's so tough and aggressive that she makes Jennifer look like a pussycat. Stacey's way of applying for a job at HR&Y is to hand Jennifer the secret business plans of a competing advertising firm. Stacey comes aboard as a manager and immediately starts to employ her own version of chaos theory, as company meetings become brawls where Stacy reams out long-time employees, not only for their performance but for the lifestyles, noting that a respected male employee is gay (read: not tough enough. When she's done with him she bullies everyone else into submission.

Not only do people who stand up to Stacy fare badly at meetings, but Jennifer's enemies start to turn up dead. First it's a business rival, murdered in his hot tub, then the punk who's been stealing the outside mirrors off Jennifer's expensive imported car (Stacy cracks his head open with a tire iron), then it's the CFO who won't approve of Jennifer's budget-busting perks and business plans. The police ask who would kill people over some car side mirrors or differences at work, but find no answers. Jennifer is a suspect, of course, but somehow she just doesn't seem vicious enough. Of course, we're in the know as we watch Stacey seduce then blackmail a client into extending his contract with her firm then put an end to the mirror thief. Next we're privileged to watch her use her Porsche to push the offending CFO's car into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer.

Finally the crows of Stacy's storm trooper tactics come home to roost. As the business starts to falter, expensive consultants are called in, meetings become even bigger fiascoes and Jennifer abandons her protégé Stacy in an effort to save her own marriage. Pushed to the brink, Stacy becomes even more desperate, then has a psychotic breakdown (completely superfluous, given her past behavior), as she confronts Jennifer's husband Patrick and then stabs him. As if on cue, Jennifer walks in, grabs a pistol and puts Stacy out of her misery, shooting her mouth off about her own complicity in the dastardly doings. Also as if on cue, the police walk in and grab Jennifer. The punch line is offered by the still-living husband (ach! Jennifer thought he was dead), who delivers the I-told-you-so line.

We've heard of being protective of your boss, but this girl Stacy takes the idea to deadly extremes. The acting is decent all around, with Sean Young competent as Jennifer and Georgia Craig standing out as the obsessive, loony Stacey Sherman. The biggest complaint we have with this movie is whether these 2 characters seem believable as people - it's the screenwriter's fault far more than the actors if they are not. The Jennifer character starts out all right as she takes over at HR&Y then seems abandoned by the writer as the action begins to focus around Stacy, leaving Jennifer seemingly with nothing to do. The Stacy character's motivation in killing her boss's rivals seems unclear: is she sexually obsessed with her boss or just homicidal? It's clear that after initially promising to "cover her back," Jennifer abandons Stacey as she ignores HR&Y to run home and "save her marriage." As for Stacy's turning into a complete psycho, let's face it, the network that finances these TV movies would probably be out of business if they didn't write at least one psycho into most of them.

Aren't you a bit too late for your Nazi Youth rally?

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 7 February 2008]

**SPOILERS**Always knowing how to get what she wants advertising executive Jennifer Kamplan, Sean Young, hires the very determined and no holds bar, when it comes to getting a multi-million dollar account, Stacy Sherman, Georgia Craig, as her exclusive both right hand man, or woman, and dirty trickster.

Cold blooded and totally immoral when it comes to getting on top and stying there Stacy in no time at all murders Jennifer's rivals in the advertising business. Tracy first has Jennifer's business competitor Martin Keller, Paul Christie, electrocuted in his swimming pool. Stacy then sets her sights on top advertising honcho Terrence Leary, Bill Dow, who's in the process of taking over Jennifer's company HR&Y advertising in a hostile bid. Getting him smashed on martini's Stacy has Leary get into a very compromising position with her that she secretly has video taped. With his both reputation and marriage on the line Terrance can do nothing but give into Stacy's demands which is drop all plans of taking over Jennifer's advertising firm.

