Career Opportunities (1991)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Target Date

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

If there's some kind of comprehensive list of the most beautiful women in the history of movies, Jennifer Connelly deserves a slot for this movie, even if it hardly reaches the level of a Queen Christina, Gone with the Wind, or Roman Holiday. She goes a long way toward making Career Opportunities watchable. She plays rebellious rich girl Josie McClellan, who decides to stick it to her (abusive?) father by shoplifting at the local Target. Meanwhile, ne'er-do-well Jim Dodge (Frank Whaley), who lives with his parents and can't hang onto a job, starts work as the night-cleanup boy. Locked in for the night, he works diligently for a while, starts to goof around, and discovers Josie, who fell asleep in the dressing room. Eventually two goony robbers (real-life brothers Dermot Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney) break in, and our heroes must outwit them (shades of Home Alone), while striking up a fantasy romance too good to be true. Aside from a creepy scene in with the three males watch Connelly bobbing up and down on a coin-operated horsey ride, it's all pretty innocuous. Barry Corbin plays a cop, and the great John Candy has an uncredited scene as the store manager. John Hughes is credited with the screenplay and as producer, though he later claimed that he didn't have much control over it. Kino Lorber released it on Blu-ray for 2021. Film critic Erik Childress offers an insightful commentary track, and there are a handful of trailers.