Career Opportunities

Frank Whaley plays Jim Dodge (Frank Whaley), a thoroughly annoying smart-mouthed wise-ass waste-of-space with a dead end job as a night janitor in a supermarket. Jennifer Connelly plays Josie McClellan (Jennifer Connelly), a poor little rich girl desperate to get away from her millionaire daddy (who beats her). When Josie chickens out of shoplifting at the last minute, she is locked in the shop for the night and meets Jim (as he roller-skates down an aisle in his boxers and a wedding veil!). Together they do a bit of collective soul-searching, swap sob stories and decide to run away together. However, their plans are interrupted somewhat when a couple of gun wielding thieves break into the store...

Despite being written by top teen-movie maker John Hughes and featuring a pretty decent cast (John Candy has a cameo and the two leads are both capable actors), Career Opportunities (AKA One Wild Night), is a rather weak comedy with irritating characters and very few laughs.

I, like most males who have reviewed this movie on IMDb, do agree, however, that it is worth viewing if you are a fan of Jennifer Connelly and her very impressive curves. The delectable JC looks stunning in a tight white vest and standout scenes include her rollerskating through the shop, and rocking slowly back and forth on a supermarket horse ride (a moment guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of all heterosexual men).

But of course, Ms. Connelly looking damn fine doesn't make this a great piece of film-making (just great eye-candy), and ultimately this is a rather desperate 'comedy' that comes nowhere near to the matching the quality of Hughes' 80s output.

Yea, I know this movie was not that good and the formula was well-worn but it was fun to watch for 2 reasons. Jennifer Connelly and the clothes and music. Jennifer was a heart-stopper as usual! I really couldn't see her attraction to Frank Whaley's character because he just seemed to dweebish!(80's term) I could see her more with the dark-haired thieve. But it did give the fantasy of the nerd getting the pretty girl some hope! All in all, it was a movie that was caught between eras! The years 1990-91 were sort of lost years where no one seemed to know what was next. Music was changing from the rock of the big hair style of Poison and GNR to the alternative sound of REM and none of the music in the movie sounded like neither. It was an experimental sound. The clothes seemed like the 80's but were trying to be something different. Of course we know what was on the horizon..Grunge! But this movie was the end of an era. It was released in 1991 but was probably made a year before that. It's one of those movies you will watch if you were a 20 something in the 80's and feel a nostalgic pang. I get it watching movies like Back to the Future and Breakfast Club, St; Elmos Fire..etc. So don't judge this flick to harshly. It's just filler but it does taste good! Especially Jennifer Connelly!

A very well done, humorous teenage love story that every "not so popular" guy who was passed over in high school can appreciate. Funny, awkward, and lighthearted, this movie has something for everyone. This was the first movie I saw Jennifer Connelly in and just like the main character, immediately fell in love with her. What an outstanding actress, although this is perhaps not her best performance. All together this is a great "Order in on Saturday night and have a few laughs with the wife/girlfriend" kind of feel good romantic romp.

Oh John Hughes, my favorite writer. Trying here to return to teen territory with this tale of a night clean up boy at a Target. The guy stumbles into a girl hiding inside and the two have some harmless fun till a couple of robbers show up (sound familiar). There are maybe 2 or 3 laughs in this movie, but many of the 81 minutes majorly suck. Hughes great insights from the 80s are absent here, and Whaley just comes across dull. Conellys gorgeous yes, which is the only thing to keep male viewers going with all that cleavage, but others will doze off. Thought Id never say it, but Hughes has delivered his worst here. Ick.

One of John Hughes' underrated gems! I rented this movie already possessing knowledge of what it was about, who was in it, and what other people thought about it from their comments. "Career Opportunities," had plenty of laughs along with some deeper, emotional setback drawn out between Whaley and Connelly, who of course both played their parts VERY well. And every other guy who hasn't seen a young Jennifer Connelly... should. The story unfolds smoothly as we find out more about the lives of two small town people.

It's a movie where the characters are trying to understand where the rich, abused, dreaming, "tease" and dweebish, hopeful, incompetent "town liar" come from. There is also a sweet connection they develop from just talking about their lives and how they've changed since they last met. The more we hear and develop feelings for these two confused people, the more we can illustrate their current dilemma of being trapped within the lives that their families want them to live.

The soundtrack was pretty great! One of the best soundtracks I have heard in a comedy.

Dermot and Kieran Mulroney did a nice job playing some goofy small town crooks. However I thought the whole burglar part of the movie could have been achieved in better ways-- but it is what it is.

If you do watch this film look out for a cameo appearance from John Candy as the Target Team manager who gives Whaley his janitor position. Very funny... and casual.

Altogether, very well done and VERY underrated. I still don't understand why Whaley didn't become a bigger star after this movie such as Broderick did with Ferris Bueller. And OK, so maybe not perfect, but there are MUCH worse movies out there. "Career Opportunities" is a fun film that should be watched if you're a fan of John Hughes' work.