Loving her work as well as her boss Stacy goes so far as brutally murdering this sleazy car thief Larry Mailshak, Druc Laurie,for just stealing Jennifer's expensive Porsche side-view mirrors. Leaving the scene of the crime, an outdoor flea-market, Stacy leaves her unique and expensive silver Tiffany mechanical pencil there by mistake. This in itself would really mean nothing to the police investing the murder but that fact that Stacy really went out of her way to have Jennifer's west-coast boss, of HR&Y, the load mouth and abrasive Roger Shapiro, Brent Stait, killed did. Shapiro's murder in a staged, by Stacy, car smash-up connected the second half of the Tiffany pen & pencil set to Stacy when the cops, who ware on the scene of the Mailshak's killing, interviewed her. Stacy unknowingly was writing on a pad with the pen that was noticed by sharp eyed police sergeant Carlos Moresco, Jason Schombing.

What turned out to be the biggest obstacle in Stacy's path to both money and her boss's Jennifer Kamplan's heart was Jennifer's estranged husband the very hunky handsome and talented, as a top advertising photographer, Partick, Ari Cohen. Stacy had developed a very strong, almost lesbian, attraction to Jennifer and felt that Patrick was a threat to it. What made things even worse for the by now obsessed, in wanting Jennifer all to herself, Stacy is that Jennifer, knowing just what a prize Patrick was, didn't want to let go of that handsome hunk of a man of her's. Even if it meant quiting her top job at the HY&R advertising firm!

**SPOILER ALERT**You already knew where the movie was going since it started with what would be it's sudden and surprising ending which in fact gave the ending away in the first two minutes of the film! Stacy was crafty and cunning but she couldn't hold a candle, or handgun, to her boss an old hand at this kind of stuff Jennifer Kamplan. The biggest surprise in the film, which was kept from the audience until the very last moment, was that Stacy in her haste to please her boss messed up big time. This had the one person who could finger Jennifer, in the series of crimes that she orchestrated, to he police being able to live long enough to do it!

An Extremely Ambitious Woman in the Advertising Business

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 20 August 2020]

"Jennifer Kamplan" (Sean Young) is a hard-working advertising executive who has just been promoted to the position of general manager for her ad agency. Her extreme ambition, however, has a price in that her commitment to her career is taking an extreme toll on her marriage to her husband "Patrick Kamplan" (Ari Cohen). So to help her make ends meet at work she hires an extremely aggressive marketer named "Stacy Sherman" (Georgia Craig) who swears her complete loyalty to her. What Jennifer doesn't know is that there have been rumors about Stacy from her former colleagues that are simply too bizarre to be believed. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I was pleasantly surprised by this made-for-television drama in that it had a decent plot with a good performance by Sean Young who seemed tailor made for this particular part. On a similar note, I also thought Georgia Craig performed well enough but seemed a bit out-of-character for her role. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Some people will do anything to win points with the boss

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 28 June 2006]

Sean Young is Jennifer Kamplen, a top ad exec who hires the assistant from hell in "A Job to Kill For," which recently premiered on Lifetime. It features Young sporting her familiar pouffy hairdo and dressed in earth tones (and basically anything that will wash her out) as a new, highly valued employee of a large advertising agency. The Kamplen character comes with stereotype attached: Her marriage to an artist is in trouble because she works so many hours and is devoted to her work, she is tough as nails, and she gets a rush working 18 hours a day. Then she hires Stacy, who convinces Jennifer that she's not only good at her job but shares Jennifer's strong work commitment. The only problem with Stacy is, she gets her results using sex, murder, and blackmail. When given the responsibility of an account while Jennifer makes a last ditch attempt to save her marriage, Stacy shows signs of a psychotic crumble.

Young basically walks through this placidly without demonstrating any emotion, while Georgia Craig, who plays the volatile Stacy, chews the scenery. She's a very accomplished Canadian actress, but everyone else is so downplayed, she almost comes off as over the top. It's probably appropriate for someone who's NUTS, but one wonders throughout how Jennifer doesn't see how frighteningly intense she is and that Stacy a little too devoted to her.

There is an attempt to build the characters of the two detectives who are brought in to investigate several murders, but it comes off as silly and unnecessary.

The movie has a double twist. Despite its derivative moments and the absurdity of the plot, it's entertaining.

Every Company should have an employee like Stacy!

[Jim Sgambaty · 7/10 · 6 April 2012]

I was oddly surprised by this Lifetime movie as I was fixed on Georgia Craig as Stacy. What a whack-o / bravura performance by this actress!! Her range of emotions were just amazing to watch as she switched over from confident assistant, to terrified assistant, to an emotional crying nut job. She chewed up the scenery including her co-stars! The movie stars Sean Young, but it is Georgia that steals the show. There are only a few B movies that are so bad that they are so good,,,,this is one! Nice subplots and is well paced until the end when everything is revealed too quickly. I was completely caught off guard by the final scenes as one surprise becomes another surprise....pulled off nicely!

A Film to Forget

[guilfisher-1 · 4 November 2008]

It states in the ad that it's a film where an attractive woman vies against a corporation and takes over. First of all, she's not that attractive. Believe me. Georgia Craig plays the role and she's far from pretty. In fact there's a scene where she puts the make on this old geezer. It couldn't have been a worse choice. To think he must have been that desperate to go after the likes of her. With stringy hair and a nose that points towards mecca, she's quite homely. Let's forget her and move on to the dullest performance in the film. That of Sean Young. Blank expressions and monotone voice make her the most uninteresting character in the movie. Why the husband would want to stay with her and why the bimbo would want to kill for her is beyond me. Ari Cohen, the husband, is the victim here. Both as the actor and the character.

Then we have two idiot detectives that have to be a joke. Mutt and Jeff seem to bungle everything. That they represent the law is a laugh and embarrassing to the viewer.

So, bad script, bad casting, bad acting make this a ridiculous movie not even for desperate audiences that have nothing else to do. Better to read a book, folks.

GOOD TWIST but really sad D:

[landanfox · 8/10 · 18 May 2015]

When i watched it at the end i almost cried i mean she killed her and trash talked her how mean is that? She was also trying to kill her husband how sad. Overall it was a pretty good movie until the sad part. Everyone should have an employer like Stacy. I liked the remark "Looks like your perfect execution was'int so perfect." Cant wait till shes thrown in jail for the rest of her life. So 8 out of 10. After all Stacy did she killed her. NO one should have a boss like Jennifer. The twist was sad i cant believe she said those things and then killed her like that i mean Stacy loved her. (kinda strange really) So i think a part of me died inside when she killed her own "Friend" Really super sad. But whoever directed it was a genius imagination. But that's what to expect from lifetime the death of the innocent. Really great movie though.

Slightly better than I thought it was going to be

[randy_kay · 19 October 2011]

I've come to the conclusion that none of these 'Canadian made in British Columbia tax incentive films' will ever be better than about a 2 or 3 on a scale of 10 on a world-class scale so with that said, I give this a 7 out of 10 on a Canadian scale, or about a 1.25 out of 10 on a world scale.

As for the acting, Georgia Craig plays a very good psycho and really reminded me of a few crazy obsessive ex girlfriends I've had over the years - very disturbing. One girl friend I had like that, I got so fed up with her antics that one day I literally pulled up to the curb, told her to get out of the car and then I drove away never to speak with her again. There's nothing except maybe a screaming baby that's quite as annoying as a clingy, blubbering chick in the midst of a hissy fit. Well anyway, that's what Georgia Craig looks like, a crying blubbering psycho.

Sean Young was really good in Blade Runner. All the actors in Blade Runner should have quit right after it was made because none of them have ever been in as good a film since.

The end of this film is good so if you can make it through the first 99%, you'll enjoy the last 1%. You could also just record the last 3 minutes and skip the rest of the film.

My favorite part though is when the crazy chick kills a guy who specializes in selling ONLY stolen car mirrors, not any other car parts, just the side mirrors which if you think about it makes absolutely no sense at all since it would be a hell of a lot of work to remove a cars side mirrors -- you'd have to first break into the car without setting off the alarm, then remove the inside door panels, using a ratchet, you'd have to reach inside the door and undo the nuts holding the mirror on etc., so bottom line, you're talking a good 15 minutes minimum per mirror so it's not a good way to make a living to say the least. But the worst part is, not only is it a bad way to pay for your drug habit, but in the end you could get beaten to death in a parking lot by some crazy chick with a tire iron.